Let's put the next 117 years into proper perspective....

[whistle]

...before we go throwing away Social Security:

<snip>

World Timeline (2005 - 2122)
A lot has happened in the past 125 years.

Take some time to read this "future history" to gain a better
understanding of the world which you are about to become immersed in.


2005
Russia, displeased with management of the international space station, secretly arms it's cosmonauts and takes control of the space station. It blocks all access from the United States. In retaliation, the United States cuts off foreign aid to Russia.

Seeing weakness in the Russian government and military (and lacking U.S. support), the Chinese Government invades the southern border of Russia, cutting into hundreds of miles of Russian territory. Rumors of the United States giving China intelligence on Russia before the invasion leads to angered Russian politicians.

2007
Cigarettes are officially banned in the United States. Manufacturing, selling, distributing, and using are now federal offenses. The economy of several southern states begins to fail and creates great social unrest. Smugglers begin shipping cigarettes from plants in South America where some Tobacco companies who foresaw the ban had moved. Rumors circulate that without regulation, the tobacco companies have put addictive chemicals, even more addictive then nicotine, into cigarettes.

After a small scale war, the Russians (nearly bankrupt) agree to sell the land to the Chinese to end the war. In retaliation for no US support and the rumors of an American/Chinese conspiracy, the Russians destroy the International Space Station.

2008
New York, Trenton, Philadelphia, Camden, and Wilmington form the North East City Plex. Population growth and suburban sprawl have grown the cities together. They form a council which is represented by the mayors of each city.

North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia plan to secede from the United States due to the tobacco legislation. The attempt fails and officials are arrested and tried for treason. After many are hanged publicly, southern terrorist movements attack targets in other areas of the country.

An unknown terrorist group destroys 4 major bridges in the North East City Plex.

<more>
<link> http://www.factionearth.com/timeline.shtml

[coloradodem2005]

1. This doesn't look good.

[Stop_the_War]

2. this is some freaky shit

LOL

[mattclearing]

3. Isn't there a science fiction forum for this sort of thing? n/t

[Stop_the_War]

4. here's a funny one

2109-2112
Florida undergoes a catastrophic transformation. The limestone earth beneath the state faltered and the state saw massive sink holes begin to form. Over the course of 3 years, most of the state sank into the decayed limestone caves and underground rivers that lay beneath. What has remained are thousands of islands, some as small as an acre, some as large as Puerto Rico. The area is still a tourist attraction, but now appears more like your average Caribbean island than part of the United States. The area is also home to drug smugglers and pirates who now have a maze of waterways and islands to move through and hide in on their way to the American mainland.

[Stop_the_War]

5. and another one:

2110
The population on Mars increases to over 100,000. Fossils of primates and ancient forests are found.

[mattclearing]

6. Who the fuck is Manfred Andros?

2042
English archeologist Manfred Andros discovers a series of hidden manuscripts in what appear to be a library under the Giza plateau. He states that the contents are shocking and will change civilization as we know it. One day later he and the manuscripts disappear. Rumors swirl about the situation and the missing manuscripts. It is said Andros was kidnapped by a corporation or killed by a government. Ancient Egyptian religious sects begin forming.

[Stop_the_War]

7. probably some made-up name...

[mattclearing]

9. Someone needs to cough up the DeLorean already. n/t

[Stop_the_War]

10. see my post below for something really funny

[Stop_the_War]

8. I didn't know there would be something about Jacksonville in all this shit

2074
The Georgian City Plex is created due to the secession of Jacksonville and Tallahassee from Florida. Total population is approximately 145 million. Orlando, Tampa, and Miami remain with the State of Florida.

[mattclearing]

11. It sounds like a really lame movie theatre in the former Soviet republic.

[mattclearing]

12. I think I saw a movie about this one...

2076
An African theme park that created and bred odd creatures via DNA and genetic cross-cloning and mutation collapsed financially and technologically. All of its creatures escaped into the wild. The unstoppable and out of control breeding of the creatures forced inhabitants of almost every country in central Africa to wither into the Egyptian Empire or Southern Africa. The area is extremely dangerous and has massive herds of over 80 new animals, insects, and reptiles. While hunters frequent the area for sport, it is a protected and guarded area. People are warned not to enter the area, but literally thousands die there each year.

[Stop_the_War]

13. Jurassic Park...lol except it was in Costa Rica...