Asimov’s Future History Volume 20

by Isaac Asimov

  1982 A.D. Birth of Susan Calvin. Lawrance Robertson founds U.S. Robot and Mechanical Men, Inc.

  1996 A.D. Production of Robbie.

  1998 A.D. An ordinance is passed in New York to keep all robots off the streets between sunset and sunrise.

  2002 A.D. Alfred Lanning demonstrates the first speaking robot.

  2003 A.D. Susan Calvin obtains her bachelor’s degree.

  Early 21st century A social and technical renaissance flourishes on Earth. Beginning of the production of positronic robots obeying the Three Laws of Robotics. Between 2003 and 2007, robots are banned on Earth except for scientific experiments. Later, only a small number of robots are produced for everyday use on Earth due to the Frankenstein-complex of people. The main field of use for robots is colonisation of the Solar System. U.S. Robot tries to break through society’s resistance against robots several times, with limited success. Joseph Schwarz suffers a time travel accident propelling him into the future.

  2005 A.D. The first Mercury expedition.

  2007 A.D. Robbie is dismantled. Susan Calvin begins to work for U.S. Robot.

  2008 A.D. Susan Calvin becomes a robotpsychologist at U.S. Robot.

  2015 A.D. The second Mercury expedition.

  2021 A.D. A telepathic robot is accidentally produced at U.S. Robot. Obeying the First Law in accordance with its telepathic ability results in a dilemma which renders the robot useless.

  2029 A.D. NS-2 (Nestor) type robots are used for experiments with Hyperatomic Drive at Hyper Base.

  2031 A.D. Hyperatomic Drive is developed. First successful interstellar (actually intergalactic) journey.

  2032 A.D. Stephen Byerley becomes Mayor of New York.

  After 2032 A.D. Under guidance of Byerley and the newly developed Machines (positronic brains), the countries of Earth group into four Regions.

  2033 A.D. Susan Calvin becomes robotpsychologist-in-chief.

  2037 A.D. Stephen Byerley becomes Regional Co-ordinator.

  2044 A.D. Regions of Earth form a Federation. First World Co-ordinator is Stephen Byerley. Economy of the world is managed by four Machines in coordination; they operate according to the First Law. World economy is stabilised.

  2048 A.D. Stephen Byerley is elected World Co-ordinator for the second time.

  2052 A.D. Susan Calvin states that the Machines apply the First Law to mankind as a whole. This concept will be (re)invented millennia later in Daneel Olivaw’s Zeroth Law.

  2057 A.D. Susan Calvin retires. Her successor, Clinton Madarian develops a new type of robot with intuition.

  2058 A.D. The 56th edition of the Handbook of Robotics is published.

  2062 A.D. From astronomical data Madarian’s intuitive robot deduces which of the Sun’s neighboring stars have habitable planets.

  After 2062 A.D. With the use of hyperdrive mankind begins to swarm out of Earth. People bring along the virus of Chaos to the stars. Through robotic terraforming of several planets (the Outer Worlds) and their population the culture of Spacers arises. The first Spacer world is a planet of Tau Ceti’s system named New Earth. Later it is renamed Aurora. In the beginning the Outer Worlds use robots in limited numbers just as Earth.

  2064 A.D. Death of Susan Calvin.

  After 2080 A.D. Having stabilised world economy, the Machines—considering any further activity harmful to mankind—gradually cease to function.

  2160 A.D. U.S. Robot accidentally produces a robot with an exceptionally flexible brain. The robot, Andrew, becomes property of the Martin family.

  2180 A.D. U.S. Robot once more attempts to demolish prejudice against robots, again without much result.

  2190 A.D. Andrew is declared a free robot.

  2260 A.D. Andrew has his metallic body exchanged to organic, humanoid. He starts to make his body more and more human using self-designed prostheses. The science of prosthetics is greatly advanced by his experiments.

  2359 A.D. In order to be declared human, Andrew makes changes in his brain, which will allow him to slowly die.

  2360 A.D. Andrew is declared human. Death of Andrew.

  3871 A.D. Earth allows Spacer worlds to introduce robots to everyday life in unlimited numbers.

  3971 A.D. Outer Worlds limit emigration from Earth.

  4021 A.D. The renaissance on both Earth and the Spacer worlds turns into history’s first chaos outbreak. Overpopulated Earth provokes the Outer Worlds, which declare war against the motherworld. During the resulting Three Weeks’ War (the Great Rebellion) Spacers defeat Earth and declare the Outer Worlds independent planets. Earth is isolated, emigration made impossible.

