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Developer's Report: 2nd Century, Atomic Era (100 - 199 AE)

"World War IV (First Interplanetary War) 106 - 109; minor wars for ten years thereafter.  Complete devastation of Northern Hemisphere of Terra.  Second Terran Federation organized by South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, Brazil, the Argentine, etc.  Wars of colonial pacification and consolidation; the new [Terran Federation] imposes System-wide pax. "
— H. Beam Piper, "The Future History"


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The Second Century of the Terro-human Future History's Atomic Era (100 - 199 AE) is a time both of calamity and renewal.  It begins with the Fourth World War, also known as the First Interplanetary War because it includes not only conflict between different power blocs on Terra but also the revolt of Terran colonies on Venus and Mars.  This war is the last of the Atomic Wars and when it is over civilization in the Northern Hemisphere of Terra has been destroyed.

From this incomparable disaster emerges the "second" Terran Federation, the first fully-global government organized by the major nations of the Southern Hemisphere and including the extaterrestrial former-colony worlds as independent members.  The reconfigured Terran Federation begins a campaign of pacification and reconstruction in the Northern Hemisphere while continuing the exploration and settlement of the Solar system.  Near the end of the century hyperdrive technology is developed and the first expedition is sent to Alpha Centauri, launching a long period of Terran interstellar expansion.

Piper wrote no stories set in the Second Century, AE.  "Omnilingual," which describes the first Terran Federation's expedition to Mars, takes place near the middle of the First Century, AE. "When in the Course —," which describes an early interstellar expedition of the second Terran Federation, takes place sometime in the early Third Century, AE.  Had he lived longer, perhaps Piper might have written a yarn like "The Satchel," which is set in the Second Century, AE.

Chronology | Fourth World War | Second Federation | Hyperdrive


Second Century, AE, Chronology
100‑199 Atomic Era (2043‑2142 CE)

AE (CE)

Future Historical Event

106 - 09
(2049 - 52)

Fourth World War — "World War IV [or] First Interplanetary War."[HBP]
The "Southern Hemisphere managed to stay out of the Third and Fourth World Wars. . . ."[UU]
There were "burrow-cities . . . built in the Northern Hemisphere of Terra during the Third and Fourth World Wars. . . ."[FDP]
"Misdeveloped [fetuses] from nuclear bomb radiations on Terra during and after the Third and Fourth World Wars, at the beginning of the First Federation."[FS]

Revolt of colonies on Mars and Venus — During the First Century, the "first" Federation had begun "to crack under colonial claims and counter-claims of member states" following explorations of "Mars, Venus, Asteroid Belt, and Moons of Jupiter."[HBP]
The "revolt of the colonies on Mars and Venus."[EK]
There were ". . . anti-technological movements . . . on Terra . . . after Venus seceded from the First Federation, before the Second Federation was organized."[SV]  (Mistakenly identified as 174 AE.[JFC])
Maybe ". . . the beginning of the First Fenris Civil War [would be] a holiday, like Bastille Day or the Fourth of July or Federation Day."[FDP]

c109 - 19
(c2052 - 62)

Civilization of Terra's balkanized Northern Hemisphere collapses — "Minor wars for ten years [following Fourth World War]; complete devastation of Northern Hemisphere of Terra."[HBP]
"Terra [had a] war-ruined Northern Hemisphere."[WC]
"[Terra's] whole Northern Hemisphere, where our greatest nations were, was devastated; much of it is wasteland to this day.[UU]
"There had been . . . the end of civilization in the Northern Hemisphere. . . ."[UU]

Migration from Northern Hemisphere to Southern Hemisphere, which began after the Third World War, continues — The "Melbourne Times, which used to be the London Times when there was still a London. . . .[FDP]
"I was born in Antarctica, on Terra."[FDP]
"The family name's French.  I'm also part Spanish, part Russian, part Italian, part English . . . the usual modern Argentine mixture. . . ."[UU]
The "old U.S. data . . . brought to South America after the debacle in the United States in A.E. 114."[UU]

109
(2052)

Origins of Second Federation — In the aftermath of the Fourth World War, victorious U.S. presidential candidate Anne Bolling chooses her opponent, Marshall Lansing, to be her running mate, in an effort to form a post-war "national unity" government.[Ap]

113
(2056)

Origins of Second Federation — Bolling is re-elected President, enters into wide-ranging negotiations intended to transform the U.S.-led Terran Federation into a new global government that would not be dominated by the United States.[Ap]

114
(2057)

Origins of Second Federation — President Bolling is killed when her airship is fired upon during an aerial tour of the ruins of the former U.S. capital of St. Louis; Vice President Lansing, who was opposed to Bolling's efforts to bring the United States into the "second" Terran Federation, is implicated in her death but succeeds her as President.[Ap]
An unspecified "debacle" in the United States — The "University of Montevideo Library [had] photostats of the old U.S. [original Nagasaki-bomb designs] that General Lanningham brought to South America after the debacle in the United States. . . ."[UU]
U.S. General Lanningham brings nuclear weapons data to Uruguay, capital of the newly-formed, Terran Federation "Member Republic of South America."[Ap]

117
(2060)

Origins of Second Federation — Lansing is re-elected President of the United States, abandons negotiations to join newly-formed "second" Terran Federation.[Ap]

c119
(c2062)

Global civilization arises in Southern Hemisphere — "Second Terran Federation organized by South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina, etc."[HBP]
"Completely unified world [of 2050 to 2070], abolition of all national states under a single world sovereignty."[EK]
"There had been . . . the rise of the new civilization in South America and South Africa and Australia. . . ."[UU]
Terrans "made one nation out of all our people. . . ."[UU]
The "English-Spanish-Afrikaans-Portuguese mixture that was . . . Lingua Terra."[UU]
"Lingua Terra [was an] indiscriminate mixture of English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Afrikaans, mostly English."[FS]

c119 - 27
(c2062 - 70)

