22nd century in fiction

The 22nd century (years 2101-2200 CE) is a common setting for fiction.

Literature

Novels

• The second part of Ape and Essence by Aldous Huxley is set in 2108.
• The House of the Scorpion and its sequel The Lord Of Opium by Nancy Farmer are both set in this century. The Lord of Opium is explicitly said to be set in 2137.
• Hundred Decades by Robert Burrows
• Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
• Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
• Angels 2200 by Peter Haynes
• Logan's Run by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson
• The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
• Kaleidoscope Century by John Barnes (frame story)
• Noon Universe created by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
• Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
• When Gravity Fails by George Alec Effinger
• Crisis in 2140 (serialized as Null-ABC) by H. Beam Piper and John J. McGuire
• Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card occurs around 2135.
• Invitation to the Game by Monica Hughes takes place in 2154.^[1]
• Methuselah's Children by Robert A. Heinlein begins in 2136.^[2]
• The Cat Who Walks Through Walls by Robert A. Heinlein begins in 2188.^[3]
• Gradisil by Adam Roberts
• The Outward Urge by John Wyndham has the first successful landing on Venus in 2144.^[4]
• Solstice Butterfly by Jerald Beltran (J.I.O, Culture Crash) is set in 2131 & 2135.
• The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer occurs in 2194.^[5]
• Dirty Pair by Haruka Takachiho occurs during 2138–2143,^[6] though most incarnations of the story place the setting at 2141.
• Moving Mars by Greg Bear occurs during 2171-2184.^[7]
• The Mirrored Heavens' by David J. Williams is set in 2110.
• 2150 AD by Thea Alexander involves astral travel between 1976 and 2150.^[8]
• Fictionland by Carl Schulz is set in 2168.
• The Mummy! by Jane C. Loudon

Short stories

• "It's Such a Beautiful Day" by Isaac Asimov is set in 2117.^[9]
• In Flight on Titan a science fiction short story by Stanley G. Weinbaum in 2142 the Planetary Trading Corporation collapses.
• "The Fun They Had" by Isaac Asimov is set in 2157.^[10]
• In "Through the Gates of the Silver Key" by H.P. Lovecraft, Pickman Carter repels the Mongol hordes out of Australia in 2169.

Comics

• Turma da Mônica Jovem by Mauricio de Sousa (Note that the edition 48, "The Invasion of the Zombies-Robots", when the place is Earth planet on year 2112.)
• Doraemon is manufactured on September 3, 2112.^[11]
• The events of CLAMP's Chobits take place in the 22nd century.
• In Planet Comics #36 it is mentioned that the three children were put into suspended animation in 2110.
• Judge Dredd, a comic strip in 2000 AD. (Note that the earliest episodes took place in 2099, though most following stories have taken place in the 22nd century, usually 122 years after real-world publication, so a story published in the comic in 2008 would take place in 2130). The 1995 film specifically occurs in 2139.
• Strontium Dog, a 2000 AD story
• The Galactic War, a comic set in the 2140s-2200s.

Television

Doctor Who

In Doctor Who characters have used time travel to visit various dates in the 22nd century.

• In The Dalek Invasion of Earth the Daleks, in their 2nd appearance in the show, invaded Earth around 2164, and are planning to destroy its core and pilot it. After defeating the Daleks, the First Doctor leaves his granddaughter Susan in this time period with a resistance fighter named David. (The film adaptation, Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. was set in the year 2150).^[12]
• In Day of the Daleks an alternate timeline has the Daleks ruling Earth in the 22nd century after wars in the late 20th century. It is revealed these were caused by guerillas from this era trying to assassinate someone they blame for the war. The Third Doctor returns to the 20th century and saves the conference, averting this timeline.
• In the episode "The End of the World", the Ninth Doctor takes Rose Tyler to 2105, but then decides it's boring and doesn't leave.
• The Doctor Who story "Nightmare of Eden" is set in 2116.
• The story "Under the Lake" is set in 2119.

