[[Science fiction]] and other related fields of [[fiction]] are often set in the future, or at least involve events in times that have not yet occurred. This list is a chronological collection of significant events from various works of such fiction. It includes some events that were set in the future when the fiction containing them was first written but which have now been overtaken by real [[history]], becoming a form of [[alternate history]] or [[failed prediction]] in the process.
It is rarely true that science fiction writers are seriously attempting prediction - the needs of the story are usually the primary concern, and science fiction stories are often more about the present in which they are written than the future in which they are supposedly set.
Nevertheless, below are some notable fictional visions of the-future-that-never-was-and-probably-won't-be. See also: [[Timeline of Star Trek]]
==20th century==
*[[1976]]
**Events of [[The Bicentennial Man]] short story.
*[[1984]]
**[[April]] - Winston Smith, a secretly rebellious file clerk in the Ministry of Truth, is arrested and tortured by [[Big Brother]] (''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]'' by [[George Orwell]])
*[[1992]]
** [[January 12]] - [[HAL 9000]] becomes operational (''[[2001: A Space Odyssey]] movie'')
**[[Khan Noonien Singh]] rises to power, assuming dictatorial control from South Asia to the Middle East. (''[[Star Trek]]'' episode [[Space Seed]])
*[[1996]]
**The [[Eugenics Wars]] end (''[[Star Trek]]'' episode [[Space Seed]])
*[[1997]]
** [[August 4]] - [[Skynet]] goes online
** [[August 29]] - Human civilization is destroyed by Skynet (''[[The Terminator]]''; ''[[Terminator 2]]''. - ''[[Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines]]'', the first sequel released after 1997, claimed that the advent of Skynet had been delayed, but not prevented, by the events of the first two movies)
**November 5 - The first recorded appearance of the mysterious terrorist known as "Codename V" in Westminster, London. During the next year he launches a series of elaborate attacks against the [[fascism|fascist]] regime (which had ruled England since the [[nuclear war]] of [[1988]]), causing increasing confusion and unstability, which ultimately brings the regime down (''[[V for Vendetta]]'' by [[Alan Moore]] and [[David Lloyd]]).
*[[1999]]
** Doctor Samuel Beckett steps into the [[Quantum Leap]] Accelerator and vanishes.
** [[July 17]] - An alien spaceship falls through Earth's atmosphere, levelling part of [[Mount Everest]], destroying [[Moscow]] and [[Stockholm]] and causing much other damage before finally landing on Macross Island. (''[[Super Dimension Fortress Macross]]'')
** [[September 13]] - [[Nuclear waste]] dumps on the far side of the [[Moon]] explode, sending the Moon hurtling into deep space carrying [[Moonbase Alpha]] along with it (''[[Space: 1999]]'')
*[[2000]]
**Massive [[overpopulation]] (''Make Room, Make Room'' by [[Harry Harrison]])
** [[September 13]] - Second Impact occurs at the [[South Pole]], melting the world's ice, tilting the planet off its axis and killing off half of the world's population. (''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'')
==21st century==
*[[2001]]
** An extra-terrestrial obelisk found on the moon, prompting an investigation flight to Jupiter, which is sabotaged by [[HAL 9000]] (''[[2001: A Space Odyssey]]'' by [[Arthur C. Clarke]] and [[Stanley Kubrick]])
** January - The inauguration of the Earth United Nations Government. (''[[Super Dimension Fortress Macross]]'')
** February - Work begins on converting the fallen alien spaceship into a battleship of the Earth United Nations Forces. (''[[Super Dimension Fortress Macross]]'')
** [[June 6]] - [[Shinji Ikari]] is born. (''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'')
** [[December 4]] - [[Asuka Langley Soryu]] is born. (''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'')
** Death of [[Kilgore Trout]] (per [[Kurt Vonnegut]]'s ''[[Timequake]]'')
* [[2003]]
** [[April 7]] - [[Astro Boy]] created
*[[2006]]
** [[Pandemic]] kills 99.9% of all women - [[Battle Tanx Global Assault]]
** Beginning of [[The Bicentennial Man]] movie (the short story was set in [[1976]].
*[[2009]]
** [[February 7]] - Work is completed on the [[Super Dimension Fortress Macross]]. The same day, the [[Zentraedi]] army arrives in the Solar System and war breaks out when the Macross' guns automatically fire on the Zentraedi. This is the beginning of Space War I.