System-wide Pax — "Wars of colonial pacification and consolidation; the new Terran Federation imposes System-wide pax."[HBP]
Accepting the parole of captured combatants was "a common and an honorable practice . . . chiefly used in pacifying the Northern Hemisphere barbarians on Terra."[WC]
"Britain was . . . the last nation to join the Terran Federation. . . ."[KP]

Venus admitted to "second" Terran Federation — The "Federation Member Republic of Venus. . . ."[FDP]
The "President of the Federation Member Republic of Venus. . . ."[NS]
The "Federation Member Republic of Venus."[WC]

127
(2070)

The Third Space Age — Rodriguez expedition, aboard the Federation System Ship William Herschel, first mission to Uranus and its moons.[Ap]

133
(2076)

The Third Space Age — Pereira expedition, aboard the Federation System Ship Urbain Le Verrier, first mission to Neptune, lands expedition on its moon Triton.[Ap]

138
(2081)

The Third Space Age — Federation establishes "burrow-city" Class II (inhabitable only in artificial environment) colony in "Twilight Zone" region of Mercury.[Ap]
The "burrow-cities . . . like the cities on Luna and Mercury Twilight Zone. . . ."[FDP]
"Class II, inhabitable only in artificial environment, like Mercury. . . ."[FDP]

139
(2082)

The Third Space Age — Federation establishes "burrow-city" Class II colonies on Jupiter's moons Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa.[Ap]

144[JFC]
(2087)

The Third Space Age — GarcĂ­a expedition, aboard the Federation System Ship Tycho Brahe, first mission to Sol's cometary cloud.[Ap]

146
(2089)

The Third Space Age — Federation establishes "burrow-city" Class II colony on Saturn's moon Titan.[Ap]
The "burrow-cities . . . like the cities on Luna . . . and Titan."[FDP]
"Class II, inhabitable only in artificial environment, like . . . Titan."[FDP]

c155
(c2098)

The Third Space Age — Federation expansion and settlement throughout Sol System brings energy and raw materials for population increases on Terra.[Ap]
". . . population pressure like Terra in the First Century. . . ."[SV]

c162
(c2105)

"The Satchel" — Terran Federation Reclamation Service rangers recover evidence of survivors of U.S. President Bolling's airship crash at St. Louis in 114 AE.[Sa]

c165
(c2108)

System-wide Pax — Federation membership ("Member Republic" status) extended to additional settlements in the Sol System (Mercury, Asteroid Belt, Callisto, perhaps other Jovian moons, Titan, Uranian moons, Triton).[Sa]

172
(2115)

The Third Space Age — "Keene-Gonzales-Dillingham Theory of Non-Einsteinian Relativity"[HBP]
"Keene-Gonzales-Dillingham Theory of Non-Einsteinian Relativity. . . ."[WC]
"Keene-Gonzales-Dillingham Theory. . . ."[UU]

183
(2126)

The Third Space Age — "Dillingham Hyperdrive developed"[HBP]

192
(2135)

The Interstellar Era — "First expedition to Alpha Centauri."[HBP, JFC]
Terrans "built the ships that took us out to the stars."[UU]
The first hyperdrive speeds were approximately ten times the speed of light.  Thus, a voyage to Alpha Centauri, approximately 4.3 light-years from the Sol System, would take a bit over five months.[Ap]

195
(2138)

The Interstellar Era — Colonization of Sif (Demeter) in Alpha Centauri system.[Ap]

199
(2142)

Encounters with Other Sapients — The "grotesque but upright and biped" sapient humanoid Khooghras discovered on Yggdrasil.[WC]
(Date is determined from the date of colonization of Alpha Centauri four years earlier, by drawing an analogy between the four years between the Portuguese conquest of Ceuta in 1415 AD and the subsequent exploration of the Madeira archipelago in 1419 AD.[Ap])


Second Century, AE, sources:

UU: Uller Uprising, The Petrified Planet, Twayne, 1952.
OL: "Omnilingual," Astounding, February 1957.
EK: "The Edge of the Knife," Amazing Stories, May 1957.
KP: "The Keeper," Venture, July 1957.
GD: "Graveyard of Dreams," Galaxy, February 1958.
MD: "Ministry of Disturbance," Astounding, December 1958.
OS: "Oomphel in the Sky," Analog, November 1960.
FDP: Four-Day Planet, Putnam, 1961.
NS: "Naudsonce," Analog, January 1962.
SS: "A Slave is a Slave," Analog, April 1962.
SV: Space Viking, Analog, November and December 1962, January and February 1963.
LF: Little Fuzzy, Avon, 1962.
JP: Junkyard Planet, Putnam, 1963.
FS: Fuzzy Sapiens (as The Other Human Race), Avon, 1964.
WC: "When in the Course —," Federation, Ace, 1981.
FOP: Fuzzies and Other People, Ace 1984.

HBP: "The Future History," H. Beam Piper, in Zenith #4, May 1964.
JFC: "Terro-human Future History Chronology," John F. Carr, in Empire, Ace 1981 (with a correction: "The First Interestellar expedition," PIPER-L Mailing List, January 12, 2001).

Ap:   Apocrypha — non-canonical material.  See "Newton's Rule."
SK:   "The Spine of the Knife," The Rise of the Terran Federation, Pequod, 2017.
Sa:   "The Satchel," The Rise of the Terran Federation, Pequod, 2017.


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