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Story Notes:

See for yourself and look at the tags. 

Author's Chapter Notes:

This is just background....  More to come in later chapters.  

  

 

By the early 23rd century, humanity had endured a series of both setbacks tempered with some accomplishments.  Scientific and technological achievement was considerable, but perhaps not at quite the breakneck pace that people had grown accustomed to in the 20th and early 21st century. 

 

By 2200 C.E., manned missions had reached out to Mars and even Jupiter’s moon Europa, much of that exploration occurred in the late 22nd century.  A small research station had been established on the Moon, but other than that - little permanent human settlement existed beyond the Earth.  Perhaps the greatest achievements had been in biotechnology and nanotechnology.  Genetic engineering had revolutionized everything from healthcare to food production.  Genetic disease had been virtually eliminated, and many parents not only pre-screened their embryos but had them genetically altered to maximize their mental and physical fitness.

 

Medicine had also made great advances.  Genetic and hormone therapies had been developed that were capable of dramatically softening the effects of aging.  A healthy individual provided such therapies from an early age might be able to live as many as two hundred years or even longer than that assuming no accident or other event.  Indeed, the long term effects and limits of these therapies were not known yet because the technology was only about a half century old. 

 

Despite all the advancements of the prior centuries, there had also been enormous setbacks and disasters.  Natural and manmade destruction had taken a toll globally.  Such hardships had included earthquakes, tsunamis, and worst of all -- a third world war in the late 21st century that involved nuclear weapons being used on many of the largest cities including Beijing, Shanghai, and New York.  All told, over a billion people, nearly ten percent of the global population of twelve billion, had perished.  Many more faced a difficult aftermath for decades after the peace treaty.  Radioactive wastelands clouded once spectacular cities; there was economic collapse, food shortages, and contaminated water.  Worse, all of these hardships led to great strain on civil society to the point that law and order was nearly broken. 

 

Global temperatures had risen a few degrees and there had been some sea level rise, but not enough to submerge more than the lowest elevation landmasses.  The Maldives was flooded out as were a number of other low lying areas.  People had to relocate from these regions and find higher ground.  Coastal cities often had to either surrender some land to the slowly encroaching water or build countermeasures to prevent continued intrusion as most of the large cities had done.

 

Humanity did recover however; crisis gave way to opportunities and even a renaissance of sorts in the 22nd Century.  Great advancements were made in virtually all the sciences.  Old political rivalries continued but were channeled in more peaceful ways.

 

The specter of the deadliest war in history still lingered in 2216, although much of the 22nd century was relatively peaceful when compared to the 21st century or even the 20th century, the memory of the nuclear holocaust of 2093 was beginning to fade.  Old resentments between the Chinese-Russian bloc and the Democratic Allies were returning.  Many began to fear that the peace they had grown accustomed to might give way to open warfare in their lifetime.  India, The United States and Europe were quietly rearming as Russia and China boosted their own arsenals.  Both sides were in quiet defiance of treaties that had ended World War III.

  

 

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