The History Beyond The Stories

I am struck by the contrast between the finitude of any future history series - a finite number of prose narratives - and the enormity of its subject matter. Any mention of an inhabited or colonized planet implies multiple generations of a planetary population. Think about how many novels, epic poems, feature films etc have been set on Earth. Notionally, a comparable number of such works could be set on Ythri, Avalon, Merseia, Vixen, Woden, Hermes, Avalon, Aeneas, Dennitza, Daedalus, Freehold etc. Such works would not form a linear series or any other kind of series. They would just be works of fiction with a common planetary environment but set on any part of that planet's surface and at any point in its history. 

I have already conformed to a cliche. The sf that we read is full of interplanetary and interstellar space travel. However, a future history could just be an account of events on Earth over several centuries or millennia without any reference to space travel. But the same basic point would still apply. That one planet would theoretically be able to generate an endless amount of literature as it has in the past. Freehold appears in only one story which alludes to its long prior history. Always think beyond the immediate story. Imagine a future history series written by an author who lives for several centuries.