Under Heaven Timeline

Under Heaven Timeline

Under Heaven is a science fiction setting spanning a thousand years of human history from 2000 to 3000 AD. The timeline documents humanity's transformation from an Information Age civilization on the brink of collapse to an interstellar civilization with 70 billion humans across the solar system and 50 billion in interstellar space.

The name "Under Heaven" reflects the Chinese philosophical concept that all people and territory are under a unified heaven. Throughout this timeline, humanity struggles with this ideal—striving for equality, participative democracy, and sustainable progress while facing the challenges of climate change, technological disruption, and social inequality.

Overview

The Under Heaven Timeline traces humanity's journey through eight distinct Technology Levels (TL 8-14), from the Information Age struggles of the 2000s to full interstellar civilization by 3000 AD. The setting explores themes of:

Democratic Revival

The struggle to maintain participative democracy in an age of AI manipulation

Technological Empowerment

The Maker Movement and open-source technology democratizing production

Climate Recovery

Addressing climate change through geoengineering and sustainable practices

Space Colonization

Industrialization and settlement of the solar system

Economic Transformation

The shift from corporate capitalism to cooperatives and zero-trust economies

Interstellar Expansion

First contact with divergent humans and other sophont species

By 3000 AD, the solar system supports 61 billion humans (5 billion in Sol), while 40 billion Terrans live in interstellar colonies, and interstellar trade has connected humanity with other sophont civilizations.

2000 TL 8 Information Age

The Information Age (2000-2050) was an era of remarkable technological advancement coupled with severe social and political challenges. While humanity made incredible strides in computing, AI, and renewable energy, it also faced climate catastrophe, economic disruption, and democratic crises.

Technology and Development

Personal Computers and Internet

Ubiquitous computing and global connectivity reshape society

Commercial Space Ventures

Reusable rockets reduce the cost per ton to Low Earth Orbit by a magnitude

Artificial Intelligence

The AI Race leads to both corporate Sovereign AIs and decentralized "Rogue" AIs

Biotechnology

Genetically modified organisms for commercial sale, open-source medical equipment, and generic medicines

Nanomaterials

Mass-produced graphene and early nanomaterials

Electric Vehicles

Widespread adoption of electric transportation

Drones and Cellphones

Ubiquitous mobile technology and unmanned aerial systems

Social and Political Changes

Climate Crisis

From 2000-2030, rapid increase in greenhouse gas emissions caused a 1°C global temperature rise, leading to extreme weather, sea level rise, water scarcity, and widespread social unrest

Democratic Erosion

Voter suppression, state surveillance, and the removal of democratic processes, backed by tech corporations and Sovereign AIs

Mental Health Epidemic

Information warfare isolates individuals, creating epidemics of cynicism, depression, and apathy

Developing World Crisis

AI disrupts Business Process Offshoring industries, plunging millions back into poverty and creating political demagogues

Community Resistance

Guerrilla movements emerge to create open, sustainable, college campus-style communities

The AI Wars

Sovereign AIs

Powerful AIs controlled by corporations and states that can shift economies. Used for mass astroturf propaganda, dark patterns, and manipulation

Rogue AIs

Decentralized AIs created to combat Sovereign AIs, able to breed and reproduce. Used by dissidents for protection and zero-trust social support

Community AIs

Originally community support tools, they evolve into ERP systems and protection against Scam AIs

Scam AIs

Bots that use AI to pretend to be humans, embed malware, and conduct social engineering attacks

Life in the 2030s

Developed World

The majority of young and working populations experienced constant decline in quality of life. Workers faced repeated disruptions—"every time they became skilled, something disrupted their industry and replaced them."

Draconian measures of voter suppression, state surveillance, and corporate-backed propaganda created an environment where the next recession was always around the corner. However, the symbiotic relationship between humans and Rogue AIs led to a democratic revival, with AI eventually helping undo the isolation and mental health crisis.

Developing World

AI monopolies swept through developing countries, automating resource extraction and removing large portions of the population from economic progress. Politicians became corporate vassals controlled by market access and automation.

Pandemics persisted with new viral strains, disproportionately affecting struggling populations. It was only through the success of Rogue AIs that safe havens were created. Near the end of the era, corporate AI vassals were slowly being cut off as Rogue AIs challenged Sovereign AI supremacy.