Star Trek

• In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Up the Long Ladder", the DY-500 class vessel S.S. Mariposa was said to have launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on November 27, 2123.^[13]
• In Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Attached", in discussing the desire of the Kes to join the United Federation of Planets with Captain Picard, Dr. Crusher mentions that a world government is established on Earth in 2150.
• Star Trek: Enterprise (2151–2155; 2161). The first starship capable of reaching Warp 5 is launched from Earth, leading to unprecedented exploration of space, including first contacts with the Klingons, Andorians, and Romulans. According to this series, an area of Earth stretching from Florida to Venezuela will be devastated by an alien attack in 2153, resulting in the death of 7 million people. Enterprise is decommissioned in 2161, just prior to the establishment of the United Federation of Planets.^[14]
• The Earth-Romulan War is fought between 2156 and 2160,^[13] resulting in the establishment of the United Federation of Planets and Starfleet in 2161.

Other television

Animated

Western

• Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century, an animated television series with Sherlock Holmes in a science fiction premise.
• Transformers Animated is set in 22nd century Detroit, which has become the U.S.'s biggest manufacturer of robots.
• The events of BraveStarr take place in the 22nd century on the planet New Texas.
• The sixth season of the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series, known as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fast Forward, takes place in 2105.
• In the TV series Time Warp Trio, Joe, Sam, and Fred meet Jodie, Samantha, and Freddi on September 17, 2105. (Jodie, Freddi, and Samantha are Joe, Fred and Sam's great-granddaughters.)
• The animated television series Exosquad is apparently set in the late 2110s.
• The Futurama Central Bureaucracy was established in 2158.^[15]
• The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange episode "Fruiturama" Is set in the year 2153

Anime

• Psycho-Pass is set in the year 2113.
• Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross is set in the year 2120.
• Sōkyū no Fafner: Dead Aggressor: Exodus is set in 2151.^[16]
• DT Eightron, an anime set on the year 2187.^[17]
• The comedy sci-fi anime series Martian Successor Nadesico is set in the year 2196.
• Space Battleship Yamato was launched on October 9, 2199 on its desperate mission to save the earth in the Anime series of the same name.
• BlazBlue Alter Memory is a science fiction anime television series that takes place in December 2199.^[18]

Live action

• Many characters from the TV series Red Dwarf were born in the mid-22nd century.
• The CBBC show Mission: 2110 is set in the year 2110.
• Phil of the Future, a Disney Channel series. (The Diffys, the main characters, are from this era (2121) before they crash in 2004; theme song refers to Phil as a "22nd century man").^[19]
• The SciFi Channel series FTL Newsfeed begins in the year 2142.^[20]
• The events of Captain Power occur in the year 2147.^[21]
• The events of the Captain Video begin in the year 2149.
• The Fox Network series Terra Nova takes place in the year 2149.^[22]
• The CW Series, The 100 begins in the year 2149, 97 years after the nuclear apocalypse that devastated Earth.
• In a Mac vs. PC commercial, PC travels to 2150 to see if the problems with PCs have been fixed. The PC of 2150 freezes when he gets there.
• Hyperdrive, a British sitcom features the adventures of the crew of the HMS Camden Lock as they pursue Britain's interests in 2151.^[23]
• Syfy's Mission Genesis is set in 2157.^[24]
• In Babylon 5, the Foundationism religion was started in the year 2157 and Psi Corps was founded on April 12, 2161.^[25]
• In Curiosity, episode 11, "Can we live for ever?" an asteroid hits the Earth in the year 2182.
• Most of the scenes of each episode from the science fiction TV series Time Trax is set in the year 2193, with flashbacks to 1993.
• In the fifth season of Fringe, the origins of series antagonists "the Observers" are said to be from the year 2167.
• The CW series, Legends of Tomorrow, immortal dictator, Vandal Savage attacks and conquers London (along with the rest of Earth) in a battle called "The Second Blitz" and murders Rip Hunter's family in the year 2166.

