A study of
the points in history described in the novel by Olaf Stapledon. The Last and First Men is an astonishing work of science fiction in which the author seeks to map out the whole of the future of humanity and its descendants far out into the future. Written in 1930, it is breathtaking in its scope and originality.
The following is an attempt to distil it into a timeline, to look at the narrative as a chronology. This section covers just our own civilisation, which forms one part of the time of the race of humans referred to by Stapledon as the First Men.
The following is an attempt to distil it into a timeline, to look at the narrative as a chronology. This section covers just our own civilisation, which forms one part of the time of the race of humans referred to by Stapledon as the First Men.
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Historical
dates are underlined
Dates
referred to with some greater or lesser precision in the text are in bold
Dates that
I have estimated from the text are in italics
THE
FIRST MEN
470 B.C.
to 399 B.C.
The life of
Socrates.
4 B.C. to
30 A.D.
The life of
Jesus of Nazareth. From now on, all dates are A.D.
395
The fall of
Rome.
17th
and 18th Century
France and
England lead the enlightenment movement that pushes humanity forward.
19th
Century
The
liberation of Italy.
1914 to
1918
THE EUROPEAN
WAR, also known as the War to End War. The least destructive war of all those
that follow.
1917
The
Bolshevik revolution in Russia.
Later a real
proletarian government is established in Russia, which is oligarchical and
tyrannical.
1937 to
1938
THE
ITALIAN-FRENCH WAR
France
invades North Italy. The Italians
ultimately surrender, and the French have complete mastery of the continent of
Europe.
c. 1960
to 1970
After a long
period of economic isolation, Russia has more and more contact with the West.
c. 1970
to 1980
France and
the UK are increasingly eclipsed economically by America and Germany.
1989 to
1990
THE
ANGLO-FRENCH WAR
A dispute
arises between the UK and France. Germany tries to mediate. The League of
Nations threatens both the UK and France with expulsion. France launches a surprise attack against
England in which poison bombs kill half of the population of London. The British government send an entirely
unprecedent message of peace to the French, saying that the scale of their
ruination has persuaded them not to seek revenge. However, a lone French aeroplane bombs a
palace and a school and the mood of the British almost instantly changes.
Within a matter of days, Paris is obliterated.
England and France are effectively ruined as industrial nation states. Both countries are managed for a while by the
League of Nations.
2000 to
2020
Russia,
whilst communist in theory, becomes increasingly reliant upon American economic
support and trade. Russian culture is
greatly enriched by a movement that seeks to harmonize Western intellectualism
with Eastern mysticism.
2026
All the
nations of Europe (apart from Russia) form the European Confederacy. America withdraws from the League of Nations.
China by this time has become the “natural enemy” of America and remains in the
League. In the following decades,
Europe, especially the Germans, grow concerned about increasing American
dominance, especially over Russia, which is near to them. Russia grow fearful of Germany as the epitome
of everything wrong with capitalism, despite their reliance on an even larger
capitalist economy, that being America.
2039 to
2042
THE RUSSO-GERMAN
WAR
A
second-rate German author writes a book which in large part attacks the Russian
people in a highly racist manner. Moscow demands the book be supressed, but the
subsequent argument escalates into war.
Moscow, Leningrad and Berlin are bombed into ruin. Western Russia is poisoned by gas, which
renders even the soil unfertile for many years.
The poison affects large areas over the continent, killing or injuring
many.
America
assists Europe in recovering from this disaster but in doing so, Europe
increasingly comes under American financial control. Europeans increasingly hate and fear American dominance.
2050 to
2060
America
proclaims that it is the custodian of the whole planet. American products are
everywhere across the globe.
2060 to
2070
Cultural
change has by this point led to a general reconciliation and accommodation
between science and religion.
2072 to
2073
THE
EURO-AMERICAN WAR
War breaks
out after a period of intense rivalry, particularly between Germany and
America, and the occurrence of a series of increasingly serious incidents
occur. A military encounter between the
European and American air fleets is the first major battle. The Americans are
victorious and press on towards Europe.
As the
American Air Fleet approaches Europe, a meeting of scientists takes place in
Devon, England to discuss subatomic energy the annihilation of matter. Lundy Island is destroyed by an experimental
device used by a Mongolian scientist to demonstrate these ideas. Shortly before the demonstration, an English
representative present is heard to mutter “Gawd ‘elp us!”, which some of those
unfamiliar with English take to be a technical term relating to the energy
being used.
After this
demonstration, they see the American Air Fleet approach England, but it is
destroyed by use of the experimental device. The device is later destroyed as
well, and the scientist who made it dies, taking the secret of its creation
with him.
