Dancing Giant Inn - Histories of the Third Millennium

Chronology of the Third Millennium

I began this exercise in future history 25 years ago by starting with certain assumptions about the near future and letting their implications gradually reveal themselves to me. A speculative history unfolded elegantly in my mind, suggesting many possible stories. Unfortunately, this process was slow—so slow that actual historical trends eventually contradicted my earlier assumptions. I revised my main plot points again and again, usually pushing them further and further into the future.

Below is all that survives of the detailed chronology I had constructed. With this stripped-down version, I will attempt to salvage my grand epic.

Century	Major Events	Social Changes	Technological Developments
21st	- So-called Hunger Wars are fought. - United Nations (U.N.) is reformed.	- Human population reaches 10 billion. - First permanent settlements are established on Luna and in Earth orbit.	- Personal productivity, communication, and entertainment technology becomes ubiquitous, consolidated, and portable. - First appearance of the personal heads-up display. - High-definition visual simulation is perfected. - Deployment of nuclear-thermal-rocket (NTR) engines aboard spacecraft. - Nuclear fusion becomes viable.
22nd	- Cislunar Wars are fought. - High nations achieve political independence.	- Human population reaches 15 billion. - U.N. grows into a true world government.	- Nuclear fusion revolutionizes the energy economy. - Use of personal heads-up displays (spectacles) is widely adopted. - Holographic data storage becomes ubiquitous. - Electronic technology becomes increasingly less obtrusive as multimodal (manual, vocal, gestural, etc.) controls become prevalent. - Genetic engineering allows for the customized growth of biological materials.
23rd	- Terraformation of Mars begins. - Short War is fought.	- Human population of the solar system reaches 30 billion. - Terrestrial and non-terrestrial interests vie for control of the U.N.	- Nuclear-fusion drives replace NTR engines as the primary means of spacecraft propulsion. - Advent of limited artificial intelligence (AI). - Custom bioproduction becomes commonplace, revolutionizing the agricultural, manufacturing, and construction industries. - First antimatter weapons are tested. - First high-energy trans-UV laser weapons are deployed.
24th		- Human population of the solar system reaches 45 billion - Factionalism appears within the U.N.	- The first effective cybernetic interfaces are developed. - Antimatter weapons are deployed for the first time.
25th	- Farside War is fought. - First interstellar space probes are launched. - Jovian War is fought.	Human population of the solar system reaches 54 billion.	- Cybernetic interfaces are widely adopted. - Moderately self-aware AI becomes fairly common. - Usage of heads-up displays declines. - Full-immersion simulations become possible. - Extreme-range missiles are developed.
26th	- Terraformation of Mars is completed. - Numerous wars fought on Mars.	Human population of the solar system reaches 66 billion.	- Cybernetic control becomes ubiquitous. - Electronic technology becomes virtually invisible as such systems are usually activated and controlled by thought. - Usage of full-immersion simulation for education, communication, and recreation becomes common. - Brilliant, self-deterministic AIs appear.
27th	U.N. is formally decentralized.	- Human population of the solar system reaches 80 billion. - Fringe populations of the Kuiper Belt subsist by raiding the inner solar system.	- As cybernetic technology improves, control of electronic equipment becomes completely naturalistic (desire activation), though simultaneous control of multiple systems remains impossible for most. - Improvements in genetic science and therapy effectively conquer death by aging.
28th	- Kuiper War is fought. - Genovese War is fought. - Genovese Security Directorate is established.	- Human population of the solar system reaches 100 billion. - Long economic decline begins, especially in the inner solar system. - Major migration into the outer solar system begins. - Multi-U.N. system collapses.	- Genetically based rejuvenation processes become widespread. - It becomes possible to copy and restore human memory. - Technological development begins to stagnate due to increasing political and cultural turmoil.
29th	- Fourth Lagrange War is fought. - Central Security Directorate is established. - Terraformation of Venus begins. - Fifth Lagrange Wars are fought.	- Human population of the solar system reaches 720 billion. - Migration into the outer solar system continues.	- Technological stagnation continues. - High-efficiency fusion drives are developed but remain very rare for two more centuries.
30th	Unification War is fought.	Human population of the solar system falls to 260 billion.	Technological stagnation begins to end.
31st	- United Solar Nations (U.S.N.) is established. - Solar Rim Wars are fought.	Immortality is seen as a civil right.	- High-efficiency fusion drives become commonly available. - RAIR-powered starships are in use.