Back to Part 4 of the Timeline.
The fourth cloning of Lady Blue takes place.
Gravitic research produces fields intense enough to collapse matter into degenerate (white dwarf star) matter. However, it quickly (explosively in some cases) reverts back to normal matter if removed from the gravitational collapsing fields.
The number of independent nations in space exceeds the number of nations on Earth for the first time. However, most have much lower populations than any Earth nation.
A large-scale program using specially designed nano-machines begins to slowly clean the Earths oceans and atmosphere of the pollution and refuse produced by humanity, or at least reduce it to a harmless form.
Several nations, led by the Martian Republic, co-operate in the start of a project to terraform Mars. This uses nano-machines and genetically engineered plants to extract water (where it exists) and oxygen from rock so as eventually give Mars a breathable atmosphere. The project is expected to take centuries to complete.
An extension of the technology used by grav-bombs is developed into the 'rattler' beam, which works in the same way as the grav-bomb, but in a focussed beam rather than over an area.The first large-scale use of techniques for manipulating tectonic forces, developed by a joint Japanese and Californian consortium, is used to defuse what would have been a major earthquake on the San Andreas Fault.
As a spin-off of these techniques, a gravitic 'tractor beam' is developed, using focussed gravity to manipulate objects at range.
In the following years these techniques are also applied to the defusing of volcanic eruptions, and lead to the virtual elimination of injurious tectonic activity both on Earth and elsewhere in the Solar System. These techniques make the large-scale settlement of Jupiters moon Io by the Chilean Empire a practical proposition.
Fifth generation nanos become used to allow people of cyborg (and de-cyborg) themselves, quickly and without pain. With this development, it is rumoured that the Children of Steel suffer a major schism. One group wish to use nano-machines to forcibly turn all of humanity into cyborgs; others want a more peaceable way - now that people can cyborg and de-cyborg themselves they will come to see the wisdom of the Children of Steel's path of their own accord.
A coalition of environmentalist terrorist groups release a nano-machine plague meant to sterilise all of humanity, designed to avoid all nano-antibody protections. It spreads rapidly throughout humanity, eventually affecting tens of billions of people and threatening the extinction of humanity.
A scientific station is set up on Triton, the largest moon of Neptune.
The widespread use of nanotechnology (which makes food and the necessities of life so easy to produce that they essentially become free, with money only really needed for luxuries) and social engineering leads to the third world being slowly brought up to the level of the more advanced nations. This, aided by cheap spaceflight, also brings the abundant resources of space within reach of even the poorest nations. Advances in medical science also lead to a general improvement of the human gene pool and the elimination of most hereditary and other diseases.
Also in this period organised crime (consisting mainly of Unterwelt in Europe and the USA and the Triads and Yakuza in the Orient and the CIS) is wiped out (mainly by Interpol) in a UMNA-initiated move partly arising from the old USA's crime-ridden system. This purge is mainly carried out by Interpol (including many Interpol superhumans), with assistance from local police forces. It results in many major and bloody battles, physical, political and media between the two sides before the task is completed. In the process several cities are badly damaged and thousands die, including many superhumans, but in the end, organised crime has been wiped out. However, the major leaders of these groups are never apprehended.
Many governments, with the assistance of the superhumans Greymalkin, Sigil and a previously unknown psionic calling herself Verity, use psycho-social techniques to improve the general mental health of humanity. This also helps in the elimination of many forms of crime which arise as a by-product of different forms of mental illness. This leaves only the very small percentage of people who are perfectly sane, but who wish to be criminals even so (purely for the challenge of it in many cases), for law enforcement agencies to deal with. However, while this process is being carried out there are many protests and civil disturbances from people who object to what they see as tampering with their minds.
A network of (formal and informal) international agreements, along with the general increase in health, wealth, sanity and education of the Solar Systems population leads to a drastic reduction in the number and severity of wars. These agreements allow pressure to applied against less reasonable governments and other organisations by groups (governmental and corporate) with interests in the affected area. These agreements are not simply altruistic in nature - they are also in the interests of self preservation, given the ease with which nanos and the right information can be used to create weapons of vast destructive power.
Only the Chilean Empire remains outside of the new world order and forces the retention of weapons of mass destruction.
As the general state of the world improves both super-villains and super-vigilantes become fewer and fewer, until they finally disappear altogether. Many naturally-born superhumans go to work for their respective governments.
Another side-effect of the improving state of the world is a resurgence of cultural diversity, both on and off Earth, as different groups begin to re-assert their identities, and various cultures which were entirely suppressed in the 21st century are recreated, usually (where possible) by descendants of the original culture. As societies and technology allow it, this diversity becomes greater and greater, with entirely new societies springing up in addition to the recreated ones. This increasing diversity is largely responsible for the continually increasing number of independent nations spreading throughout the Solar System.
Large areas of the Earth are allowed to revert to a wild state as more and more people choose to live in almost entirely self-sufficient arcologies.
From this time many nations keep organised records of the genetic codes of all their citizens in several locations, although in the cases of many nations these records go back to the early 21st century. Also recorded are the details of every species of living thing whose genetic code has ever been analysed.
The UMNA becomes the first nation to implement large scale genetic engineering programs on its populace (with their overall consent), as part of its philosophy of improvement for all humanity. They are assisted in spreading this doctrine about the world by the philanthropic Athanasian Society.