Science and Technology

1st Generation Maker Movement

3D printers, open tools and machines, open-source microcontrollers, cheap single-board computers allow people to produce "smart devices"

2nd Generation Maker Movement

AI-aided manufacturing allows rapid prototyping across engineering disciplines with smaller teams

Reusable Rockets

Reduce cost per ton to orbit by an order of magnitude

Open Source Medical Equipment

Unpatented, public-domain life-essential medicines created through distributed biotech simulation

Commercial Space Flight and Labs

Satellite data and micro-gravity labs become profitable ventures

Competing Space Stations

Multiple nations and entities establish permanent orbital presence

Key Concepts

Distributed Manufacturing

The "Maker Era" where smaller, leaner companies rapidly prototype and deploy technology

Right to Repair Movement

Policies and systems supporting open-source medical equipment, therapies, and medicines

China's Rise and Demographic Collapse

Along with Japan, these countries develop advanced home automation and bipedal drone technology for healthcare and home care

2050 TL 9 Space Industrialization

By 2050, humanity began to emerge from the crises of the Information Age. Space industrialization created new economic and political orders, while social reforms and AI democratization led to the Maker Era—a time when people could build anything in an open market without fear.

Technology and Development

Early Space Elevators

Groundwork laid for space elevator construction, with graphene-laced materials making them possible

Permanent Space Stations

Ion thrusters and periodic re-orbiting infrastructure create truly permanent habitats

Early Artificial Gravity

Spin-gravity experiments with inflatable habitats

Cybernetic Prosthetics

Accessible and widespread

Lunar Colonization

Permanent settlements established on the Moon

Long-Term Mars Stations

Sustained presence on Mars begins

Asteroid and Lunar Mining

Gigatons of material processed (mostly from the Moon and captured asteroids)

Massive Inertia Tethers

For efficient lunar travel

Exo-Skeletons

Common personal equipment

Low-G Medicine

Medical advances for space habitation

Android and Bipedal Drones

Market-ready and becoming common appliances

Social and Political Changes

Democratic Revival

Transparency and accountability become paramount as people demand more from leaders

Wealth Redistribution

AI-aided tax collection and enforcement, with experiments in Universal Basic Income

Credit Systems

Precursor to universal credit systems, running alongside traditional currencies

Space Economic Revolution

Blockchain and NFTs enforce non-traditional power structures in space, creating decentralized zero-trust economies

Poverty Reduction

Multidimensional poverty reduced to below 10% of global population; HDI raised above 0.7 for 10% of world's population

Manufacturing Democracy

Giant corporations still exist but are tightly regulated; small businesses can manufacture entire centuries of appliances

Demographic Shifts by the 2080s

Japan

Recovered at 88 million (down from 128 million)

China

Stabilized at 1.2 billion (down from 1.44 billion)

Pacific Alliance

Grew to 1 billion (from 935 million in the 2020s)

India

Declined to 1.09 billion (from 1.38 billion)

African Union

Grew to 2.49 billion (from 1.13 billion)

Middle East

Grew to 465 million (from 275 million)

North America

Grew to 472 million (from 370 million)

European Union

Declined to 486 million (from 561 million)

Life in the 2050s

Developed World

Rogue AIs evolved into Companion or Family AIs, facilitating zero-trust transactions that allowed communities to reconnect. AIs designed to adopt family voices became considered part of the family, helping people rapidly develop skills and reinforce social intelligence.

The Maker Era fulfilled the dream of previous generations—people could build anything in an open market without fear of starvation or dehumanization. Most people had access to universal healthcare and social welfare, with every basic need addressed by an inspired generation that grew up fearing replacement.

Families had open-source home automation, a collection of devices allowing the pursuit of realization while caring for loved ones. Communities grew around large infrastructure, safety, and art projects. Social androids emerged near the end of the era, with community-built drones helping care for and protect their communities.

Developing World

As vassals of corporate AI were cut off, community AI and androids were developed by disregarded populations, leading to the emergence of new states and violence. Non-zero-sum systems clashed with zero-sum systems—petty warlords, aristocrats, and oligarchs had too much inertia to understand that uplifting others wasn't a threat.

Characters in the developing world faced continued slavery and exploitation, with petty kingdoms of economic stagnation and ignorance persisting. Many city-states and countries still had strong oligarchies and elites holding all power.

Environmental Recovery

Algae and aquaculture farms became one of the biggest changes to Earth's landscape. These massive farms—visible from space—profitably sequestered carbon while creating:

Starch-based concrete

For sustainable construction

Desalinization

Providing fresh water

Biodegradable plastics

Replacing petroleum-based materials

Food and animal feed

Sustainable nutrition sources

Space station applications

Radiation shielding and life support

These aquaculture areas, often in previously uninhabitable deserts, shifted food production and began geoengineering Earth to be cooler.

