Possible Pasts

The Fractopian genre is agnostic about specific details of the future timeline. This is not to say that individual works of Fractopian Fiction might not postulate such timelines, only that the genre as a whole does not marry itself to any particular one of them. Looking forward, whoever, and keeping in mind the end-point (which is a qualified modification of existing corporate practices and neoliberal regimes), one sees a few broad paths that might lead us there.

Depending on the tone and style of your Fractopian setting, your timeline will probably fall into one of these broad categories:

The Elimination of Scarcity
TECH: Controlled Advance

WEALTH: Distributed

POWER: Democratic The first “Smart Cities” came online early in the 21st century and quickly became great successes, attracting ever-growing populations and managing their resources far more efficiently than traditional cities. Within the next few decades their unparalleled performance gains had urban planners all over the world upgrading their infrastructures and building “Smart Zones” within and around developed areas, building systems to regulate distribution according to the needs of society. More and more the task of governance was handed over to AIs and expert systems which did a much better job of managing resources than humans, and soon those computers had devised a complete network for the global distribution of all goods, materials and resources. Today the world is criss-crossed by thousands of automated delivery systems, all laborious jobs are automated, and wealth is more evenly distributed than it ever has been before. Still, not all people are equally connected as many live outside the developed zones, and in the collapsed remains of 20th-century cities.

Climate Resilience & Global Adaptation
TECH: Controlled Advance

WEALTH: Hierarchical

POWER: Hierarchical After a series of frightening climate incidents, the world united in an all-out effort to fortify human settlements against the harsh conditions brought on by increasing climate chaos. The military-industrial complex was converted to manufacture weather prediction and defense systems. Sea walls, massive channels and city-wide dome enclosures were built; massive migrations were undergone; millions died. New technologies were applied to the creation of environmental resilience systems governed by ubiquitous computer networks and meteorological sensors. Today life is hard, the weather is capricious, and 90% of the human population lives in smart urban centers covered by great domes of clear macroplast.

Runaway Economy & Near Collapse
TECH: Steady Advance

WEALTH: Hierarchical

POWER: Global/Corporatist The rapid growth of world trade accelerated as advancements in computer technology and automated resource extraction drove humanity through the 21st century, punctuated by financial near-meltdowns, border skirmishes, proxy wars and assassinations. None of these events, however, was enough to completely collapse the global financial system. Today, with tensions higher than ever, massive transport systems deliver goods and materials worldwide and competition for remaining resources puts entire ecosystems at greater risk than ever before.

Stumble & Save
TECH: Faltering Advance

WEALTH: Hierarchical

POWER: Feudalistic In the 21st century a series of devastating conflicts, biological disasters and natural catastrophes caused massive death and destruction, plunging much of the world into a small “dark age” which lasted for several decades. When civilization came online again the population had been greatly reduced, and the first stirrings of “the great rebuilding” came from within the experimental “Smart Cities” built shortly before the collapse; sometimes within (or upon) the derelict remains of existing cities. These new cities have sprung to vitality quickly, owing to the preservation of AI systems and infrastructure. Today, while much of the world struggles against barbaric circumstances, Smart Cities become the centers of new geopolitical regions.

Protectionism & Resource Wars
TECH: Chaotic Advance

WEALTH: Split/Dystopia

POWER: National/Corporatist Resources dwindled and global power diversified early in the 21st century, and countries turned to more protectionist and isolationist measures, rejecting globalist ideals to hold nationalism as a greater virtue. As Smart Cities came online and megacorporations usurped state power in the first world, long-standing treaties and digital gateways between nations were cut off, leading to a more complicated and continually-shifting balance of power on the global stage. Today the internet has been balkanized by national firewalls, the movement of people and goods across borders is immensely difficult, and conflicts over natural resources are continual.