TV movies

• The Flipside of Dominick Hide is about a time traveler from 2130 looking for his ancestor in 1980.^[26]

Film

Live action

• The Matrix is a science fiction film in which the protagonist Neo discovers that all what he believed was a reality is in fact computer simulation. Morpheus, another character of the movie, identifies the events of the movie as being set in the years around 2199. However, it should be noted that it was mentioned in the film Matrix Reloaded that the movie took place in the 6th incarnation of The Matrix. By Morpheus's estimation, then, of there being an approximate 200 year difference between the era in the Matrix and the era of the real world, with the knowledge that Neo's time is actually the 6th incarnation of the Matrix (and an estimated 200 years or so for each incarnation), that could potentially mean the year in the real world is closer to the year 3399. However, since the second and third incarnations failed, it could be safe to assume they did not last 200 years each. Thus, the current year of the real world could be anywhere between approximately 2199 and 3399. Presumably, only the Machines would know for certain. In the Animatrix, 2105 is when Operation Dark Storm is supposed to be initiated.
• In A.I., a science fiction film that is based on a short story entitled "Super-Toys Last All Summer Long" by Brian Aldiss, the story begins sometime in the 22nd century when androids with very high levels of artificial intelligence (called mechas, short for "mechanisms," i.e. synthetic life) have become commonplace.
• Bicentennial Man, about half the events of this movie take place in the 22nd century.
• The first Alien film takes place in 2122.^[27] The sequels Aliens and Alien 3 both take place in 2179.^[28]
• The events of Disney's The Black Hole (1979) take place in the year 2130.^[29]
• One of the storylines in the movie Cloud Atlas is set in 2144.
• Avatar, is set in May through August 2154, although flashback scenes in the opening are set in 2148.^[30]
• The 2013 film Elysium is set in 2154.^[31]
• The 2008 film The Inhabited Island is set in 2157.
• The dystopian film In Time is set in 2169 where everyone is genetically programmed to not age beyond 25. To prevent overpopulation, people's lifespans have replaced traditional forms of currency.
• Sleeper, a Woody Allen movie, is set in 2173.^[32]
• John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars was set in the year 2176.^[33]

Animated

• In the Pixar film WALL-E, the Axiom, the flagship of the fleet of BnL starliners, departs Earth for its five-year cruise which failed in 2105 because of toxic levels; in 2110 a distress signal is sent from Earth to all autopilots saying that Earth's rising toxicity levels has made life unsustainable and that all the starliners should remain in space.
• Astro Boy is set in 2108.
• The events of Sky Blue occur in the year 2142.^[34]
• Wonderful Days, a South Korean animated science fiction film, takes place in the year 2142.
• The Mystery of the Third Planet, a Soviet animated science fiction film, takes place in the year 2181.

Video games

Wipeout series

• Wipeout 3 takes place in 2116.
• Wipeout 3: Special Edition takes place in 2127.
• Wipeout Fusion takes place in the year 2160.
• Wipeout Pure takes place in the year 2197.
• Wipeout HD takes place in the year 2197 (as seen in Modesto Heights from the starting grid).

Mass Effect series

The Mass Effect series mostly takes place in the 22nd century.

• A Prothean data store is uncovered on Mars in 2148, giving humans the technology for faster than light travel.
• Commander Shepard is born in 2154. Also, in 2157, the First Contact war occurs.
• A race of massive subterranean creatures were first encountered on the human colony of Akuze in the year 2177.
• Mass Effect takes place in the year 2183.
• Mass Effect 2 takes place in the year 2185.
• Mass Effect 3 takes place in the year 2186.

Earth series

• Earth 2140^[35]
• Earth 2150, The Earth is destroyed at the end of the year 2150.^[36]
• Earth 2160

R-Type series

• R-Type Takes place in 2163, first Bydo mission
• R-Type Delta Takes place in 2164, 1 year after the events of the first game.
• R-Type II Takes place in 2165.
• R-Type III: The Third Lightning Takes place in 2169.
• R-Type Final Takes place in 2183, 20 years after first Bydo mission (Japanese manual book)

BlazBlue series

• BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger Takes place in December 2199.
• BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Takes place in January 2200, shortly after the events of Calamity Trigger
• BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma Takes place in February 2200, 1 month after the events of Continuum Shift.

