An Alternative History of the Future - Entry XV

2075-2100: The Buildup, Outbreak and Resolution of the Third World War

Russia resurrects military alliance; Arms race renews

Leaders of eleven[1] of the fifteen ex-Soviet republics met in Minsk. Under the guidance of Russian dictator Yuri Sporzakov, a military alliance was struck and the economic principles of the NEB were reaffirmed. Sporzakov delivered an emotionally charged speech, exhorting the Slavic and Asian peoples to rise again to global power, at the expense of Western nations.

The Slavo-Asian Pact and Sporzakov’s rhetoric, produced widespread unease in the West. Anticipating direct military confrontation between the Pact/NEB countries and Western nations, the EU and the USA began a military buildup.

2076

First brain transplant

The first viable brain transplant was performed in 2076, by the Italian neurosurgeon Vincent Feurri. The recipient of the donor brain lived for fourteen hours. Feurri’s work relied on flash freezing and selective heating techniques, pioneered by Eden Base medical clinics in the 2060s. Neurosurgeons Lo Win and Miero Kamarika continued Feurri’s work, rewiring nerves by computer. By the late 2090s, brain transplant recipients commonly lived for ten years or more.

2077

Artificial intelligence popularized

Peocomp,[2] a fifth-generation personal artificial intelligence unit, became a marketing success. Each Peocomp was custom-made to its owner’s requirements to provide instruction, organize household affairs or be a companion. Logo Brain, the Texas-based company responsible for developing artificial intelligence technology, was credited with this first use of artificial intelligence for the general public.

Moldavia joins Slavo-Asian pact; USA offers support to EU

Russia successfully incorporated Moldavia into the Slavo-Asian Pact in 2077. Fearful of Russia’s increasing belligerence, American President Jeffery Smyth, offered the EU the use of two hundred F-46 fighter aircraft and sixty B-88 bombers.

Emergence of the science of brain tectonics

The science of brain tectonics was born at the Piaget Centre for Neurological Study in Toronto, Canada. Brain tectonics studied the brain’s action, by directly monitoring the movement of the brain’s so-called neuron plates, first discovered in 2063. The investigation of this motion was instrumental in understanding such conditions as epilepsy, mania, pylam[3] and mectian.[4]