The Information Age
2000 - 2100
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The Information Age2000 - 2100 |
33 - infamous September 11 terrorist attack on New York Twin Towers and Pentagon changes the shape of the political climate for the next half century.
34 - US military uses Predator remotely piloted aircraft (UAV / RPV) for anti-terrorist operations.
34 - contact with Pioneer 10 lost (February 2003 c.e.)
35s - Hollywood studios and other major entertainment institutions begin to be adversely impacted by PC and broadband internet developments, enabling downloading of complete movies, including pirated and home-made movies
35 - Chinese launch their first manned rocket, the Shenzhou V, and become the third Earth polity to put a man in space
40 - Further progress in development of expert systems, intelligent agents, knowledge miners, and proto-AIs.
40 Ruth Duorkin born
41 - One of the earliest double planets - Bill and Bull, was discovered by the research team from Uppsala Astronomical Observatory around Delta Eridani.
40s Diamond Film computing started
43 - USAF introduces high-power microwave weapons and lasers for UCAV and manned fighters.
43 - First controversial germline modification of humans, although the legality remains uncertain.
45 - Carapace armor first employed by American, Australian, and European military and security personnel working in peacekeeping and riot control situations.
46 - visual and tactile bodysuits enable advancement in personal Virtual Realities, which begin to take the market share from TV, radio, films, and other media.
48 - first universal operational machine 'Harvey' constructed by a team lead by Peter Shor at Bell labs, with funding from IBM, Lycos, RedHat and Pepsi.
48 - The planetary system of 61 Virginis has been largely mapped by various means by this date. Detected are a total of 7 planets, three of which are gas giants. The remaining 4 are terrestrial worlds. One of these, the second planet, is located within the Habitable Zone of the star, orbiting at 0.97 AU. Initial spectroscopic studies suggest a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere, and the presence of water.
49 - First commercially available diamond film computer
50 - do-it-yourself medical care becoming ever more practical and effective for many ailments
50 - Internet users in the developed nations are becoming increasingly isolated (cocooned) in physical terms.
50s onwards - development of turing test equivalent virtual agents, companions, and even employees, for home, work and play.
50s - cheap and widely available unmanned and remotely piloted micro-aircraft (UAVs and RPVs) begin to expand the scope of news and information gathering for the personal web-based media-casting and private individuals, weakening the power of individual geopolitical states and mega-corporations to control public perception.
50s - Interactive video widespread.
51 - Economic boom, the Bounty Economy
52 - Continued environmental degradation in some third-world countries.
c.53 Inception of Burning Library Project
54 - house-hold consumer robotics mainstream
54 - serious earthquakes rock California and Japan
55 - practical vehicular laser weaponry
56 - Puerto Rico becomes the 51st US state.
56 - Employers begin discriminating on the base of the applicants geneprint.
56 - experimental "bodywalker" powered exoskeleton allows Ruth Duorkin to walk
57 - In the spirit of optimism NASA, Russian, Chinese, Japanese and European Space Agencies and a consortium of private corporations begin work on the astonishingly expensive international Ares Mission Profile.
58 - Dr Sally Tanenhaus begins her work on chimp provolve.
59 - Fourth Persian Gulf War. Allied powers occupy Iraqi, Kuwaiti and Saudi oilfields.
59 - First mesomachines constructed, allowing initial but expensive and inefficient nano-manufacturing.
60 - Mars mission vessels Discovery and Endeavour depart for Mars. Meanwhile, economies on Earth are in the grip of a recession.
60s - The danger of biochemical weapons use peaks for most developed states, while increasing social problems lead to the rise in prominence and influence of vigilante organizations, especially in crime-ridden urban areas.
60s - Genetic modification of humans becomes increasingly accepted
60s - Silicon reaches practical upper limit
61 - Despite intense protests from proponents of independent academia, the EU Parliament decides on a "unified and quality controlled" university standard. The brain drain to the US and emerging academic free states like Peru and New Zealand intensifies.
62 UNSA ships arrive at Mars. Teams are landed at Isidis and Chryse.
63 - Academion founded by Aristos, a front company of various European universities.
63 - Discussion of permanent manned base on Luna.
63 - following an assassination attempt in Venezuela Ruth Duorkin incorporates a discrete kevlar outer skin to her bodyplan.
63 - Economy picks up
64 - Martian Pioneers arrive back at Earth. Space exploration reverts once again to unmanned probes
64 - Artificial Wombs created.
65 Genomic benefits result in significant extensions to life expectancies for newborns
65 - computer power supports human level intelligence at consumer level prices becomes available, but suitable software lags behind.
66 - Treaty of Athens establishes a single European State.The European Union (EU) becomes the European Federation (EF). NAFTA troops begin "police action" against Andean drug barons. Budget cuts mean a set-back to the next Martian mission. But plans for the moon base go ahead
66 - US involvement in the Saudi 'Regency Rig' features Transmissions Viruses
67 - Widespread robot development
67 first attempts at holovision
68 - Increases in artificial intelligence means that Consumer Robotics and Homebots ("household robots") become and useful enough to replace manual labor. They become extremely popular and in high demand by the public, as well as accelerating the increasing rate of unemployment. A huge homebot industry develops for the research and manufacture of homebots.