  After 4021 A.D. During the next milennium Earthpeople escape into metal-covered cities (the caves of steel). The rise of city culture, the introduction of hydroponics and the industrial use of robots outside the cities lessen the population and food problems on Earth. Nanotechnology is developed on Earth and introduced in many fields of industry.

  Appr. 4050-4600 A.D. Some experiments with nanotechnology go wrong, producing nanocolonies which begin to destroy their environment as nonorganic parasites. In the end, these agressive colonies destroy themselves; only a few aberrant strains are preserved. Earth scientists unravel the puzzle of the nanoplagues and develop a number of successful treatments, eventually bringing them to manageable levels. Spacer scientists begin to make progress against their own nanoplagues, reducing them in number and virulence. Spacer medical technologies and bioscience make enormous strides, increasing lifespans and reducing age-related afflictions.

  4620 A.D. The last major outbreak of mnemonic plague sweeps many Spacer worlds, signaling the last wave of virulent disease among them.

  Appr. 4664-4721 A.D. New York is replaced with metal-covered New York City.

  4722 A.D. Population of Solaria (fiftieth and last Spacer world) from Nexon begins. Beginning of the slow and almost unrecognizable decline of Spacer culture.

  4822 A.D. Solaria becomes independent of Nexon.

  4858 A.D. Birth of Han Fastolfe.

  4979 A.D. Birth of Elijah Baley.

  4989 A.D. Birth of Gladia.

  4996 A.D. Spacetown is established near New York City. Thanks to Spacer influence, robots are introduced to Earth’s cities.

  5002 A.D. Elijah Baley and Jesse Navodny meet.

  5005 A.D. Birth of Bentley (Ben) Baley.

  5021 A.D. Auroran roboticist Han Fastolfe and sociologist-historian Roj Nemennuh Sarton realize the decline of Spacer culture. They want to get Earth to colonize new planets using less robotic service than Spacers. They design humaniform robots to mix among Earth population to understand their way of thinking. The first such humaniform robot is Daneel Olivaw. Meeting of Daneel and Elijah Baley.

  5022 A.D. Elijah Baley and Daneel Olivaw carry out an investigation on Solaria. Fastolfe becomes an influential member of the Auroran government and strongly supports new Earth emigration. His Auroran opponents led by Kelden Amadiro want to terraform and populate new planets from Aurora instead of Earth. A group of Earthpeople led by Baley train to live outside the city domes to be able to colonize new planets.

  5023 A.D. Elijah helps Daneel with solving a dispute between two mathematicians.

  5024 A.D. Amy Barone-Stein joins Baley’s would-be settlers. Baley investigates a case of roboticide on Aurora accompanied by Daneel and Giskard Reventlov (a telepathic robot!). In the background of the ‘murder’ lies the power struggle between Fastolfe and his opponents over the new colonization. Finally Aurora allows the Earth to terraform new planets and will provide technical support for the task. Giskard thinks Earthpeople must settle on worlds without robots to evade the fate of Spacers. Giskard describes the idea of psychohistory, a science that can foretell events of the future.

  5026 A.D. The second swarm of humans from Earth begins with Auroran support. They use no robotic service at all. The first colonist group is lead by Ben Baley. The first terraformed (so called Settler) planet will later be called Baleyworld. Earth plans to ban use of robots on the motherworld.
Settler culture arises without robots.

  5028 A.D. There are already twenty-four Settler planets. The relationship between the Settler and Spacer worlds becomes increasingly hostile.

  5029 A.D. Elijah Baley moves to Baleyworld.

  ??? Robots are outlawed on Earth. Technologies based on nano-machines are also abandoned.

  5058 A.D. Death of Elijah Baley.

  5132 A.D. The Church of Organic Sapiens is founded.

  5162 A.D. Improvo Shipping and Storage is founded.

  5168 A.D. Upon an agreement between Solaria and a Settler company Settlers begin to colonize Cassus Thole, a planet which used to be a Solarian mining endeavour. Solaria keeps only one establishment for itself, far from the Settler towns.

  5171 A.D. Birth of Jerem Looms. He turns out to have UPD.

  5172 A.D. A lab is founded on Earth to research the nanocolonies which infect infants and cause UPD. The lab is named Nova Levis. Later a sister lab is built on Cassus Thole. Still later the planet is renamed Nova Levis.