After five stressful years, a cure is finally found for the nano-sterilisation plague released in 2123. Protective nanos against such things are added to the suite of protective nanos many humans carry.
The Chilean governor of the Io colony, Rudolpho Cortez, a superhuman, is assassinated, apparently by agents working for the SAU. Terroristic reprisals by Chilean agents nearly bring the Jovian system to war before again Solar Angel forcibly intervenes to calm the situation down.
Organised religion suffers greatly from the general raising the Earths level of sanity and culture, and the great decrease in superstition associated with it. Only the Church of Dr Hiroshima and the various forms of Buddhism retaining any significant numbers of followers (the Church of Dr Hiroshima remains alive and vital due to the continuing presence of Dr Hiroshima Reborn, the superhuman known as Flashlight).
The decline of organised religion, especially the more fanatical branches, also causes the decline of the DEMON organisation.
Though wars get fewer and fewer, espionage (both governmental and corporate) continues. For most this becomes a 'gentlebeings sport', conducted in a civilised fashion by both sides. With the Chilean Empire, of course, nothing of the sort can be assumed.
The many settlements in space diversify wildly, into dystopias, utopias and everything in between. Many fanatical groups seek free lives in space as the Earth becomes a saner place, but many mellow after a few generations in space, often simply by being away from their traditional enemies. Some settlements are founded by superhumans leaving the 'tame' Earth for somewhere more challenging; others, particularly charismatic, lead groups to found their own settlements. Conflicts between different groups lead to many small 'brushfire' wars in space.
Earths second orbital tower is constructed, anchored to Earth in Gabon. It is of a somewhat different, and more advanced, design than the Sumatran tower.
An experimental nanotech ecosystem is set up on a heavily quarantined Outer Solar System asteroid which as time passes becomes known as Greyworld.
The first nomadic space settlements begin to spring up. Not content to stay in any one place for too long, they begin endless complex orbits which take them from world to world.
The Solar Systems superhuman population exceeds one million people.
Minerva Montpelier dies of old age, in obscurity.
A scientific base is set up on Pluto.
The Deep Though Collective AI society uses nanomachines to convert a large Kuiper Belt object into a huge supercomputer, using it as a vast virtual reality and a physical/theoretical physics modelling tool.
The Europan ecosystem become self-sustaining.
A multinational project to terraform Venus using nano-machines and genetically engineered life-forms begins in earnest. Like the Mars terraforming project it is expected to take centuries to complete.
Several corporations introduce what becomes known as 'Bioware' onto the market. These are living genetically engineered devices, with many different functions, which are either implanted into the user or worn against the skin, and which then mind-link with the user allowing them to become almost extensions of the users body.
Although they are expensive at first, bioware devices become cheaper and cheaper as time goes by, replacing more conventional mechanical devices in many applications because of their simplicity and ease of use. One of the most common bioware modifications, for both sexes, is the ability to consciously control ones fertility. This ability is also widely added by genetic engineering.
The last war fought on Earth, between Sri Lanka and Madagascar over oceanic mining rights, ends.
The population of the Earth stabilises at last, at approximately 65 billion people; the off-Earth population is estimated at roughly a billion people by now, mainly in the Asteroid Belt, and in the Earth-Moon system.
The world is outraged when it is discovered that the Chilean Empire has developed a series of living sentient super-powered spaceships using, at least partly, genes from Chilean and other superhumans. Although outmoded by later technological developments a few survive into the 24th century.
A UMNA slower-than-light colony ship leaves the Solar System; it fate after the (half-expected) loss of contact is never discovered.
A superhuman 'gentleman pirate', the Black Buccaneer, terrorises the space lanes in a series of stolen space vehicles.
Work begins on one of humanities most ambitious projects yet - the construction of an entire ecosystem on Titan by genetic engineering. Although the work goes slowly, it is mainly successful, so that within a hundred years a thriving self-sufficient ecosystem covers about a tenth of Titans land and is spreading through the ethane oceans which cover 84% of Titans surface. Although similar to the terraforming projects on Mars and Venus this project differs from them in that it has no intention of converting Titan to suit humanity, but instead changing Earth life-forms to suit Titan.
Scientists finally, after decades of research, discover the physical mechanism behind psionic powers. To the disappointment of many, who saw psionics as holding out the hope of faster than light communications, it seems that psionic powers work at the speed of light and no faster.
Following this discovery it becomes possible to construct truly psionic AI's, and for existing AI's to have themselves given psionic powers. Many AI's, especially those in positions of great responsibility such as running settlements, use this option to improve their capabilities.
This discovery also leads to the development of life-detection sensors and the elucidation of many types of matter animation powers, leading to the creation of matter-manipulation technology. It also leads to the development of second-generation tractor beams which use telekinetic force rather than gravity to manipulate objects with a finer degree of control, and psionic weaponry, which generates artificial mental attacks, pyrokinesis, or cryokinesis.
The first psionic observatories go on-line. They are positioned outside the orbit of Pluto to minimise the amount of interference from human minds.
The Earth third orbital tower is constructed, in the SAU, to the south of Manaus.
The UMNA settlement on Uranus' moon Umbriel becomes independent with the aid of donations from the German industrialist Gunter Virek. It renames itself the Virek Umbriel Reserve University.