In Poul Anderson's Psychotechnic History, New America will be the chief city on Venus in 2051;
in Anderson's Technic History, there will be a crisis for interplanetary explorers in about 2055;
in Isaac Asimov's I, Robot, Stephen Byerley will complete his second term as World Coordinator in 2052;
in Robert Heinlein's Future History, the US will be under a religious dictatorship in the 2050s;
in James Blish's Cities In Flight, Earth will be under a Bureaucratic dictatorship in the 2050s;
in Larry Niven's Known Space future history, the Belt will be colonized and become independent and interstellar ships will be launched in the period 2040-2099;
in Jerry Pornelle's CoDominium future history, out-system shipment of convicts will have begun in 2040.
For 2044, see here.
I have read SM Stirling's Emberverse as far as Change Year 46/2044 AD/Shohei 1.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I've thought more than once that Heinlein's religious dictatorship seen in REVOLT IN 2100 implausible. First, because Christianity is stony and infertile ground for a theocracy. Secondly, Heinlein seems to have had the Baptists or Evangelical Protestants in mind as the theocrats. Which I think traduces them--because the Baptists are so strongly OPPOSED to theocracy.
Theocracies are more likely to come from Muslims or Mormons, IMO.
Sean
Sean,
Heinlein's discussion of this issue in his Afterword is interesting. He thought that the tendency towards theocracy was present in American society but that in practice the contending sects cancelled each other out and generated a grudging tolerance.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
That too was a factor, I'm sure. The sheer NUMBERS of religions and sects seen in the US. But, I'm still skeptical of RAH's contentions, mostly because of my view that Christianity makes very poor material for any kind of real theocracy worthy of that word.
The Catholic Church is the largest single church in the US, but it has never shown any inclination to absorb or take over the state or any of the states.
Sean
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