[After The End] Rebuilding Civilization

[Prince Charon]

The rebuilding of civilization following the Apocalypse/Long Night/Post-Atomic Horror/et cetra is a theme in a number of ATE-type settings, and some SF settings are themselves what you might call 'post-ATE.' Both Star Trek and the late-1970s Buck Rogers in the 25th Century TV series have Earths that have completely rebuilt or are in the process of rebuilding after World War III (and the original Buck Rogers stories were also post-apocalyptic, though civilization, at least in North America, probably hadn't rebuild nearly as far as it had in the TV show). How to go about this is an interesting and important question. Part of the reason I'm starting this thread is because my Psi Trek thread is about a post-ATE setting, and it occurred to me that the process of rebuilding might be of interest to people, whether they care about that setting or not (so if it isn't clear, while I'm using Psi Trek as an example, this thread is not limited to that).

To very briefly summarize Psi Trek, it's an attempt to create a Star Trek-like setting using GURPS, with some focus on the Psionics books (Psionic Powers, Psi-Tech, Psionic Campaigns, and Psis). The transtator in the Psi Trek setting, as in some of my other psi-related ideas, is the most basic component of psychotronics, a device that converts electrical energy into psychic energy, and vice-versa.


Vague Psi Trek Genetics Wars/After the End/Rebuilding Civilization timeline

2020s: Earth's population approaches 7.8 billion in 2020, and no humans live long-term or permanently in space, though a few visit Earth orbit, sometimes for many months. Several countries relax restrictions on human genetic research. Human Enhancement Project begins. Colonization of the Moon and of Earth orbit begins. Human exploration of Mars begins. Transtator is invented.

2030s: Earth's population approaches 8.5 billion in 2030, and 47 humans live long-term or permanently in space, all of them on Luna or in Earth orbit; hundreds of others visit, sometimes for months or years. Pushed by political and corporate interests, Human Enhancement Project scientists begin making designer babies available to those who can afford them, despite concerns about the mental health of the enhanced children. Transtator-based inertia manipulation is invented. Colonization of Mars, Martian orbitals, Phobos, Deimos, and Near-Earth Asteroids begins.

2040s: Earth's population exceeds 8.9 billion in 2040, and 61,024 humans live in space, most of them on Luna or in Earth orbit, though a significant fraction live on Mars. Colonization of the Main Belt asteroids and the moons of Jupiter and Saturn begins. Martian Colonial Police founded to deal with inter-colonial crimes and mobile criminals, as well as performing search-and-rescue work; Creeping Featurism sets in, as the MCP provides all emergency services outside of colonies that have their own (and some that do, if the emergency is bad enough). First meeting of what will become the Martian Assembly takes place over the Martian internet. University of Mars founded at Olympus Mons.

2050s: Earth's population exceeds 9.5 billion in 2050, and less than one million humans live in space, most of them on Luna or in Earth orbit, though nearly a third live on Mars. Genetics Wars begin, as many 'young supermen,' the children designed by the Human Enhancement Project, seize power in various countries. They rapidly begin to quarrel among themselves, and to provoke their neighbors. Nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons will all be used by the time the wars end. Lunar and Earth-orbital colonies are unable to avoid being pulled into the wars, along with some, but not all, of the Near-Earth Asteroids. More distant colonies watch in horror, and either take in what refugees can reach them, or force them to move on, sometimes at gunpoint; some refugee ships are simply destroyed, and not always by accident. Lunar Colonial Militia formed. First physical meeting of the Martian Assembly occurs at Olympus Mons. Several more universities and colleges are founded on Mars, including one at Utopia Planitia.

2060s: Earth's population estimated to be 5.2 billion in 2060. Nearly two million humans live in space, most of them on Mars. Offworld colonies are effectively cut off from the homeworld, forced to survive on their own; Earth-appointed governors lose power to colonial assemblies and such, and in several cases are assassinated or executed. Genetics Wars end. A few of the 'young supermen' hide among humanity. Others do not, and in most cases are killed. The Post-Atomic Horror begins on Earth. Martian Space Patrol begins delivering aid to the surviving Lunar Colonies and Earth-orbital space stations. Ceres Summit opens on April 5, 2063. Solar Cooperative Agreement signed later the same year. Solar Cooperative begins Project Triage: a survey of the various regions of Earth, to determine which need help that they can give (and what help, and how much), which do not seriously need help, and which are beyond any help the colonies can give in the foreseeable future. Volunteers joining the project are carefully monitored for psychological stress, where possible. In 2066, the warlord controlling the region around Los Angeles, California, is the first to put a written 'kill all the lawyers' edict into effect... but far from the last. The Capital Station of the Solar Cooperative becomes operational on April 5, 2068.

2070s: Earth's population estimated to be less than 3 billion in 2070. About 2.1 million live in space, mostly on Mars. Lunar colonies are recovered to the point of being able to join and contribute to the Solar Cooperative. Earth's colonies (still generally called that, despite being free and independent states, and planning to remain that way) have improved manufacturing and resource extraction to the point that they can offer significant aid to the peoples of Earth. Project Manna begins: single-use landing-craft, almost always unmanned, are loaded with supplies and sent to various locations selected by Project Triage. Spacetime warping experiments begin at Utopia Planitia University.

2080s: Earth's population estimated to be less than 2.47 billion in 2080. Roughly 2.5 million live in space, mostly on Mars. Lunar Provisional Government ceases to exist, replaced by Lunar Commonwealth. New Zealand is the first Earth territory to join the Solar Cooperative. Test-capsule Phoenix achieves a pseudovelocity of just over light-speed on September 8, 2086.

2090s: Earth's population estimated to be less than 2.4 billion in 2090. Around 3 million live in space, mostly on Mars and Luna. 79 Earth territories have joined the Solar Cooperative. Mass production of spacetime warp drives connects the Solar System like never before. In 2096, Earth's population rises for the first time since the Genetics Wars, from 2.37 billion to 2.38 billion. The Post-Atomic Horror ends, not with a bang, but a whimper. (The rebuilding on Earth is far from complete, but the downward spiral is halted, and the light at the end of the tunnel is no-longer the lamp of an oncoming train.)

2100s: Earth's population estimated to be more than 2.5 billion in 2100. Around 3.7 million live in space, mostly on Mars and Luna. The last 'kill all the lawyers' law is repealed in 2104, in the city-state of Singapore. Spacetime warping allows explorers to visit the Alpha Centauri trinary star system, and other nearby stars. First landings on Proxima Centauri b occur, though the planet will not be colonized for some time.

2110s: Earth's population estimated to be more than 2.9 billion in 2110. Around 4.2 million live in space, mostly on Mars and Luna. A peaceful First Contact with Vulcan explorers occurs in orbit of Alpha Centauri A. After a volunteer agrees to telepathic contact, communication speeds up significantly. The Solar Cooperative establishes trade and mutual non-hostility treaties with the Interplanetary Confederacy of Vulcan by the end of the decade.


As you can see, the post-Genetic Wars population crash was bad, and took a fair bit of time to stop getting worse. This particular ATE setting was lucky, in that they had a somewhat intact extraterrestial branch of their civilization helping them, but even without the colonies, they likely would have rebuilt eventually. During the period of the Post-Atomic Horror, you would have had a lot of places looking like Bozeman in ST: First Contact, a lot of others being like Mad Max or the setting implied by the trial scene in the ST TNG pilot 'Encounter at Farpoint,' many regions that were basically uninhabitable, and a few others that looked almost normal.

Thoughts?