NationStates Jolt Archive

early 2008: Chen Shui Bian declares Taiwan independent, betting that mainland China will not attack the island because the Peoples Republic of China will lose the Beijing Olympics and other economic progress if there is chaos among China and Taiwan.
mid 2008: The PRC government must attack Taiwan or else forfeit its legitimacy in the eyes of the mainland Chinese population and collapse. People's Liberation Army invades Taiwan. The USA must ally with Taiwan in this war due to irresistable popular anti-Chinese sentiment.
2009: World War III
2009: PLA easily conquers Taiwan; in retaliation the USA attacks high value targets on the mainland, the Three Gorges Damn and heavy industry in Manchuria perhaps. Mainland China is engulfed in chaos and in desperation the communist government throws nukes at American airbases in Japan. The longest range Chinese nuclear missiles are fired at the extreme west of the United States - dense population centers in California. The USA retaliates by launching nukes. Civilization is wiped out by nuclear war.
2010 - ???: Dark ages.

4398: Monkeys rule Earth.

2000 A.D.- George Bush wins election.

Technocrats create either a Ziggurat, a Matrix, or both, resulting in the destruction of the human race.

Technocrats create either a Ziggurat, a Matrix, or both, resulting in the destruction of the human race.

Thats even more idiotic than my post.

November 4th, 2004: George W. Bush declared winner.

2005-2008: Democrats whine that Bush stole the election.

2008: Democrats win election.

2010: World ends.

Thats even more idiotic than my post.

Hardly. Osamu Tezuka and the Watchowski brothers are geniuses (genii?). They knew the truth about technology.

I predict that somebody will try to predict the future in vain!!!

OR this:

Humanity eventually starts living in space colonies. For the most part, it's going well, however at some point a group of colonists then begin to wage war against earth using mobile suits. In response, the Earth bands together and develops their own mobile suits called Gundams

Yes, that is totally unoriginal, but still, ya never know :p

Technocrats create either a Ziggurat, a Matrix, or both, resulting in the destruction of the human race.
What the heck is a Ziggurat

Hardly. Osamu Tezuka and the Watchowski brothers are geniuses (genii?). They knew the truth about technology.

The Watchowski brothers are not genii, they're nerds with a latex fetish.

I'm going with the monkey-ruling-earth thing on this one. Our only hope is to send Chuck Heston into a space-time warp, so he can beat the sand and yell (unconvincely) 'Damn you all to Hell!"

BTW a ziggurat is a type of pyramid that goes up in layers. The Mayans made them.

I predict that somebody will try to predict the future in vain!!!

OR this:

Humanity eventually starts living in space colonies. For the most part, it's going well, however at some point a group of colonists then begin to wage war against earth using mobile suits. In response, the Earth bands together and develops their own mobile suits called Gundams

Yes, that is totally unoriginal, but still, ya never know :p


What the heck is a Ziggurat

The Anchient Babylonians Built them. Basically a Ziggurat is a multi layered pyramid. But Letila recognizses(sp?) them as something from Metropolis, a Sci-Fi anime movie.

early 2008: Chen Shui Bian declares Taiwan independent, betting that mainland China will not attack the island because the Peoples Republic of China will lose the Beijing Olympics and other economic progress if there is chaos among China and Taiwan.
mid 2008: The PRC government must attack Taiwan or else forfeit its legitimacy in the eyes of the mainland Chinese population and collapse. People's Liberation Army invades Taiwan. The USA must ally with Taiwan in this war due to irresistable popular anti-Chinese sentiment.
2009: World War III
2009: PLA easily conquers Taiwan; in retaliation the USA attacks high value targets on the mainland, the Three Gorges Damn and heavy industry in Manchuria perhaps. Mainland China is engulfed in chaos and in desperation the communist government throws nukes at American airbases in Japan. The longest range Chinese nuclear missiles are fired at the extreme west of the United States - dense population centers in California. The USA retaliates by launching nukes. Civilization is wiped out by nuclear war.
2010 - ???: Dark ages.
2011- Duke Nukem4ever released

early 2008: Chen Shui Bian declares Taiwan independent, betting that mainland China will not attack the island because the Peoples Republic of China will lose the Beijing Olympics and other economic progress if there is chaos among China and Taiwan.
mid 2008: The PRC government must attack Taiwan or else forfeit its legitimacy in the eyes of the mainland Chinese population and collapse. People's Liberation Army invades Taiwan. The USA must ally with Taiwan in this war due to irresistable popular anti-Chinese sentiment.
2009: World War III
2009: PLA easily conquers Taiwan; in retaliation the USA attacks high value targets on the mainland, the Three Gorges Damn and heavy industry in Manchuria perhaps. Mainland China is engulfed in chaos and in desperation the communist government throws nukes at American airbases in Japan. The longest range Chinese nuclear missiles are fired at the extreme west of the United States - dense population centers in California. The USA retaliates by launching nukes. Civilization is wiped out by nuclear war.
2010 - ???: Dark ages.