  5174 A.D. Rega Looms is informed that Jerem has died.

  5175 A.D. Children are kidnapped throughout Earth, UPDs among them. Ree Wenithal begins to investigate the problem.

  5176 A.D. Nova Levis lab starts to research the practice of nonorganic-organic symbiosis in earnest.

  Appr. 5178 A.D. Ree Wenithal traces the stolen children to Nova Levis lab. He is then stopped in his investigation.

  5180 A.D. Nova Levis lab is closed.

  5182 A.D. Rega Looms becomes director of the Church of Organic Sapiens.

  5183 A.D. Birth of D.G. Baley.

  ??? Relationship between Earth and Aurora improves.

  5191 A.D. The plans of the mad Auroran scientist Dr. Avery for conquering the galaxy by establishing robot cities are foiled by his son, Derec, and Ariel Burgess.

  5197 A.D. After graduating from the Calvin Institute, Ariel Burgess takes a position as the Calvin liaison to the Auroran embassy on Earth. That same year, Derec Avery petitions the Terran government for a special license to operate a positronic research lab on Earth called The Phylaxis Group. He becomes instrumental in new attempts to reintroduce positronics to Earth.

  5198 A.D. Auroran patrols check the Terran smuggler ship Tiberius; it turns out to carry several Solarian positronic experts and geneticists to Nova Levis. Nova Levis turns down requests to carry out investigations on the planet. Later that same year, Derec Avery completes construction of Bogard, a robot with extremely flexible Three Law parameters, enabling it to act as a bodyguard without running into positronic collapse.

  5199 A.D. Terran senator Clar Eliton invites Spacer and Settler diplomats to discuss the possible reintroduction of robots on Earth and in Settler space trade; in the meantime, Eliton organizes an assassination against the diplomats in order to completely discredit robots on Earth. Derec Avery’s robot, Bogard, proves instrumental in solving the crime. After the assassination, most of the diplomats of the Fifty Worlds leave Earth. A smuggler ship leaving Nova Levis fires on a Terran patrol ship. Earth blockades Nova Levis.

  5200 A.D. A group of people illegally emigrating from Earth to Nova Levis are killed. Investigations suggest the involvement of Solaria and Nova Levis. It turns out that Solaria probably grows cyborgs on Nova Levis. A cyborg (who was once Jerem Looms) named Gamelin appears on Earth. Aurorans capture another cyborg on Earth named Cordios.

  5201 A.D. An investigation by Derec Avery and Ariel Burgess leads to the discovery of manufacture of cyborgs by arms dealer Kynig Parapoyos on planet Nova Levis. It is revelaed that Parapoyos is really Ambassador Gale Chassik.

  5202 A.D. The autonomous robot Bogard assumes control of the Parapoyos organization. It begins a program, in concert with a large faction of Spacer robots, to isolate Spacers in order to allow them to die out as a result of thew determination that the millennia of coexistence with numerous mutated nanoforms has altered them genetically to a condition where they represent a potential new species. Robots are dedicated to service to homo sapiens sapien and cannot have two masters.

  5217 A.D. Kelden Amadiro and his group begin planting nuclear amplifiers throughout Earth to take revenge for their defeat.

  5222 A.D. Death of Han Fastolfe. Anti-Earth and anti-Settler movement on Aurora gains momentum. Population of Solaria vanishes. Number and strength of Settler worlds grows fast. Daneel and Giskard formulate the Zeroth Law of Robotics. They realize they will need a working psychohistory to steer human history according to the Zeroth Law. Amadiro’s group turn their amplifiers on to make Earth radioactive and inhospitable. Giskard lets them proceed, rationalizing that the poisoning of Earth would speed up the Settler swarm and do humanity good in the long run. His decision, however, creates an internal conflict between the Zeroth and the First Law, which ultimately leads to Giskard’s death. Giskard provides Daneel with telepathic abilities, then becomes inoperational and dies. Settler emigration grows to enormous numbers: beginning of the Great Diaspora. Settlers carry the virus of Chaos everywhere.

  ??? A majority of robots split into two camps. “Giskardians” led by Daneel believe in the new Zeroth Law religion. Others—the “Calvinians”—think their meddling with human affairs according to the Zeroth Law to be an outrage. A robotic civil war ensues mostly unseen by humans fleeing the sudden poisoning of Earth. Meanwhile fleets of robots—operating under Auroran programming—begin cruising the galaxy ahead of the spreading Settlers, terraforming and preparing planets for colonization. Several nonhuman intelligent races, sometimes complete ecosystems are destroyed by robot terraformers. On some planets they discover computer civilizations, remnants of once-great nonhuman cultures. The Auroran robots try to destroy the beings of these civilizations, the meme entities, as potential threaths. Some of the memes escape to the Galactic Core.

