21st century in fiction

Many science fiction works have been set in the 21st century (years 2001 to 2100). As we are now in the 21st century, many of these predictions have now become obsolete. This page lists only predictions of the 21st century, as opposed to contemporary accounts of the actual 21st century, which would be too numerous to list.

Television and film fiction

Unknown date

• The tagline of Torchwood series one is: "The 21st century is when everything changes. And we have to be ready." In series two, the second sentence changes to: "And Torchwood is ready."
• t.A.T.u. Video Beliy Plaschik Is set "Sometime in the 21st century"
• Stinkoman 20X6, of Homestar Runner fame, takes place in the seventh year of an unspecified decade in the 21st century.

2000s

• 2001: A Space Odyssey is set in 2001, though one in which humanity has colonized the moon and is sending a manned probe to Jupiter.
• The Transformers: The Movie: is set in the year 2005. The subsequent third season of the Transformers series takes place after the events of the movie.
• The movie Freejack takes place in the year 2009.

2010s

• In the sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey, a joint American-Soviet space expedition is sent to Jupiter in 2010.
• The Japanese anime show The Super Dimension Fortress Macross spans the years 1999 to 2012 (its final episode takes place in January 2012, and a direct to video epilogue featurette takes place in September 2012). Its prequel and sequels take place in 2008 (Macross Zero)
• The 2009 disaster film 2012 takes place in the year 2012. It is based on an end of the world event on December 21, 2012.
• The final episode of The X-Files sets December 22, 2012 as the date for alien colonization.
• On the TV series Fringe, Observers take over the planet in 2015.
• The Japanese anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion is also set in 2015.
• Part of the sequel Back to the Future Part II is set on October 21, 2015.^[1]
• The American cartoon show Robotech, composed from the footage of three unrelated anime series (including Macross, above) spans the years 1999 to 2015, 2030–2031 and 2044–2045.
• The film The Running Man starring Arnold Schwarzenegger is set in 2017.
• The epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is set on September 1, 2017.
• The television series seaQuest DSV takes place between the years 2018 and 2032.
• The cult series Dark Angel is set in semi-post apocalyptic Seattle, Washington in the year 2019.
• The film Daybreakers is set in 2019.
• The anime film Akira is set in 2019.
• The film Blade Runner takes place in November 2019.
• Ben 10: Alien Force, Ultimate Alien and Omniverse take place in this decade.

2020s

• Circa 2020's in the film The Matrix Morpheus said to Neo "that in the early 21st Century mankind united in celebration when they created Artificial Intelligence".
• The Adult Swim series Sealab 2021 takes place in the year 2021.
• 2022: The Plutonian Revolt take place, and Ben Tennyson starts calling himself Ben 10,000 after the war.
• Both parts of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Past Tense" take place in 2024.
• The dystopic sci-fi novel and film Metropolis takes place in 2027.
• The film Children of Men is set in 2027.
• The series of the popular show Power Rangers SPD is set in 2025.
• The anime universe of Ghost in the Shell, its sequel Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, and anime television series based on the same premise (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG), are centered somewhere around 2029.
• The Terminator There is a war being fought between Humans and Machines in 2029 is set up during the early years of the 21st century in terms of the wars between humans & Skynet. Some of the intervening years are dealt with by the two sequels, Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, with the whole franchise building to a conclusion of the War in 2029. However, the end of the 2029 war has never been dated its might go on past 2029 into the 2030s.

• Robert House in the Fallout series is born on June 25th, 2020

2030s

• The 2002 version of The Time Machine has scenes that take place in the 2030 and 2037 NYC.
• The Doctor Who story The Enemy of the World is set in Australia in 2030.
• Beginning in 2040 (Macross Plus), 2045–2046 (Macross 7) and 2059 (Macross Frontier). A dramatized historical fiction movie about the First Space War, The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love?, premieres in 2031.
• The comedy series Time Trumpet is set in 2031, and "looks back on" the first 30 years of the 21st century.
• The anime OAV series Bubblegum Crisis (2032–33), its sequel Bubblegum Crash (2034), and its TV-series re-imagining Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 (2040).
• Demolition Man is set in 2032.
• The Japanese anime Copihan is set in the year 2034.
• I, Robot was set in 2035.

2040s

• The CGI animated series Cubix: Robots for Everyone takes place in 2040.
• Deep space vessel Event Horizon was sent to test an artificial wormhole (black hole) in deep space in the year 2040. The lost ship is found 7 years later by a rescue team on board the ship Lewis and Clark on low orbit around the planet Neptune.
• The Outward Urge has a major nuclear war in 2044 and the first manned landing on Mars in 2094.

2050s

• Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century and its sequels takes place in the years 2049–2054.
• Bollywood movie Love Story 2050 was partly set in 2050.
• Minority Report was set in April 2054.
• World War III ends in 2053 according to Star Trek: First Contact, with 600,000,000 dead and most major cities destroyed.
• The 2008 film Repo! The Genetic Opera is set in the year 2056. Plastic surgery and a fictional pain-killing drug known as Zydrate are commonplace as fashion statements and addictions. Additionally, The painkiller Zydrate is called the "21st Century Cure" in the film.
• 2057 was a 2007 documentary about Earth set 50 years into the future.
• The 1998 remake of Lost in Space was set in 2058.