68 - The first workable fusion power plant comes on-stream. Fusion power finally becomes an viable reality, although technical difficulties and problems with fuel processing prevent it from being economically competitive.
69 - Tokyo brown-out causes minor hysteria and crashes financial network
69 - The first "production model" Calebs enter service.
60s-70s - Emerging virtual states take on increasing importance with further advances in immersive tactile VR via wired "hotsuit"
70 - new superbaby generation of child entrepreneurs force big changes to business and employment law and practices, as well as rules relating to legal maturity and asset ownership
70s - cyborg augmentations developed that allow domestic animals to understand human speech
71 - The Gates Award (the "Nobel Prize of Information Technology") instituted. The first laureates were Cody J. Komarinski and Sten Houweling, responsible for the DBS algorithm in agent management.
71 - oil war flares up in Central Asia, great powers intervene through proxies, the military-entertainment complex has a field day, ratings go through the roof.
71 to 78 (several events) Birth of fully sentient and sophont AI
72 - Oil War becomes a "testing ground" for many new technologies. Each side lauds their moral superiority in using robot drones that "do not target noncombatants" (footage of devastated villages tells a different story)
72 - First photonic computer (10-gigahertz range),
73 - first true human-equivalent sentient Artificial Intelligences. But AIs remain secretive, and curiously unable to understand humans
73 - First "permanent" manned Lunar Base.
74 - First dinosaur is resurrected using reverse genetic engineering chicken DNA. Despite being the size of a turkey and not resembling any known species, it is excites widespread interest. Jurassic Park Retro comes briefly into fashion during the northern summer
75 - Central Asian Oil Crisis resolved through UN-mediated ceasefire
75 - Terahertz diamond film processing
75 - Ken Ferjik born
70s-80s - The Space Hilton (private investment orbital hotel) still held up by mounting technical and financial difficulties, meanwhile there is a boom in Freedom Ships (giant floating cities for the wealthy). With the rise of these "Freedom Ships" and "Freedom Islands" increasing numbers of people taking to the sea to live and work, connected by the global internet economy and community
78 - the talking Bonobo, Jane, was introduced to the public at a press conference in Dakar
78 - Global recession, triggered by failure of early nanomanufacturing to produce cheap and reliable nanofactured products, puts an end to further space missions. There is an increasing tendency towards cocooning. Continuing the trend that began with the birth of the information / digital age of the last decades of the 20th century onwards, humanity becomes increasingly involved with electronic and virtual worlds, and exploring the wonders of cyberspace
80 - VirchMon first developed, as simple "intelligent" pets, companions and virus guards for frequent net-users.
80s - The technology required to build a space elevator becomes available, with microgravity manufacture of carbon nanotubes; however the cost of transporting the vast mass required into orbit ruled the early construction of such a structure out. China, America, Russia, Europe, and Japan strive to develop more efficient rocket engines and cheaper and more reliable materials for ultra-lightweight spaceship construction.
80s - Nanotech (not assembler) common in computing industry
80-85 - biopunk movement in full swing.
81 - VirchMon first created as simple "intelligent" pets, companions and virus guards for frequent net-users.
82 - US President Davids consults Senate to provide watchdog on maverick Corporations.
mid- 85 (2053 c.e.) - The first Homo Jihadi to be used publicly is believed to have detonated emself in a Tel Aviv bus station killing five people and injuring approximately a dozen more.
86-87 Static Music and White Noise becomes the most popular form of music in the 11-24 demographic.
87 (2055 c.e.) First broadcasting of The Planet X epic-comedy-drama saga featuring the popular fictional character Morag the Moravec
89 - Whole Entertainment Enterprises' Mesozoic Wanderings represents a landmark interactive VR edutainment and simlife
90 EU ban on Tobacco
90s - Especially among the educated classes, traditional religions continue to be usurped by younger, more exotic beliefs, such as Sanandism, Babaism, Cosmism, Transhumanism, etc.
90s - Megacorps begin loaning money to hard-pressed governments.
90s - the development of special autodidactic software means cyborg augmentation for animals (allowing them to understand human speech, and communicate back are much cheaper, but application remains limited.
91 - the Very Large Interstellar Observation Array (a series of linked orbital LEO optical telescopes) confirms the existence of an Archean-like Earth type world, Tau Ceti II.
92 - Jarvis Microtechnics introduces the 25 gram robot "Pocket Tractor", revolutionizes agriculture
93 More advanced nanomachines constructed, but many technical difficulties remain. Nevertheless things look promising. There is a new wave of venture capital investment.
