History of the Future

edit

"The Snows of Ganymede" was accompanied in the Winter 1955 issue of Startling Stories with a timeline of events in Poul Anderson's ongoing future history, later known as the Psychotechnic League timeline. There was also the following editorial note:

Back in the early 1940's Robert A. Heinlein let it be known that he was writing stories according to a consistent "future history." All his work fitted into a pattern of history as it might happen, and an outline of that history was published so that readers could see the stories in perspective.
Poul Anderson, who wrote the lead novel in this issue, also uses such a history, and we're happy to publish part of it here.
Anderson emphasizes two points about the history: "(A) This is only a bare outline of a much more complex thing; (B) the dates given are not to be taken too seriously, for that would take the scheme out of the range of science-fiction prediction and into the realm of fantasy and prophecy, which is not one I care to inhabit."
He hasn't tried to make all of his stories conform to the scheme and has no wish to do so, but on the opposite page you'll find the first 250 years of Anderson's history, which closes with the action in The Snows of Ganymede. Other stories already written but which cannot be shown on the abbreviated chart are The Troublemakers, 2205; Gypsy, 2815; Star Ship, 2875; The Star Ways, 3120; Entity, 3150; and Symmetry, 3175.
Date Story Events Technology Sociology
Startling Stories Timeline
1950 - 1980 (Marius)

Korean War

.

.

World War III: Defeat of Soviets

Civil wars in Europe; the Great Jehad

.

.

.

Expeditions to Mars and Venus

Conference of Rio

African nations gain autonomy

Hydrogen-lithium reaction

Cybernetics

Lunar bases

Needle gun

Robot files

Improved psychiatry

Interplanetary colonization

Human exogenesis

Airboat

Early psychotechnology

Petroleum synthesis

Rover bomb

Socialism in America

.

.

Postwar period of chaos

Period of recovery

UN greatly strengthened

Religious fanaticism

Privacy laws

.

.

USA constitutional amendments

1980 - 2010 Un-Man

The Sensitive Man

UN suppresses Brazil-Argentine War

Extensive reclamation on Earth

.

.

.

Anti-UN junta suppressed

Attempt at dictatorship stopped

Improved spaceships

Oceanic colonies

Automatic factories

General field theory

Shock & paralysis beams

Outdoor air-conditioning

Longevity

Ecological-unit spaceship

Growth of Psychotechnic Institute

.

.

.

.

Population control

2010 - 2040 (House in the Sky)

Abolition of national armies

University of Luna founded

Outer-planet expeditions

.

.

.

Second Conference of Rio

Venusian break with UN

Sun-power

Synthetic virus

Hyperbolic orbits

Psychomatics

Air transformation

Flying homes

Power-beaming

Superdielectrics

Food synthesis

The Second Industrial Revolution

.

.

.

.

Further steps toward full world government

2040 - 2070 The Big Rain

Currency reform

Suppression of Venusian nationalists

.

Ganymede colonized

.

Small atomic motors

Space warcraft

Interplanetary radio

Machine consciousness

Frictionless motors

Electric blaster

UN space navy

.

Planetary Engineering Corps

Basic language invented

2070 - 2100 (Wolf)

Growing discontent on Earth due to failure to solve problems of 2nd Industrial Revolution

.

.

.

Anti-robot riots

Military robots

Artificial regeneration

Automatic spacecraft

Asteroid colonies

Anthropoid robot

The "New Enlightenment"

.

Order of Planetary Engineers

.

The Encyclopedic Foundation

2100 - 2130 Quixote and the Windmill

Convention of Luna

.

Venus made habitable

The Humanist Manifesto

Space Ark to Centauri: 120-yr. voyage. A device to get rid of malcontents

Space liner service

Molar potential barrier

Traveling reclamation outfit

Synthetic nonprotoplasmic life

Minimal spaceships

Solar Union founded

.

Growth of clan system on Venus

.

Pancosmic religion begins

2130 - 2160 Holmgang

.

Revelations of gov't corruption

.

.

Mars made habitable

Interplanetary power beam designed

Neural regeneration

.

Nuclear damping fields

Period of worsening conditions on Earth,

leading to a great interplanetary emigra-

tion and development. Slow decline of

scientific progress, but much engineering

work

2160 - 2190 (Cold Victory)

Abortive humanist revolution

.

2190 - 2200 The Snows of Ganymede

Jovian dictatorship overthrown

.