2060s

• The Jetsons is supposed to take place 100 years after 1962.
• Most of Star Trek: First Contact takes place in 2063. In Star Trek canon, the human Zefram Cochrane develops faster-than-light travel and makes first contact with an alien race during this year.
• Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is set in December 2065.^[2]
• Friendship One will be launched in 2067. (Star Trek: Voyager)

2070s

• The Doctor Who story The Moonbase is set in 2070.
• The Japanese anime show Cowboy Bebop is set in 2071.
• The Nicktoon My Life as a Teenage Robot is set in 2072.
• Equilibrium is set in 2072.
• The Doctor Who story Day of the Daleks is set in 2073, albeit in an alternative timeline.
• The events of the Sci-Fi anime Planetes is set in the year 2075.

2080s

• The film Total Recall, and the Doctor Who story Warriors of the Deep are set in 2084.
• Prometheus is set in 2089 and in 2093.
• In Star Trek: Insurrection, it is discovered that the Ba'ku moved to the Briar Patch at some point in this century.

2090s

• The Doctor Who story The Seeds of Death is set in 2090.
• The 1985 film Enemy Mine begins in 2092 and ends in 2095.
• The events of Leprechaun 4: In Space takes place in 2096.

2100

• In the episode "Waters of Mars" the Doctor mentions that the humans begin their diaspora across the stars when Earth colonises nearby star systems in 2100.
• The sci-fi anime series Kurau Phantom Memory begins in 2100.
• 'Earth 2100 is an ABC drama theorizing the decline of civilization due to climate change, overpopulation and disease.
• The short-lived science fiction TV series Space Rangers is set during 2100

Computer and video games

Unknown dates

• The video game and cartoon 20X6 of Homestar Runner supposedly takes place in the seventh year of an unspecified decade in the 21st century.
• The nuclear holocaust of the AquaNox universe takes place in the mid-21st century, followed by the massive exodus of survivors underwater.
• The discovery of the Zohar in Xenosaga takes place in 20XX.
• The events of Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne occur in 20XX.
• The original Mega Man series takes place sometime in the 21st century, represented as 200X or 20XX.
• The MegaMan Battle Network series takes place in 20XX.
• The Mr. Driller series (and Dig Dug: Digging Strike, a game in its related timeline) takes place in 20XX.
• The events of Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Drift and Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Drift 2 take place during 20XX, when Japanese highways have supposedly been opened as racing circuits.
• The events of Namco × Capcom takes place during 20XX.
• In Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction, the 2nd Korean War starts early in this century.

2000s

• The events of Half-Life takes place around 2000–2009.
• The events of Metal Gear Solid take place in 2005, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty takes places in the years 2007 (Tanker Chapter) and 2009 (Big Shell Chapter), and the events of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots take place in 2014.
• Duke Nukem 3D is set in the early 21st century and contains evidence (such as calendars) that suggest it is more specifically set in October or December 2007
• The events of Grand Theft Auto IV take place in the fall of 2008.
• Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, takes place sometime around between 2008 and 2010.
• The second explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant happens in 2006, starting the events of S.T.A.L.K.E.R

2010s

• Uplink is set on the internet of the year 2010.
• The events that are set in the 'present' of both Assassin's Creed and Assassin's Creed 2 take place in the year 2012. The plot of both games builds toward a worldwide catastrophe prophesied to occur on December 21, 2012. See 2012 phenomenon
• Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 (GRAW 2) takes place in 2014
• The fictional story line of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, takes place in 2016.
• The Start of Ace Attorney: Phoenix Wright take place on August 3, 2016
• Trauma Center: Under the Knife and Trauma Center: Second Opinion take place in 2018, when AIDS and cancer supposedly have cures.
• OutRun 2019 is set in 2019.
• Street Fighter 2010 takes place at the start of the decade.
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky begins on May 1st, 2011
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow Of Chernobyl Begins on April 1st, 2012
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat begins on April 22nd, 2012

2020s and 2030s

• in 2030 the events of the Command & Conquer: Tiberian series begin, the 2nd Tiberium War between the Global Defense Initiative and the Brotherhood of Nod begins in 2030. The 3rd Tiberium War takes place 17 years later in 2047, which also sees the arrival of the Scrin to Earth. By 2062, GDI & Nod are forced to ally to construct a Tiberium control network as without it Earth will be uninhabitable by the end of the decade. The 4th Tiberium War erupts in 2077 between extremist elements on both sides. The conflict ends with Kane & Nod having disappeared, leaving GDI to fully activate the now completed control network.
• The events of Half-Life 2 and its expansion packs takes place around the early 2020s.
• Perfect Dark Zero is set in 2020 and Perfect Dark is set in 2023.
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is set in 2025.
• The events of Deus Ex: Human Revolution take place in 2027.
• The events of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided take place in 2029.
• The events of Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow takes place in this time; specifically 2035. The sequel, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow takes place one year later, in 2036. These are the only two Castlevania titles to have taken place beyond the early-to-mid-20th century thus far.
• The stage "Neon Night-Riders" in the 1992 video game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time is set in A.D. 2020.
• Super Baseball 2020 is set in 2020.
• the events of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies happen in the 2020s.