The first one is believable, but the second seems less likely. Taiwan has been a sticking point for the Chinese government for a long time, but if it came right down to it they don't actually gain anything by having "control" over the island. If Taiwan said it was willing to commit forces to its sovereignty China would back off. Also, even if China did attack Taiwan, if the U.S. had decided to support Taiwain (and I don't believe the popular anti-Chinese sentiment exists in anywhere near strong enough a form to motivate a war, especially so soon after an unpopular and by all accounts so far unfinished war) it would not allow China to completely take the island without so much as putting up defenses. If it chose to support Taiwan to the extent that it would be willing to bomb mainland China it would already have put thousands of troops and consultants into Taiwan as soon as Taiwan declared indipendence to prevent a war from ever happening. This of course means the creation of a second Korea, but we've lived for so long with the first one I figure people would hardly notice. Also, by the time China would be to the point of using nuclear weapons they would sit back and say, "hey, why are we going though all of this, and probably casting the world into a nuclear winter and ending the modern age over our control of an island we only care about because they said they didn't want to be part of our country?" and they'd stop the war. A country in the modern world would need to be facing total annihilation to use nuclear weapons unless that country be India or Pakistan, or unless a nuclear weapon got into the hands of a rogue terrorist group that did not represent a country.

2500:
Man made it to Mars in the period between now and 2500 AD.

2500:
Man made it to Mars in the period between now and 2500 AD.

If we've only made it to Mars in the next 500 years it'll be a shame.

If we've only made it to Mars in the next 500 years it'll be a shame.
Yes. But that is at least one thing we can be certain of. Getting to Mars between now and 2500.

Yes. But that is at least one thing we can be certain of. Getting to Mars between now and 2500.

Barring any terrible catasrophes, like the one described in the intial post of this thread, I'd say yeah, you're probably right.

The Watchowski brothers are not genii, they're nerds with a latex fetish.

814$ph3m%!!!!!!!!!!!!!111111

Humanity eventually starts living in space colonies. For the most part, it's going well, however at some point a group of colonists then begin to wage war against earth using mobile suits. In response, the Earth bands together and develops their own mobile suits called Gundams

Actually, that's another likely possibility.

Barring any terrible catasrophes, like the one described in the intial post of this thread, I'd say yeah, you're probably right.
Nothing like that will happen.

Nothing like that will happen.

I don't think exactly what was said will happen, but the chance of a terrorist group getting a nuclear weapon and starting a shootout between two major nuclear powers is real and very scary.

I don't think exactly what was said will happen, but the chance of a terrorist group getting a nuclear weapon and starting a shootout between two major nuclear powers is real and very scary.
Naah. Thats just SF.

Naah. Thats just SF.

Don't come crying to me when someone turns your hometown into a giant glass bowl.

Don't come crying to me when someone turns your hometown into a giant glass bowl.
I doubt my hometown is important enough to be targetet.

I doubt my hometown is important enough to be targetet.

Yeah, mine too, but you get the point.

Yeah, mine too, but you get the point.
Bah. It will never happen. At least not before we settled Mars. And possibly Europa.

2006- Kim Jong-Il goes mad, and tries nuking Seoul and Tokyo. Fortunatly, while rather unadvanced, the US Missile Defense system intercepts both missiles, and war is declared. The war takes about a month, and Korea is unified. The US 2nd Infantry division stations across the Yalu from China.
2010- A massive revolt erupts in Iran. Despite efforts by the Aylotollah and the army to quench the revolt, including nuking the rebel held city of Estafan, the Iraqi army, supported by US warplanes and ships, defends the revolt from being crushed. Iraqis stay to help Iran establish a democracy, just like they have done with US help. At this point, they are even a market economy with a GDP approaching $15,000.
2017- The FTAA meet in Mexico City to sign a treaty for further political intergration. They agree that the US constitution is one of the best in the region, and intergrate with the US. Canada, Mexico, Cuba, and the Bahamas are divided into states. The rest remain commonwealths with a considerable degree of autonomy. All countries retain their armies as state militias. Over time, all intergrate to truely become the United States of America, though the original fifty states retain considerable power and influence.
2037- Hydrogen replaces natural gas as the dominant fuel source in the United States, the EU, and East Asia.
2045- With the success of rooting out terrorism in the Middle East (including liberal democracies in each country) and the complacency of Asia, the United States determines that in order to gain more influence on the Middle East, which has eclipsed Europe in wealth, they are to compete in Africa. The army attempts conquest of the continent, starting with South Africa, Liberia, and parts of North Africa, and working into the interior. The new continent is put under control of a committee to develope its resources, and maintain order. After shock therapy by the US, the African continent rehabilitates. It takes them centuries to get to the level of the West, however. Most importantly, it denies the Middle East of the resources of Africa, and keeps them bankers, unable to ever threaten the US like it did under the now-defunct OPEC.
2050-2100 A new space race between the US and China is underway. While this is more peaceful than the last space race, it is still competitive. More than once has only clever diplomacy prevented war between the US and China over colonies. By 2100, each country races to be the first to visit Alpha Centauri.
2300- The next ice age begins, destroying both the US and China. Africa and the Middle East become the dominant powers of the world.

