Earth’s Last Century: 2300–2400

Gensher Kissinger’s view in 2399:

Introduction

Looking back from where I stand now, in late 2399, aboard the Oort Cloud Main Station, it’s sobering to reflect on Earth’s trajectory. I was born in 2341 on Earth, in what used to be called St. Louis. I witnessed the tail end of this era first-hand before departing for the Oort Cloud, so this isn’t just history to me—it’s personal. By the turn of the 24th century, it was clear our home planet had reached a new climatic state, a far cry from the world of my youth. The relentless march of climate change, a consequence of our ancestors’ industrial revolution and the tragically insufficient mitigation efforts of the 21st century, had left a scar so deep it’ll never truly heal. While the complete healing of Earth remains a distant dream, the global community, through a mix of desperation, cooperation, and often belated technological innovation, did manage to stop the bleeding, so to speak, and prevent total collapse. This report, as I see it, is a testament to that struggle, outlining the key environmental, social, and political shifts that defined Earth’s trajectory between 2300 and 2400.

Climatic Stabilization and its Consequences

The most salient feature of this era, and something I witnessed the tail end of before I left Earth, is the stabilization of global warming at +3.5°C above pre-industrial levels, accompanied by a 10-meter rise in sea levels. This transformation fundamentally reshaped the planet’s geography. I remember the old maps of St. Louis, and to think of how much of that land is now underwater. What was one a river is now a coastline. It’s a gut-wrenching feeling. Coastal cities, once bustling hubs of human activity, now lie submerged, compelling the construction of those massive, and often precarious, dyking systems and the emergence of floating neighbourhoods. We lost so much. Venice, Jakarta, Starcity and vast swathes of Thailand are gone, swallowed by the rising tides. Paradoxically, while some regions faced inundation, others experienced their own transformation; our children sing “Greenland is green”. The Sahara wasteland is undergoing a partial greening. A powerful reminder that even in destruction, nature finds a way, though it’s a way that often leaves us humans reeling.

The Legacy of 21st-Century Failures

The seeds of the challenges we faced in my lifetime, and that humanity faced in that century, were sown in the 21st century. Despite early attempts to curb emissions through agreements like the 2°C Accord, not to mention the Paris Agreement with it*s 1-5°C goal, which failed 2021/22. These efforts proved inadequate, hampered by the short-sightedness and, let’s be honest, greed of major fossil-fuel-dependent nations. My own country, the US, bears a heavy burden of blame in that regard. And then there was ITT - a revolutionary technology, yes, but initially, it exacerbated the problem. Those energy-hungry hubs! We all have seen the documents about the debates, the protests from back in 21st century. It wasn’t until the Varma Leak of 2050 that the true environmental impact of ITT infrastructure was acknowledged, finally prompting a shift towards more sustainable energy solutions. A classic case of too little, too late.

Population Dynamics and Resource Management

Earth’s population continued its relentless climb, peaking at just above 15 billion during the 24th century. Think about that: 15 billion souls crammed onto a damaged planet. This demographic pressure intensified the strain on resources, necessitating some truly desperate, and innovative solutions. Methane farming, involving the capture of methane from thawing permafrost for use as fuel, emerged as a critical strategy. It’s ironic, isn’t it? That the very thing that was killing us became a lifeline, though we’re still exporting a good chunk of that problem off-world. The Amazon Delta Project, spearheaded by Jade Horizon, stands as a testament to successful cooperative water resource management, finally averting the spectre of privatization that haunted so many in the early 21st century. But even those successes felt like we were just barely treading water.

Political and Social Evolution

The political landscape underwent a transformation, with the United Earth Accord (UEA) superseding the United Nations by 2250. The UEA’s guiding principle of “no fortress mentality - only shared solutions” underscored a commitment to global cooperation in tackling climate challenges. A far cry from the fractured world of my grand-grandparents’ time. However, tensions persisted. The orbital elites, safe in their climate-controlled habitats, often accused the UEA of an “Earth-first bias,” while those of us in the Belt, like many out here, prioritized our autonomy, our very survival. And back on Earth, the social divisions were profound. The era was marked by mass migrations of climate refugees, particularly between 2320 and 2350. I do remember seeing the news feeds, the desperate faces. Those migrations sparked protests from the Earth First Alliance, protests against what they saw as the elitist prioritization in ITT relocation efforts. It was a time of fear, of anger, of a fracturing of the very idea of a global community.

ITT’s Enduring Influence

ITT technology. It’s the reason I’m here, the reason any of us are out here. And now in 2399, I was here on the Oort Cloud Main Station when we launched our the 3 sub-FLT-colony Ships, the first experimental FTL-ship 2389, I interviewed the crew, I saw the first FLT-colony-ship leaving yesterday, an open door, a new chapter for humanity. ITT continued to exert a profound influence during our time. While its early deployment contributed to environmental challenges, it became indispensable for mitigating the consequences of climate change. ITT facilitated the transport of methane from those cursed permafrost regions to orbital stations for “green energy recycling,” though I still think that’s a bit of a euphemism. It also played a crucial role in those massive coastal reclamation projects and the development of vertical farms that kept millions from starving. A double-edged sword, that technology. A saviour and a sinner, all at once.

Earth’s Stubborn Self-Focus

Even now, as we’ve begun to spread beyond the solar plane, Earth remains - self-focused. The developed divergence between Earth’s population and those of us scattered across the stars is strong. Those orbital stations, those twenty-odd massive technology-focused cities, teeming with tens of millions each, even the constant influx of immigrants, mostly just passing through, doesn’t create a real emotional connection to the planet of our origin. It’s Earth’s influence over trade, politics, and culture that keeps it relevant, that keeps it from fading entirely into a historical footnote. And yet, you can feel the resentment, the weariness, even out here at the edge of the solar system. We owe Earth our existence, but we’re also desperate to forge our own paths, independent of its long shadow.

Reflections on a Century of Transformation

So, looking back from my vantage point here in the Oort Cloud, the century between 2300 and 2400 represents a period of both immense challenges and remarkable, if grudging, human resilience. The Earth of 2400 was a world irrevocably altered, wounded, yet humanity demonstrated an almost stubborn ability to adapt and innovate in the face of near-unimaginable adversity. We survived, and we’re pushing outwards, towards Proxima Centauri and beyond. The lessons we learned, the mistakes we made - they serve as a strong reminder, they will echoing across the centuries to come! That progress without a concomitant sense of purpose, without genuine global unity, is ultimately futile. As we reach for the stars, we can’t afford to forget the lessons of Earth’s long, hard-won survival. We have to do better.