2040s and 2050s

• The races in Wipeout 2048 take place in 2048.
• The races in San Francisco Rush 2049 take place in 2049.
• Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare takes place between 2050 and 2060.
• The events of Deus Ex take place in 2052.
• The levels "Breaking and Entering" and "You Genius, U-Genix" in TimeSplitters: Future Perfect take place in 2052.
• The futuristic racing game Wipeout takes place in 2052.

2060s and 2070s

• The events of the CD-i video game Burn:Cycle take place on the night of July 25 and last to the early morning of July 26,of 2063 (Australian time meaning it was really July 24th and 25th in North America). Sol cutter a Data thief using a kind of Neural interface, Brain–computer interface gets infected with a Computer virus that will kill him in 2 to 3 hours unless the game player can prevent it. game time can be extended by winning the Psychic roulette game located in the bar in a Central City known as "Urban Central" on the game map. Its a the same bar that the character Zip visits. Not much is known about Sol cutters world but they have flying cars that use cold fusion technology. They also have orbital colonies for Space tourists. And as far as Space exploration goes bacterial life was discovered some where in the Saturnian planetary system. The Local press of Urban Central named this life "Tribbles" after the famous creature in Star Trek lore.
• The first two games in the Red Faction series are set in this time period. Red Faction takes place in 2070, while its sequel Red Faction II is set in the year 2075.
• The events of Deus Ex: Invisible War take place in 2072. The world of Deus Ex has the following technology's Bio-genetics and Bio-Mechanical.
• System Shock is set in 2072.
• In the Fallout Universe, The Great War starts on the morning and ends two hours later on October 23, 2077. It is unknown which country fired the first warheads.

2080s and 2090s

• The arcade game Robotron: 2084 takes place in the year 2084.
• One Must Fall: 2097 takes place in 2097.
• The races in Wipeout 2097 take place in 2097.
• The sequel to Wipeout 2097, Wipeout 64 is set in 2098.
• Future Cop: LAPD takes place in the year 2098.

2100

• The stage "Starbase: Where No Turtle Has Gone Before" in the 1992 video game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time is set in the year A.D. 2100.
• In the console game Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution the world ends in 2100.
• In the Mass Effect franchise, the first permanent settlement on Mars, named Lowell City, is founded by the European Space Agency in 2100
• July 4, 2100 is the starting date for the real-time strategy PlayStation and computer game Warzone 2100.
• The game Doom 3 establishes that the Soul Cube was found in 2100.

Other

Novels

• Much of the novel Shattered Time takes place starting with the characters reemerging in time on the date of December 23, 2100.
• Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey, 2010: Odyssey Two and 2061: Odyssey Three all take place in the 21st century.
• Tad Williams' Otherland series is set at some undefined point in the 21st century
• Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age is also set in the 21st century, after some disaster befell the centralized telephone network. This led people to build a decentralized network, which they used to transfer money, thus destroying normal methods of taxation and bringing down most large governments.
• Red Mars of Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy begins in 2027.
• Some books by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky are set in the 21st century
• The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein takes place in 2075.
• Mary Shelley's novel The Last Man takes place between the years 2075 and 2100, portraying the year 2100 as the extinction of humanity following a deadly pandemic.
• Turnabout by Margaret Peterson Haddix, is set in 2005–06, 2057, and mainly 2085.

CD Albums

• In the timeline for Arjen Anthony Lucassen's Ayreon, specifically the album 01011001, the human race destroys itself in a violent war in 2084. The alien Forever race returns home one year later, in 2085, after which the last human being goes on a journey detailed in the album The Dream Sequencer.

Comics and Short stories

• "If This Goes On—" is a short story by Robert A. Heinlein, charting a 21st-century America that falls under the sway of a theocracy, later anthologised in his collection, "Revolt in 2100"
• In the first Legion of Super-Villains story Cosmic King claims to be from the 21st century. However, as he is from Venus, he may be using a different calendar.
• Arno Stark, a villainous version of Iron Man, is from the year 2020.
• In The Planet of Doubt, the United States had attempted to lay claim to all of Venus. The Council of Berne ruled that planetary explorers could only lay claim to as much of a planet as they had explored. As a result, the United States was only able to establish a claim to a quarter of the habitable zone of Venus, with the other three quarters being occupied by the United Kingdom, France, and the Netherlands in 2059.
• In The Planet of Doubt, the Young expedition explores Uranus in 2060.
• In the year 2070 there was a Nuclear war called the Great Atom War in the Judge Dredd comics.

Tabletop games

• Within the fictional game BattleTech the first FTL drive is tested in 2100.
• January 1, 2100 is the starting date for the roleplaying game Transhuman Space.

Radio

• The radio sitcom The Spaceship is set during 2100.

See also

• 21st century
• 22nd century in fiction

References