Other video games

• The Matrix (The Video Game): At least according to Zion records, although a conversation with the Architect reveals it could be centuries further in the future than Zion believes.
• The ending scene of the Omar ending in Deus Ex Invisible War is set at some point in this century, where all the other factions have wiped themselves out, leaving only the heavily augmented Omar to survive the wastelands that Earth became.
• In Doom, the events of the computer game series take place in the 22nd century, with Doom 3 set in 2145.^[37]
• Nexus: The Jupiter Incident takes place in the 22nd century.
• Two games of the Red Faction series developed by THQ, Guerrilla and Armageddon, are set in the 22nd century.
• In the 1989 Japanese game Zero Wing (of All Your Base fame), "war was beginning" in the year 2101.
• Starflight – In the year 2101, the scientific community on Earth makes a discovery that the endurium element discovered the prior year in 2100 can make Super-Photonic Flight (faster-than-light travel) practical. It is a crystal-like substance. It was discovered on the planet Mars.
• Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri – The United Nations Starship Unity reaches the planet Chiron in the Alpha Centauri System in 2101; AD dates are kept, but called "Mission Years" (M.Y.).
• The game SOMA takes place in the year 2104.
• The events of the Mega Man X series takes place all throughout the 2110s.
• In Putt-Putt Travels Through Time, Putt-Putt travels to the future in the year 2112.
• Front Mission 3 takes place in 2112. Additionally, this is when the People's Republic of Da Han Zhong forms out of China.
• Rampage Through Time has a boss level that takes place in 2112.
• Mach Rider is a Nintendo Entertainment System game that is set in 2112.
• System Shock 2 is set on July 12, 2114.
• Overblood 2 takes place in 2115.
• Cybernoid is a Nintendo Entertainment System game that is set in 2117.
• In Rebelstar: Tactical Command, the year 2117, was the year that a race of aliens known as the Arelians had enslaved the human population of planet Earth using their henchmen, a savage race known as the Zorn.
• Medabots takes place in the 22nd century; first mentioned during the show's initial dubbed intro song. However the original Japanese version takes place in 2022, while the dub takes place in 2122.
• Mission Critical video game by Legend Entertainment is set in 2134.
• Battlefield 2142 is a computer game based on a war beginning in 2139. It also predicts that a new ice age will begin in 2106. Its expansion pack Northern Strike is set in 2145.
• Thunder Force V takes place in 2150.^[38]
• Avatar, the Video game, takes place in 2152.
• Aliens vs. Predator series events take place in 2154.^[39]
• Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters begins on February 17, 2155^[40] and ends in 2160.
• Global Agenda takes place in the year 2155, where the Commonwealth, an oppressive world government, is determined to control the entire planet.
• Solar Striker, a scrolling shooter for the Game Boy is set in the year 2159.
• Thunder Force VI takes place in 2161.
• Fallout begins in 2161.^[41]
• Zone of the Enders series, takes place from 2167 to 2174.^[42]
• The Guilty Gear series, namely Guilty Gear Accent Core Takes place in the years between 2174 and 2176.
• Starcross takes place in 2186.^[43]
• Aliens: Colonial Marines is set in 2179, 17 weeks after the events of Aliens.
• The setting of the video game Syndicate Wars takes place in 2191, 95 years from the first game.
• Traffic Department 2192 takes place in 2192.
• Day of the Tentacle Laverne is sent "200 years in the future" from the year 1994, an era in which tentacles have conquered the world.
• The introduction video of Crusader: No Remorse has the date of 2196.2 written on it, presumably setting it in 2196.
• The events of Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel takes place in 2197.
• The visual novel Tokyo Necro takes place in 2199.

Others

• Reich Star A table-top RPG which takes place in 2134, it was published by Simon Bell and Ken Richardson (1991) under the name of "Creative Encounters".
• "2112", the title track of the album of the same name by Rush about a man living in a dystopic society.
• The final scenes of The Timekeeper, a former ride at Disneyland parks, were set in Paris, 2189.^[44]
• Coheed and Cambria's song 2113 talks of a battle between good and evil, the Mages of Ryan and Claudio, The Crowing.

See also

• 21st century in fiction (for dates from 2001-2100)

References