2015:
Von Witzleben and co have established the Euro Corp. An assembly of wealthy individuals who's sole purpose is to buy up, or undermine US and Japanese companies. Preferably those in financial trouble. Buying them up and selling them bit by bit to European, Korean and Taiwanese businesses. The US parts are in high favor with the buyers from France. Who always get a discount.

BOOM

boom!
:confused:

The first one is believable, but the second seems less likely.
I'd argue that the first one is one of the more unlikely of the series. I'd that Chen Shui Bian is sane enough to realize that China will definitely go to war for Taiwan; China has vowed to take the island and there is no reason for it to renege on its promise to the mainland Chinese people to whom the oneness of China is akin to religious dogma.

Taiwan has been a sticking point for the Chinese government for a long time, but if it came right down to it they don't actually gain anything by having "control" over the island. If Taiwan said it was willing to commit forces to its sovereignty China would back off.
The Chinese government has let it be known that it is willing to sacrifice 30+ years of diplomatic and economic progress for the sake of going to war to take Taiwan should Taiwan declare independence... and most mainlanders are actually supportive of this even if it means giving up their hard earned middle class lifestyle. And East Asian politics is governed in large part not by practical considerations but by deeprooted cultural considerations, the most significant is the concept of the unified China which the mainland will not abandon.

Also, even if China did attack Taiwan, if the U.S. had decided to support Taiwain (and I don't believe the popular anti-Chinese sentiment exists in anywhere near strong enough a form to motivate a war, especially so soon after an unpopular and by all accounts so far unfinished war)
Before the Gulf War I there was no strong anti-Iraq sentiment but when Saddam invaded Kuwait George Bush enjoyed immense popular support, which I think will materialize if Taiwan, an American ally, were attacked by China which many Americans see as a challenge to the American dominance which these people (neo-cons and fundamentalist Christians) consider birthright. Hence the US would be more likely to back Taiwan military if a Republican were in office than a Democrat but who is in the White House does not change the certainty that if Taiwan declares independence China will attack.

it would not allow China to completely take the island without so much as putting up defenses.
The US which is already stretched thin will not likely be able to prevent Taiwan from being taken over even if some sort of defense were hastily mustered. China has an overwhelming geographic and manpower advantage in the Taiwan Strait which will negate the technological supremacy and mobility of American forces.

If it chose to support Taiwan to the extent that it would be willing to bomb mainland China it would already have put thousands of troops and consultants into Taiwan as soon as Taiwan declared indipendence to prevent a war from ever happening. This of course means the creation of a second Korea, but we've lived for so long with the first one I figure people would hardly notice.
In the second Korea both sides are tolerant of each others existence... mainland China by principle of the one-CHina policy cannot tolerate the existence of an independent Taiwan so it will wage war; no war can be prevented by a couple thousand American soldiers in Taiwan acting as a deterrent.

Also, by the time China would be to the point of using nuclear weapons they would sit back and say, "hey, why are we going though all of this, and probably casting the world into a nuclear winter and ending the modern age over our control of an island we only care about because they said they didn't want to be part of our country?" and they'd stop the war.
China will most likely nuke Japan at which point I think it is the US which will decline to retaliate with nuclear strike and thus stop the war.

A country in the modern world would need to be facing total annihilation to use nuclear weapons unless that country be India or Pakistan, or unless a nuclear weapon got into the hands of a rogue terrorist group that did not represent a country.
Yes, I agree that is more likely to happen then the possibility I presented, since I think Chen Shui Bian can forsee that China will definitely attack Taiwan if independence is declared, and Taiwan will not stand a chance if invaded by China. Therefore Chen, and Taiwan, will never declare independence and we will forever have two governments claiming to represent all of China.

BOOM
Sooner or later

November 4th, 2004: George W. Bush declared winner.

2005-2008: Democrats whine that Bush stole the election.

2008: Democrats win election.

2010: World ends.
hahaha thats funny. hopefully democrats wont win the election

Sooner or later
I always thought the earth would burn up as the sun expanded before collapsing.

I always thought the earth would burn up as the sun expanded before collapsing.
That and the Boom are not mutually exclusive

i'm thinking sometime around 2010, some demographic/organization/nation will realize the importance of the space elevator and build the dang thing, space travel becomes remarkably cheap and we begin mining the teroid belt and probably hook up some powercollection plants on venus, or just orbitting earth.

of course with all that electrical energy we'll have the same problems that puppeteers had...