*[[2010]]
** Febraury - Main Zentraedi fleet of 5 million ships annihilates the surface of the earth. (''[[Super Dimension Fortress Macross]]'')
** March - Space War I ends. (''[[Super Dimension Fortress Macross]]'')
**Events of [[2010: Odyssey Two]]. David Bowman, now a magnetic being, returns to Earth, and later on merges with [[HAL 9000]]. [[Jupiter]] explodes, forming Lucifer, a small sun.
*[[2015]]
** The third Angel attacks Tokyo-3. [[Shinji Ikari]] must defend the city in Eva Unit-01. (''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'')
**[[October 21]] - [[Marty McFly]], [[Doc Brown]] and [[Jennifer Parker]] arrive in the future from 1985 in the film [[Back to the Future Part II]] ([[1989]]), and [[Biff Tannen]] departs from this year to 1955 with a sports almanac that creates an alternate 1985.
*[[2019]] - Great year! :)
**The events in [[Blade Runner]]
**The events in [[Akira]]
**T800 is sent back in time to kill Sarah Connor in [[The_Terminator]]
*[[2025]]
**[[T.C. Boyle]]'s novel ''[[A Friend of the Earth]]'' ([[2000]]) is set in the [[USA]] of the year 2025.
**[[Ambrosia Software]]'s game [[Escape Velocity]] is set in 2025
*[[2026]]
**The events of the film [[Metropolis_(1927_movie)|Metropolis]]
*[[2038]]
** Launch of the 7th Macross Battleship that will travel to the center of the Milky Way. (''[[Macross 7]]'')
*[[2045]]
** The band Fire Bomber performs their first live concert with [[Mylene Jenius]]. (''[[Macross 7]]'')
*[[2050s]]
** The decade in which the future crime drama [[Minority Report]] takes place.
*[[2052]]
** The story of the game [[Deus Ex]].
*[[2053]]
** In [[Star Trek]], [[Earth]] is devastated by [[World War III]].
*[[2061]]
**Events of [[2061: Odyssey Three]].
*[[2062]]
**The cartoon series ''[[The Jetsons]]'', was originally set in 2062. This is because the series first aired in [[1962]], and the show was a prediction of what life would be like a hundred years in the future. ''Jetsons: The Movie''([[1990]]) states that ''The Jetsons'' is set "Late in the [[21st century]]." Note that no precise date has ever been stated in any episode.
*[[2061]]
** [[Arthur C. Clarke]]'s book [[2061: Odyssey Three]] is set in this year.
*[[2063]]
** In [[Star Trek]], [[Zefram Cochrane]] makes the first human warp flight with the ''[[Phoenix (Star Trek)|Phoenix]]''. This attracts the [[Vulcan (Star Trek)|Vulcans]] and they make [[first contact]] with humans.
*[[2069]]
** In [[Star Trek]], the [[Klingon]] [[High Council]] is formed, eliminating the position of Emperor until [[2369]].
*[[2077]]
** [[World War III]] starts on [[October 10]], and ends on [[October 23]], with a [[nuclear war]] in the [[Fallout (computer game)|Fallout]] computer game.
*[[2080s]]
**[[The Adventures of Pluto Nash]]
*[[2081]]
** [[Kurt Vonnegut]]'s short story ''[[Harrison Bergeron]]'' takes place.
==Far Future==
*2145
**Events of [[Doom 3]]
*2199
**Events of [[The Matrix]]
*2350
**[[Duck Dodgers|Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century]]
*2376
** Duncan Makenzie lefts [[Titan (moon)|Titan]] for Earth in [[Arthur C. Clarke]]'s ''[[Imperial Earth]]''
*2419
**[[Buck Rogers]] awakens from his coma.
*2517
**''[[Firefly (television series)|Firefly]]'', [[television program]].
*2525
**[[Cleopatra 2525]] TV series
**[[Armada 2525]] [[computer game]], by publisher [[Interstel]]
*2552
**[[Halo: Combat Evolved]] computer game, by [[Bungie Studios]]
*2999
**[[December 31]] - [[Philip J. Fry]] awakens from cryogenic freezing. [[Futurama]]
*[[3001]]
**Events of [[3001: The Final Odyssy]]. Frank Poole rivived.
*10191
**[[House Atreides]] take over stewardship of the planet [[Arrakis]]. (''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]'')
*802701
**The Time Traveller arrives and encounters the Eloi and the Morlocks. [[H.G. Wells]]: "[[The Time Machine]]"
*~1000000
**The Human race leaves the Milky Way galaxy: [[Babylon 5]]
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