94 - growth of tobacco mafias
95 - Biotronics Incorporated, in conjunction with the VR-entertainment megacorporation Inscape markets the "Gibson neural jack" (named after the famous writer of cyberpunk). Over the next year other corporations follow suite with competing models (the Hacker, the InterFase, etc. The new neural interfaces give far more powerful immersion than previous virtual reality rigs. Brings about a further boost in digital nations and perfect VR, Defections of citizens from geophysical governments to blooming virtual states are mounting. VR becomes the escape for the masses - Improving VR quality seduce citizens into an apathetic view towards world.
97 2065 c.e. - as many as 50 Jihadi are believed to have detonated emselves near-simultaneously all around New Delhi, India, killing hundreds of Hindus and injuring thousands more, at the height of that nation's 7th war with its neighbor Pakistan
98 mass attack involving approximately one dozen Jihadi in New York City is foiled, using explosive-sniffing Neo-Dogs DNI-linked to eir Human masters, as well as DNI eavesdropping and trank guns.
100s - a vast "genomic gap" develops between the haves and the have-nots, those having the benefit of germline modification, tend to be consistently more intelligent, more athletic, more healthy, and more physically attractive. Yet true genius and creativity remain elusive, as the combination of genetic and environmental factors that determine them are difficult to quantify.
100 First emergence of Genemod dating and matching services
100s - centralist AIs apparently use "terrorist" actions and unexplained crashes to forcefully make sure "untrustworthy" ais do not reach superturingrade.
103 - The Static craze dies out thanks to a counter-meme created by an independent memetic engineer and Elvis Presley fan Ryu O'Connor, despite numerous lawsuits on behalf of the entertainment megacorps
105 - Lawrie Mimoto's Kingdom Quest (popular interactive/immersive VR simulation)
106 - first Manned landing on Ceres was in 2075 c.e. at Hamada Mesa, when three NASA/Russian space programme craft arrived to establish a base and small scale mining operation. Autonomous mining operation established, controlled by a semisentient AI known as Anya.
106 EF Senate moves to Berlin.
108 - Small but increasing scientific/ govt and private enterprise presence on moon and in orbit. Nevertheless anything beyond low earth orbit (LEO) space travel is still too expensive for anyone except governments, a few megacorporations, and joyrides for wealthy private individuals. Buckyboard-driven space rush opens up space to private investment. Meanwhile the unemployed masses suffer as the welfare state disappears for good
109 - Ceres mission crew return to Earth
110 - A full-scale collapse or reformation of many geopolitical states is underway; a boom in gambling; emerging virtual states take on increasing importance; major developments in Antarctica
110s - worldwide weakening of national states (partly due to the growth of enclaves, many tobacco funded) contribute to the Tobacco legalisation movement as the local regulations proved ineffective.
110s - Carpenterian Kelp Farms important to Australian economy.
112 - Howani unites thermodynamics and complexity theory were fundamental physics
112 Completion of Burning Library Project
113 - The increasing population of Earth (which had now reached 10 billion) and the decrease in easily exploitable resources and human-induced climate change lead to widespread starvation, epidemics and many small-scale conflicts.
114 - "tweak" superbaby Marcus Alfonse Lee becomes Chairman of the Board of "High Frontier" venture startup Orbital Explorations Pty Ltd (later to be renamed Lee Interorbital) at age 12.
114 - EF Senate moves from Strasbourg to Brussels.
115 - new developments in animal cross-species gene-splicing
115 - Ken Ferjik's Micronesian Quest, a detailed historical simulation
117 - An international cooperation of space agencies establish Artemis, a large-scale permanent manned Luna colony, with a population of nearly 5000.
118 - Ken Ferjik's The Himalaya Wars, another detailed historical simulations. This and his Micronesian Quest inspire many imitations.
118 - businesses set up space businesses, boom in space hotels and LEO flights for the wealthy, increased automation and use of robots and expert systems leads to increasing unemployment and social unrest. As the homebot industry develops and the bots become more intelligent, reactionary elements in the general public like the Kozinskites and the Friends of Ludd become increasingly alarmed at the rise of artilect intelligence and see it as a danger to humanity.
119 - An internet war virtual world war centered on North America which shifts a number of assets and influence from previous geopolitical and corporate powers to new players.
c. 120 Superturing AI common
121 - Ruth Duorkin dies.
121 - Ken Ferjik's Pertinax successfully integrates both elements of networked gaming and roleplaying
122 - the suborbital/intraorbital Waveskimmer brings about a drastic reduction in the cost of space flight
123 - Ken Ferjik's Mother Russia further extends many themes and developments of the innovative Pertinax, placing networked gaming roleplaying in an epic historical simulationist perspective
120s - Smoking associations - Social networks centered on tobacco use reach notoriety
125 - The international Near Earth Object detection and control program successful in collecting several small Earth-approaching objects; those which are easily diverted into Earth Orbit are used in the construction and extension of current geostationary Habitats such as Academion and SupraSeoul.
126 - The Deep Space Skymining corporation, a commercial asteroid and space junk interception concern, lobbies for a space elevator to be built.
126 - Ken Ferjik's Cuba integrates his earlier work in a detailed immersive political-educational simulation
130 lifting of EU ban on Tobacco
