Back to Part 2 of the Timeline.
The 'Binary Millenium' meets with some minor celebrations around the world.
Several forms of artificial intelligence technology become small and cheap enough that AI's can be, and are, installed in almost any piece of equipment, and also in a first generation of truly sentient robots. The advances which lead to this are partly derived from techniques learnt while fighting off the 'living' programs in 2036. These advances also lead to a few AI's 'downloading' themselves into human bodies (cloned or otherwise 'empty').
As time goes by it is noticed that AI's respond to psionic powers in much the same ways that humans (and other living minds) do. This leads to great speculation on the possibilities for psionic AI's.
An AI is developed which can communicate with both cetaceans and humans, at last allowing mutually comprehensible translation and communication between the two groups. It has a unique mental structure incorporating a human-type sub-mind and a cetacean-type sub-mind in parallel, which, having been exposed to the same things from their inception, and being kept in step by an 'over-mind' of which they are both part, allow mutual understanding and translation of meaning (if not of actually language) between them.
The continuing poor social conditions around the world lead to a revival of socialism and, especially, communism. From the latter comes 'neo-communism', combining scientific psychology and sociology with communism to give a system which really provides for peoples needs. Neo-communism soon outstrips the 'pure' form in popularity, as well as other older movements, such as Directionism.
The C-Jammer leaves the Tau Ceti star system.
Advances in computing technology lead to the first holographic cloaking device which can operate continuously without requiring lengthy re-calibration between uses.
People from many of the worlds poorer nations and racial or cultural minorities begin to move into space under the aegis of the UN, which provides launch and colonisation facilities at nominal cost. This is operated as part of the UN's stated policy of preserving and expanding the cultural diversity of mankind. With the spreading of mankind across the Solar System many other living things from Earth also move into space, not only to provide food to colonists but also for purely aesthetic reasons.
Protests and lobbying by civil rights activists around the world leads many governments and the UN to recognise AI's as having the same rights as humans. After this decision and the consequent freeing of most AI's the number of new AI's constructed drops rapidly as companies revert to non-sentient systems.
Many newly freed AI's have their personalities placed into robotic bodies of various forms. Some then continue to live among humans as equals while others band together and set off to build their own societies free from human interference, in space and elsewhere.
A fourth generation of nanos which work at room temperature are developed. They still require a high vacuum environment to function, however.
After years of what they see as neglect of space since Minerva Montpelier came to power, Starholmes 1 and 2, led by Lady Blue, declare their independence from Minerva and claim all Minervan facilities in space (including orbiting factories and lunar and asteroid mines) as their own. This also includes the Starholme's nodes of the Gaea AI. Although the Minervan government protests there is little they can do as most of their space forces are loyal to Lady Blue. The two Starholmes and most of the orbiting factories move themselves out to the Earths L5 position and amalgamate as simply StarHolme.
Neoteris and the WAC shift many of their treaties with Minerva to the new government of StarHolme.
As time goes by StarHolme steadily expands so that by the 23rd century, its population is over forty million people housed in a huge complex more than fifty kilometres wide.
The Titan research base officially expands into a full multinational colony, named Estancia.
A racist group in the USA releases 'the cull' a genetically engineered plague designed to attack non-whites. Tens of thousands die before the plague is contained and the perpetrators tracked down by a group of superhumans (both non-white and white). Many cities, including Washington DC and New York, burn as violent backlashes occur. Only the most extreme measures by the government stop a civil war, but don't defuse the tensions created.
The first colony in the Jovian system, Xochimilco, a joint Mexican-SAU effort, is planted under the European ice sheet, separately from the base established in 2031.
The Chilean Empire claims the inner moons of Jupiter, Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, Thebe and Io, as its own.
The Earth's population reaches about fifty billion people, although in many of the poorer areas of the world the death rate from violence, starvation and disease nearly equals the birth rate. Only advanced cheap medical treatments, cheap fusion power, and genetically engineered food plants (introduced from the mid-2020's) keep so many alive, though often in hugely overcrowded and unpleasant conditions.
A wave of general strikes and civil disobedience across Minerva forces Minerva Montpelier to declare free elections. After a closely fought series of campaigns Gerard Taubes, a descendant of Minerva's first astronaut, comes to power early in 2059.
A peaceful revolution, led by a woman, Mu Peihei, begins in the Chinese city of Guilin, preaching the rebuilding of society into a communistic meritocratic system. The revolution rapidly spreads across China, re-unifying the shattered and exhausted nation in less than a year.
The new Chinese regime begins a restructuring of society, and initiates a Minervan-style therapying of all its citizens - it is considered that the revolution cannot survive without a sane population.
The first entirely space-based conflict occurs between Pakistani and Bangladeshi factions in the asteroid belt.
After years of misgovernment, a neo-communist revolution occurs in the UK. After several months of fighting and a near civil war, the neo-communists take control of the nation.
A specially designed American probe, built to investigate the outer layers of the Sun, discovers an asteroid-sized construct orbiting very close to the suns surface, a region where all elements would be liquid, and most would be vapour. As the discovery of what becomes known as the 'Crystal Palace' is announced speculation floods the world as to the origin of this artefact.