  5322 A.D. The Spacer planet Inferno is doomed by both ecological and cultural catastrophe. To evade the cultural crisis robots are designed and built that operate on New Laws, giving them greater freedom. To test the correctness of the New Laws the No Law robot Caliban is built. To avoid the ecological catastrophe a group of Settler specialists are asked to reterraform the planet.

  5323 A.D. The failure of the New Laws becomes clear. Reterraforming of Inferno begins.

  5328 A.D. To create a stable ecosystem an ice-comet is crashed onto Inferno’s surface. Cultural crisis is evaded by the merging of Spacers and the Settler terraformers.

  ??? The interstellar robot civil war eventually reaches Inferno. New Law robots are destroyed or go into hiding.

  ??? Daneel and his followers play an important role in formulating the Encoding Laws that will set the highest limits in producing artificial intelligence. As a result, Settler society will never think of building robots. This is one of the first great ‘damping mechanisms’ that help prevent chaos.

  1960 B.G.E. (Before Galactic Era) Settling of planet Tyrann.

  1260-1250 B.G.E. Tyrann conquers the Nebular Kingdoms.

  1220 B.G.E. The Tyranni elect Hinrik V as Director of Rhodia.

  1200 B.G.E. Planet Rhodia and the Nebular Kingdoms, led by the noble Hinriad family, shake off rule by planet Tyrann, and rediscover democracy.

  ??? Spacer worlds turn into themselves and slowly die throughout the millennia. The remaining population of Aurora moves to Mycogen sector of the growing planet Trantor. Settler culture gradually colonizes the Galaxy. Damping effects such as historical amnesia, brain fever and giskardian mentalic persuasion devices are introduced by Daneel and followers to fight chaos. As a result human mind, society and technology stagnates for millennia. Some human and robot groups (including the Maserd family) fight the amnesia. Later they are for the most part defeated by Giskardians. Robots are forgotten by all but a tiny remnant of humans who cooperate in hiding with heretic robots.

  700 B.G.E. The Trantorian Republic of five worlds begins to grow; later becomes Trantorian Confederation and still later Trantorian Empire. Daneel uses early ‘laws of humanics’ (precursor of psychohistory developed with G
iskard) to guide it.

  ??? The origin of mankind is forgotten. Planet Earth becomes one of the many millions of inhabited planets.

  200 B.G.E. Half of the inhabited worlds of the Galaxy are part of Trantorian Empire. Trantor is on the point of forming the Galactic Empire. Trantor financially supports rebellion of Florina against oppression by planet Sark.

  1 G.E. (= appr. 13 000 C.E.) (appr. 8000 years after the Great Diaspora) Trantorian Empire becomes Galactic Empire. First emperor is Frankenn I. Beginning of the galactic calendar. (G.E. = Galactic Era)

  750 G.E. Third Earth rebellion against Empire.

  771 G.E. Birth of Affret Shekt.

  772 G.E. Birth of Grew.

  775 G.E. Beginning of rule of Stannel II.

  777 G.E. Demonstrating his might, Stannel II provokes unrest in Washenn, Earth. Stannel II is assassinated. Edard ascends the galactic throne.

  827 G.E. Arrival of Joseph Schwartz through time. A radioactive and sparsely populated Earth tries to revolt against the Empire using a bio-weapon (an extremely aggressive type of the chaos virus). Rebellion fails, thanks partly to Schwarz and Daneel’s agent R. Gornon Vlimt. Empire initially supports changing of Earth’s radioactive soil for healthy, then the effort is mysteriously abandoned.

  Appr. 900 G.E. Forced evacuation of inhospitable Earth. Founding of colony on planet Alpha.

  975 G.E. An intelligent species is discovered on a desert planet. They are transported to Cepheus 18.

  978 G.E. The aliens mysteriously escape beyond the Galaxy aided by a sympathetic bureaucrat of the Empire.

  Appr. 2000 G.E. Daneel Olivaw and R. Yan Kansarv establish a robot production and repair facility on the moon Eos. The great Ruellis helps establish principles of good paternalistic government, augmenting the stability of an unchanging society against chaos (another of Daneel’s damping mechanisms).

  Appr. 3000 G.E. Public debate of personality simulations Voltaire and Joan of Arc about machine intelligence during a chaos outbreak. With support of Calvinian robots the Empress Shoree-Harn sits on the imperial throne; she tries to introduce a new calendar and shake up social rigidity without success.