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Ja och nej. När det gäller energiproduktion finns det en bortkastningslinje ungefär halvvägs genom romanen som nämner att mellan 2130-2160 förvärvade mänskligheten förmågan att skapa stabil fusionskraft. Det här är något som borde leda till den närmaste gränslösa elproduktionen:
The Turnaround: 2130 to 2160. Verteswandel (Shortback’s famous
“mutation of values”), followed by revolutions; strong AI;
self-replicating factories; terraforming of Mars begun; fusion power;
strong synthetic biology; climate modification efforts, including the
disastrous Little Ice Age of 2142–54; space elevators on Earth and
Mars; fast space propulsion; the space diaspora begun; the Mondragon
Accord signed.
När det gäller materiella behov tycks det som om det åldrande problemet med distribution av knappa varor fortfarande är ett problem i 2312:
Going down in the cars were food (a crucial percentage of the total
needed), metals, manufactured goods, gases, and people. Going up were
people, manufactured goods, the substances common on Earth but rare in
space—these were many, including things animal, vegetable, and
mineral, but chiefly (by bulk) rare earths, wood, oil, and soil. The
totals came to quite a flow of physical mass up and down, all powered
by the counterbalanced forces of gravity and the rotation of the
Earth, with a bit of solar power to make up the difference.