A joint WAC-Starholme slower than light interstellar colony ship leaves the asteroid belt. Contact with it is lost after ten years, and its fate is never discovered.
Several specially built probes investigate the Crystal Palace. Within hours they are met by Solar Angel who politely asks them to leave her home and never return to within a hundred thousand kilometres of it. After some hasty consultation they do so, but from then on the Crystal Palace is continually observed by long-range monitoring satellites.
Floating islands and arcologies (usually anchored to the seabed, or sea-mounts) begin to be constructed using several types of genetically engineered organisms. Over time some evolve into fully mobile floating city-states.
The third cloning of Lady Blue is performed.
In total, a dozen large starprobes are launched by various nations. In nearly all cases contact is lost with them after they enter their fourth or fifth star system with no explanation ever being discovered. Because of this, despite intense speculation in some quarters, no starprobes are launched after the 2150's.
Technology developed for recording, editing and replaying a persons sensory inputs is marketed. This causes a revelation in entertainment technology, and becomes known as stim technology. Stims also find use in medical diagnosis, allowing a doctor to feel all the patient does, and in the creation of an entirely new era of interrogation and virtual reality systems.
In the Chilean Empire, at first the elite, and eventually the entire population, have stim technology devices implanted in combination with punishment implants. They allow the security forces to read the senses (and, eventually, thoughts) of anyone, at any time, without their knowledge, and administer punishment is they don't like what they find. These implants are designed so the person with them is always aware of its presence, but not, of course, whether it is in use at present.
Stim technology also leads to the development of entirely new multi-sensory art forms fed directly into the viewers mind.
A short nuclear war (the Jovian War) is fought in the Jovian system between SAU and Chilean forces over claims to various moons, before it is stopped by Solar Angel. The war nearly forces the abandonment of the Xochimilco colony on Europa.
As the world with the most Earth-like conditions outside Earth itself, Europa begins to be terraformed by a SAU-Mexican-USA-Japanese group using many types of genetically engineered organisms, including many derived from those found around deep-sea geothermal vents. This, and all following ecosystem creation projects very closely monitored by on-site personnel.
The US tri-centennial celebrations are, at beat, a lack-lustre affair, marred by terrorism and incredibly heavy security.
Several laboratories genetically engineer living, self-repairing life support systems for space vehicles which run off electricity or sunlight. At first they are quite expensive and of limited life-span, leading to their use only on specialised long-duration missions, but as time goes by they become cheaper and effectively immortal, leading to their use in nearly all aspects of space colonisation by unmodified humans.
Using the same technology, genetically engineered 'plants' which can grow in a vacuum are produced, capable of extracting and concentrating useful materials (water and oxygen being the most common, although metal extracting types are also produced) from rock. These slowly spread to sites across the Solar System. Within a decade of these plants being made available scientists also develop plants and flowers which can be grown in vacuum for purely aesthetic reasons. These too spread throughout human settlements.
A second American revolution occurs, led by a coalition of militia, terrorists, liberals, radicals, journalists and free thinkers, including many AI's (this is the first political movement to include significant numbers of AI's, which mostly oppose the US governments corruption) and superhumans (including Thomas Cannon, Parallax), all united behind the vision of Elizabeth Jansen, based on the new Chinese meritocratic system and opposed to the travesty of its ideals which the USA has become. Tapping a rich vein of popular support, the revolution sweeps the USA, eventually toppling the corrupt administration. In some places succeeding peacefully, in others only after violence and many deaths. Over the course of the revolution more than ten million people dies. In the place of the old USA is created the Utilitarian Meritocracy of North America (UMNA). However, fighting and terrorism persists for decades in some areas.
Cuba, Alaska, Hawaii and Texas on Earth, and a few US off-Earth colonies such as Heartland, Rebirth and Rockettown secede in the revolution and remain as the last of the 'real' USA.
The UMNA begin to use social engineering to reunite the shattered former USA and make it a sane and integrated society.
Rockettown becomes the heart of the new, independent Martian Republic.
Inspired by Starholmes example as the first independent nation in space, over the next 140 years the space facilities of many nations declare independence from their mother countries. In some cases this is done peacefully with only diplomatic protests, while in others military force is brought to bear in sometimes successful attempts to restore control. After several occasions when atrocities result from the retaking of a settlement it becomes UN policy to send in UN-backed military forces to judge if the facility is truly ready for independence and grant it if so, on condition that they remain members of the UN. Despite protests from many nations whose facilities secede this procedure remains in place.
As time passes several martial arts styles designed for use in space evolve; the most widespread is Cair Briga ('fall fighting'), a martial art with SAU and Indonesian roots. This develops a number of sub-styles, including some designed specifically for use by superhumans.
The C-Jammer enters the Vega star system. After several days contact is suddenly lost with the probe. Despite the probes self-repair systems contact is never re-established.
In this decade the first asteroids specifically to provide matter for settlements in Earth-Moon space are moved into Earth orbit.