Science and Technology

Companion/Community AI

Distributed AI systems to empower people and protect democracies through enhanced zero-trust transactions

3rd Generation Maker Movement

Copy-left knowledge reaches critical mass—90% of home devices can be open source, enterprises can have 50% open-source technology

Companion AI Evolution

2nd generation made AI accessible to individuals (Companion AI). Through recombination and breeding, 3rd Generation Community AIs caught up to Sovereign AIs

Permanent Space Infrastructure

Mega-ton launches continue; cis-lunar space industrialization becomes a new frontier of control

Space Elevator Development

The largest space stations become bases for future space elevators

Ocean Construction

Groundwork begins for mega-projects of ocean construction

2100 TL 10 Interplanetary Settlement and Mega Structures

The 2100s saw the completion of massive mega-structures on Earth and the groundwork for space-based equivalents. Five space elevators were completed, marking humanity's transition to true interplanetary civilization.

Technology and Development

Completed Space Elevators

Five operational space elevators:

• Pacific Alliance Space Elevator
• America's Space Elevator
• China's Space Elevator
• Arab League's Space Elevator
• India's Space Elevator

Mega-Structures on Earth

• Ocean structures at the equator—massive aquaculture industries
• Millions of cooperative algae farms
• Bio-plastics generation (100 billion+ tons)
• Ocean launch facilities and bases
• Solar farms and sustainable infrastructure

Space Infrastructure

• Permanent space stations with spin gravity
• Lunar colonies fully established
• Mars stations transitioning to full infrastructure
• Cis-lunar industrialization

Social and Political Changes

Cooperative Economic Model

Mega corporations of the previous century collapsed, their patents open-sourced or nationalized. New economic powers are cooperatives—democratic organizations working with the state, facilitated by AI-enhanced rapid decision-making

Patent-Free Power

Cooperatives hold no patents; their power comes from pools of exceptionally trained, cooperative talent that rapidly delivers projects

Micro-States in Space

Nation states remain cautious and fractured, allowing new micro-states in space to thrive

Petty Kingdoms Stagnate

While kingdoms and cults stagnate on Earth, they advance breeding programs and android systems for luxury expansion through colonies, creating idealized images of their empires

Life in the 2100s

Those unsatisfied with Earth-based maker life could pursue space and its dangers. A large portion of the maker population—traumatized by the previous era—made up much of the permanent population of space stations and lunar colonies.

The highly skilled population focused on zero-trust transactions, but remained vulnerable to mistakes and ideals. A decentralized humanity—with more fractured nation states—allowed new micro-states in space to thrive.

Aggressive and unsafe colonization efforts were often piloted by petty kingdoms, including some Mars colonies, cis-lunar colonies, and initial Jupiter missions.

Science and Technology

Mega-Structure Engineering

Iterative approaches to massive construction projects, learning from failures

Ocean Construction

Vast equatorial ocean structures for aquaculture and industry

Space Elevator Networks

Multiple elevators serving different economic and political blocs

Autonomous Systems

Systems maintaining mega-structures with minimal human intervention

2200 TL 11 Interplanetary Industrialization, Mega Systems

The Mega Systems Age saw the ability to build infrastructure and mega-structures in space at scale. Near-fully autonomous end-to-end systems managed complex operations across the inner solar system and beyond.

Technology and Development

Mega Systems

Near-fully autonomous end-to-end systems with names drawn from world mythology:

• Ashvattha (Hindu world tree)
• Yggdrasil (Norse world tree)
• Kien Tree (Vietnamese world tree)
• Tane Mahuta (Maori god of forests)

Solar Swarms

Collections of light sail satellites orbiting Earth, Venus, and Mars to:

• Deflect and concentrate solar radiation
• Cool Venus (in symbiosis with its space elevator)
• Power and protect Earth

Advanced Habitat Technology

• Dense and hazardous world habitats
• Vacuum airships and habitats
• High-endurance vessels (operating for decades without support)

Prolific Space Elevators

Additional elevators under construction, including one for Mars

City Space Habitats

Large-scale permanent orbital cities

Massive Inertia Tethers

Built around the inner solar system and Jupiter

Commercial Interplanetary Ships

Accessible to private operators

Permanent Habitat Ships

Self-sustaining vessels for long-term habitation

Economic and Social Changes

This era marked the point where industries outside of Earth were growing faster than terrestrial ones. The solar economy began to rival and then surpass Earth's economy in scope and complexity.

Mega Systems took over maintenance of critical infrastructure, allowing humanity to manage increasingly complex operations across the solar system with minimal oversight. These systems represent the highest level of autonomous technology yet achieved.