America is
incensed by the destruction of its air fleet, which had in fact only been sent
to “demonstrate” above England while peace was negotiated. America floods Europe with poison gas,
killing its population.
2090
The USA
takes over the whole American continent, including South America, becoming the
American Continental Federation. Japan joins the Asiatic Confederacy, under
Chinese leadership. The League of
Nations is by this point dominated by China.
2156
After years
of the globe dividing into two spheres, there are now two “League of Nations”,
each claiming authority from the original. One is dominated by America, the
other by China. The American dominated
one includes the American Continental Federation, South Africa, Australia, New
Zealand, and what remains of Western Europe and Russia. The other is made up of Asia and Africa.
2162
There is a
very serious oil shortage. Oil is the world’s major energy source and the
League of Nations imposes a system of control upon existing oil fields. From this
point on, oil can only be used when no other energy source was available.
2170 to
2270
There is a
century of strained peace between America and China, the world’s two dominant
powers. A new American religion develops, a synthesis of materialist
behaviourism and fundamental Christianity.
2271
Antarctica
is discovered to have huge deposits of fuel, beyond the jurisdiction of the
World Fuel Control Board. America is
first to seize it, but this is contested by China and war seems inevitable.
2272 to 2297
SINO-AMERICAN
WAR
War breaks
out between China and America, ostensibly after a dispute involving American
views on Indian child labour.
By the end
of the war, Africa is mostly under control of America and Europe is ruled by
the Chinese military. England is
virtually uninhabited after repeated bombing. Similarly, Japan is devastated
after repeated American bombing.
America
unleashes a new biological weapon which destabilises human behaviour, leading
to what is called “American madness” in China, where it is used on several
cities.
2298
THE TREATY
OF WORLD-UNION
An American
and Chinese representative meet on a Pacific Island to negotiate a peace after
both nations conclude war is destroying their economies. They agree that a
World Finance Directorate is to be created and national governments are to be
overthrown. Inspired by a beautiful woman they meet, they complete a treaty of
world-union and it is secretly agreed that American cultural values, especially
their religion of divine energy, will become supreme, in return for which
America will give up its monopoly over the energy deposits in Antarctica.
As everyone
is keen to avoid the continuation of the war, this new system is accepted
globally in a relatively short period. Industrial activity is regulated by the
World Industrial Council.
2402
A rumour
begins in China concerning the supreme secret of scientific religion, the
unlocking of energy inside the atom. The mysterious young scientist who
discovered it over two centuries before is thought of as the Discoverer, and as
the Second Coming of the Son of God by the Regenerate Christian Brotherhood, by
now the most powerful of the Western Churches.
2500
The
President of the World declares that there shall be a formal union of science
and religion. The concept centres on the worship of Divine Energy and is largely
accepted with acclaim by all. The Sacred Order of Scientists (S.O.S.) is
sanctified and ordered to devote themselves to the scientific worship of the
Divine Gordelpus. This becomes the world
state’s official religion.
2621
The last of
the world’s oil is used up. Aeroplanes must be powered using electricity
generated from coal.
2500 to
3500
Material
progress and an increase in living standards for all people across the world is
very rapid. Medical knowledge becomes very advanced, eliminating all manner of
illnesses, disabilities and medical conditions. By 3500, typical life
spans near 200 years. As oil has been used up, it is feared that all the coal
will be too and efforts are made to utilise the power of the wind and
geothermal energy, but these are never entirely successful and only supplement
the coal from Antarctica. Aviation and flight are dominant themes in world
culture, along with dancing and athletics; the whole of society is based on
energy and movement.
c. 5500
Certain
essential sources of power are suddenly exhausted by the world state (including
the coal from Antarctica), leading to a rapid decline in living conditions. In responding to this crisis in accordance
with their religion, participation in ritual flying is increased, which
depletes resources even more quickly. Society’s hope, it is believed, lies in
the discovery of the ancient secret of the power of the atom, the holy secret
of the Discoverer, and the S.O.S. dedicate themselves to uncovering it, with
absolutely no success due to the decline in true scientific enquiry.
c. 6500
Society has
declined into a state of widespread starvation, malnutrition and appalling living
conditions. The world state’s religion of Gordelpus is openly questioned. Eventually, it is revealed that the search
for the Discoverer’s secret will never succeed and is in fact a lie. The revelation of this enormous secret leads
to worldwide rebellion and China and India attempt to declare themselves as
independent states. The world government continues longest in America, but eventually
the government there unleashes the “American madness” on its own people and
whole populations disappear in a frenzy of cannibalism.
Only in the most
fertile parts of the globe are any remaining humans able to scrape a living
from the soil. Civilisation has collapsed
completely.
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