In the novel, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Earth was visited by an unknown alien presence millions of years ago. They left behind a monolithic device that, upon descovery, promotes evolutionary intelligence.
By 2001, mankind has explored space as far as the planet Saturn, and has developed technologies that seem to bring people of different cultures together (Such as Space Station V).
2010[]
In 2010 the Soviet Union is still in effect. A joint Soviet/USA mission to Jupiter shows cross cultural unification. The real question is—can mankind live together under two suns? (such as Lucifer).
3001: The Final Odyssey[]
Fan art of 3001 Earth station
In the fourth millennium, Earth is inhabited by Star City, an enormous construct that wraps around Earth’s equator, with four protruding towers that connect by an even larger ring in geostationary orbit. The towers serve as 'space elevators', over thirty six thousand kilometres high, connected by an inhabited ring. They were constructed in the third millenium to accommodate larger populations of people, and more space ports.