Life in the 2200s

Humanity became truly interplanetary, with populations spread across:

• Earth and orbital habitats
• Lunar cities and industrial complexes
• Mars colonies and stations
• Asteroid belt mining operations
• Jupiter system outposts

The distinction between "developed" and "developing" worlds began to blur as space resources democratized access to materials and energy.

2300 TL 12 Post Earth Dependence

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The era when humanity's economy and civilization no longer depended primarily on Earth. This represents the transition to a true solar system-wide civilization.

2400 TL 13 Outer Systems, First Contact

The era of early interstellar travel led to one of humanity's most profound discoveries: Divergent Humans—human populations with over a hundred thousand years of genetic and cultural divergence from baseline humanity.

Technology and Development

Early Interstellar Travel

First voyages to other star systems

Divergent Human Contact

Discovery of human populations that diverged over 100,000 years ago

Outer Solar System Development

Full industrialization of the outer planets and their moons

Extended Range Vessels

Ships capable of interstellar voyages lasting years or decades

First Contact

The discovery of Divergent Humans fundamentally challenged human understanding of its place in the universe. These populations represented separate evolutionary and cultural paths, creating both opportunities for exchange and complex diplomatic challenges.

The implications of contact with genetically and culturally distinct human populations reshaped philosophy, law, and interstellar policy for centuries to come.

2500 TL 14

By 2500, Earth had become a participant in interstellar trade, encountering heavily altered human varieties and new Tribes and Clans among the stars.

Technology and Development

Interstellar Trade

Earth joins the network of interstellar commerce

Human Varieties

Extensive genetic and cybernetic modification creates diverse human subspecies

Tribes and Clans

New social structures emerge among space-dwelling populations

Uplifted Colonies

Discovery of uplifted colonies in distant star systems using Martian-derived technology

Non-Sol Human Discoveries

Non-sol humans (those who left the solar system) discovered uplifted colonies in farther star systems—populations enhanced using Martian technology. This discovery suggested that Mars had been a center of technological innovation and colonial expansion long before Earth achieved interstellar capability.

Interstellar Society

The emergence of Tribes and Clans represents the fragmentation and reorganization of human social structures across interstellar distances. These new social units provided identity and support in the vastness of space, replacing or supplementing traditional nation-state structures that couldn't function across light-years.

3000

By 3000 AD, humanity had become a truly interstellar civilization with 70 billion humans across the solar system and 40 billion in interstellar space. However, rapid expansion brought conflict with other sophont species.

Population Distribution

By 3000, humanity had reached over 110 billion people:

Location	Population	Growth Rate
Earth (Sol)	30 Billion	4%
Mars (Sol)	20 Billion	6%
Belt (Sol)	88 Million	6%
Jupiter (Sol)	8 Billion	3%
Saturn and beyond (Sol)	3 Billion	4%
Total Sol System	~61 Billion
Interstellar Solian Diaspora	40 Billion	8%
Terran Interstellar Colonies	10 Billion
Total Humanity	~111 Billion

Major Events

Sindarin Containment

Earth's rapid colonization and annexation of territories to prevent Sindarin encroachment

First Jump Gate

Mars builds the first functional jump gate, revolutionizing interstellar travel

Nogothrim War

Economic war with the Nogothrim—a territorial, industrially intensive sophont species—over valuable planets with exotic matter and naturally occurring composites

The Nogothrim Conflict

In Earth's rush to secure territory against Sindarin expansion, humanity encountered the Nogothrim—a sophont species characterized by:

Territorial Nature

Highly defensive of claimed space and resources

Industrial Intensity

Extensive manufacturing and resource extraction capabilities

Economic Competition

Conflict over planets rich in exotic matter and natural composites

This economic war represents the first major conflict between humanity and a non-human sophont civilization, marking humanity's entry into the complex political landscape of the galaxy.

Science and Technology

Jump Gate Technology

Mars pioneers faster-than-light travel infrastructure

Exotic Matter Processing

Access to rare materials enabling advanced technologies

Interstellar Infrastructure

Networks supporting 50 billion humans outside the solar system

Sophont Diplomacy

Development of protocols for interaction with alien species

See Also

• Under Heaven - Main setting page
• Under Heaven Technology - Detailed technology descriptions
• Under Heaven Factions - Political and social organizations
• Sovereign AI - Corporate and state-controlled artificial intelligence
• Rogue AI - Decentralized community artificial intelligence
• Mega Systems - Autonomous infrastructure management systems
• Divergent Humans - Genetically divergent human populations
• Nogothrim - Territorial sophont species