2027
Foreign and Domestic Developments
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Genetically engineered bioluminescent plants
2027 World's Fair
The
2027 World’s Fair was held in Aden, South Arabia. Notable exhibits included a prototype for a powered exoskeleton with potential applications for improving mobility for the disabled and to augment strength for certain industrial tasks. Another show case that caught the public’s attention was a display of genetically engineered bioluminescent plants from Japan.
After a series of court cases, the
Sami, an indigenous people group in northern Scandinavia, won certain mineral and fishing rights on the Gulf of Bothnia. These concessions were a rare victory for the Sami who had often been exploited by Nordic and Russian governments. Sami advocate Niko Jusso heralded the decision as “a big wing for the Sami, our Sampi homeland, and native peoples around the globe.”
Scientists at the University of California created a way to
arrange individual atoms to store information. By placing single xenon atoms on a sheet of nickel, data could be stored in a very small amount of space written in either letters or binary code. Unfortunately, because atoms naturally move around, the process had to be conducted at temperatures near -269 Celsius. It was hoped that further research and experimentation with different materials might allow the atoms to be kept at warmer temperatures.
The longtime dictator of Mesopotamia
Isa Abu Samad died of liver failure on June 13. Having ruled since 1988, Abu Samad had kept the petrostate closely tied to Persia and its power bloc, the Organization for Mutual Development. Efforts to install his son Haydar in power sparked a wave of violent protests by Sunnis and reformist Shias who wished to see their country forge a different path. With Persian assistance, Haydar managed to consolidate his authority as leader through brutal repression, with the death toll believed to be in the thousands. Haydar loudly blamed Turkey and the Sunni Arab states for “stoking discontent.”
In July,
China became the third nation to land a man on Mars. A stunning accomplishment for the Technate, it came over a decade after the United States and Germany put footprints on the Red Planet. The mission, dubbed Fāxiàn 4 , followed the earlier American model of spending only a month on the surface before beginning the more than a yearlong return mission. Chinese leader Sun Xiaowen lauded the three-man crew’s success, and declared that China and the Technocratic Union had “closed the gap” with the West.
Tiwonge Banda, an East African refugee who settled in French Algeria, published
The Skeleton Road. Written after her family and home were destroyed by AAA soldiers, it detailed her harrowing flight and the horrors she braved in surviving the African War. Praised for her courage and writing prowess, Banda refused to accept any profits from the novel, giving all of the proceeds to charity funds throughout Africa, stating that "it would be wrong to make money off the suffering of a continent."
In the United States and other developed economies,
Agri-drones are increasingly used in farming to weed, fertilize, harvest, and monitor crops. These machines took a variety of shape from flying quadcopters dispensing pesticides to autonomous tractors. Agri-drones did much to further precision farming, but resulted in decreased demand for agricultural workers. As such, the League of American Republics witnessed an 18% drop in visas for seasonal workers by the end of the decade.
In the autumn, Irish poet and eco-activist
Eireen Daley scaled Nelson’s Pillar in downtown Dublin and chained herself to the statue at its top. Daley’s actions were meant to press for greater measures to combat climate change. Widely covered by the media, Daley’s example spawned hundreds of copycat demonstrations around the globe, some of which resulted in serious injuries due to police intervention or accidents.
The Turin Pact’s European Space Research Organization (ORSE) increased efforts to find signs of life on exoplanets with the start of the
Coeus Initiative. Named after the titan of inquiry from Greek Mythology, the project strove to identify certain gases in the atmospheres of exoplanets through spectral analysis. If on suitable worlds significant quantities of oxygen or methane were detected, that could indicate photosynthesis or biological processes. The Coeus Initiative also searched for the presence of chlorofluorocarbons, which might be indicative of a technological advanced civilization.
On November 29, over 18 months of sustained protests fueled by economic stagnation, lack of political representation, and ethnic identity came to a head when the
Nizam of Hyderabad Asaf Jah IX abdicated. Asaf Jah and his family fled into exile to the Union of Gulf Emirates, ending his Muslim dynasty’s 303 years of rule over the Deccan state. An interim government was established representing the Dravidian speaking Hindu majority. Both Madras and India had recognized the new administration by the end of the year,
Brazilian automobile manufacturer Renascimento unveiled
A Onda, a new electric self-driving vehicle for the mass-market. With the aid of improved battery-supercapactor hybrids, the A Onda had a hitherto unheard-of range of 955 km. The stylish A Onda became a bestseller throughout the Americas and a desired import in Europe. Imitations, such as the Liberty Auto Company’s Pioneer were soon to follow.