Civilization 2500: life 500 years into the future

By Dick Pelletier

      

    After rising from the primordial soup 3.5 billion years ago, Earth life began an evolutionary trip that has produced today's amazing human. Futurists now ponder what's next. Ray Kurzweil, Michio Kaku, and other forward-thinkers believe technologies will advance exponentially in the centuries ahead, creating mind-boggling changes in how we view life and the world.

    Of course, no one knows for certain how life will progress in 500 years, but if we look at what experts predict will happen over the next two-to-three decades – biotech fighting disease, bodies strengthened with non-biological materials, and nanotech providing a scarcity-free life – then blend in some sci-fi scenarios, a "magical future" appears.

People

    Biotech and nanotech were credited with decreasing death rates from 50 million in 2009, to 35 million by 2020, and 5 million by 2030. During the 2040s, non-biological body parts became both affordable and socially acceptable; and with the added feature of transferring consciousness from damaged bodies into new ones, by 2050, humanity had recorded its last unwanted death.

    Birthrates diminished during this time also. The desire to perpetuate family lineage through children didn't make sense when indefinite lifespan had become reality. World population totaled seven billion by 2010; ten billion by 2050.

Space

    From 2050 to 2100, influenced by successful Moon and Mars forays, humanity began a mass exodus to space. By 2100, more than a billion people lived on Moon and Mars, and in artificial space habitats circling above Earth. By 2200, more humans lived in space than on Earth.

    The first off-world baby was born on Mars in 2035 during construction of the red planet's first colony. As the following centuries unfolded, humanity's presence in space exploded. By 2400, only 3 billion humans remained on Earth, but nearly 50 billion were living their dream life in space.

Aliens

    The first alien encounter occurred in 2400 at a Mars meeting with inhabitants from Garth, a planet orbiting a star 43 light years from Earth. Garth and Earth co-founded The Federation with goals to discover intelligent life forms and develop planets for colonization. To date, the group has discovered over 1,000 new intelligent species, with more than half joining the Federation. Humans possess the strongest intelligence systems and have become the dominant force in the organization.

Energy

    By 2100, scientists harnessed 100% of Earth's energy, which allowed weather control and development of warp-speed spaceships. By 2200, we accessed all of our sun's energy which allowed development of technologies that enabled intra-galactic travel. By 2300, we began mining energy from other stars, enabling the construction and operation of wormholes, which allows faster-than-light-speed communication and travel.

    In mid-2400s we could send information backwards through time. Scientists discovered a wormhole that had existed for billions of years, which enabled travel and communication into periods before the time machine was built. This technology has allowed people to retrieve consciousness and memories from lost loved ones before they died, enabling them to continue living in our time.

Conclusion

    21st century technologies cured sicknesses, brought an end to aging and death, and ushered in greater-than-human intelligence. In the following centuries, technologies thrust civilization into what can only be described as a "magical future."

This article appeared in various print publications and on-line blogs. Comments always welcome.