The year is 2137. The world, what’s left of it, is at war. The 21st century was marked by humanity's attempts to fight pollution, global warming, and world hunger. By the 22nd century, these had become problems of the past. However, they were replaced by a far more terrible burden: World Thirst.
And Honor Rode Shotgun follows the heroic efforts of a lone squadron of armored cavalry led by Captain James “Ulysses” Garrett. Along the way they are challenged by Canadian forces, American refugees, and deadly genetic experiments as they attempt to create the diversion that just might end the war. A war that has been ravaging America, and the world at large, for almost a quarter of a century.
Future History of And Honor Rode Shotgun
2043: An international coalition of horticulturists and geneticists funded by the United Nations perfects the process of plankton farming
2058: EU and CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States, i.e. Former Soviet Republics) merge into Eurasian Commonwealth, or EC
2059: After a bloody coup and the death of the Saudi royal family, a multi-state intervention in the Middle East leads to creation of UN-sanctioned country of Dār as-Salām (Abode of Peace), nominally headed by Turkey, which includes Iraq, Iran, Israel, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and the states of the Arabian Peninsula. Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, and Ethiopia petition for, and are granted, membership status
2061: Collapse of Dār as-Salām, which re-emerges under Turkish/Lebanese/Israeli control as the Southwest Asian Alliance
2062: Joint US-Japanese effort founds Logical Logistics, whose business model combines data management with plankton food processing, invests in colossal intercontinental transportation networks involving nu-rail infrastructure construction, effectively ending hunger in quickly developing Africa and Asia
2078: The beginning of The Merger. Following model of EC, world governments merge into multi-state, multi-ethnic commonwealths, starting with the American Federation/Federación Americana spanning the American Continents. China follows suit, absorbing much of Southeast Asia, leading to the 5-year conflict later called The Thai War
2099: World Population tops 25 billion
2100: Population supporting water tables begin to disappear after decades of desiccation
2107: Collapse of merged states begins with Canadian withdrawal from American Federation
2117: Chinese/Canadian Confederacy seizes control of Lake Superior following the draining and desalination of the Caspian Sea, Lake Balkhash, and Lake Baikal
2123-present (2137) The Thirst War, aka World War III
