Universe was a 1941 story from Heinlein's Future History series (shown here in the 1951 Dell edition).

This article is about Robert A. Heinlein's Future History series. For other future histories, see Future history. This article focuses on future histories in general For Robert A

The Future History, by Robert A. Heinlein, describes a projected future of the human race from the middle of the 20th century through the early 23rd century. Robert Anson Heinlein (July 7 1907 – May 8 1988 was an American Novelist and Science fiction Writer. The term Future History was coined by John W. Campbell, Jr. in the February 1941 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. John Wood Campbell Jr (June 8 1910 – July 11 1971 was an important Science fiction editor and writer Analog Science Fiction and Fact is an American Science fiction Magazine. Campbell published an early draft of Heinlein's chart of the series in the March 1941 issue. [1]

Heinlein wrote most of the Future History stories early in his career, between 1939-1941 and between 1945-1950. Most of the Future History stories written prior to 1967 are collected in The Past Through Tomorrow, which also contains the final version of the chart. The Past Through Tomorrow is a collection of Robert A Heinlein 's famed Future History stories That collection does not include Universe and Common Sense; they were published separately as Orphans of the Sky. Orphans of the Sky is a 1963 Science fiction Novel by Robert A

The Future History was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best All-Time Series in 1966, along with the Barsoom series by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the Lensman series by E. E. Smith, the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov and The Lord of the Rings series by J. R. R. Tolkien, but lost to Asimov's Foundation series. The Hugo Awards are given every year for the best Science fiction or Fantasy works and achievements of the previous year Barsoom is a fictional version of the planet Mars invented by author Edgar Rice Burroughs for a series of action adventure stories Edgar Rice Burroughs ( September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author best known for his creation of the jungle hero The Lensman series is a serial Science fiction Space opera by E E E Smith, also Edward Elmer Smith PhD, EE "Doc" Smith, Doc Smith, "Skylark" Smith, and (to family Ted The Foundation Series is an epic Science fiction series written over a span of forty-four years by Isaac Asimov. Isaac Asimov (c January 2 1920 &ndash April 6 1992 ˈaɪzək ˈæzɪmʌv originally Исаак Озимов but now transcribed into Russian as, was a Russian The Lord of the Rings is an epic ^[1]

Definition

For the most part, The Past Through Tomorrow defines a core group of stories that are clearly within the Future History category. However, Heinlein scholars generally agree that some stories not included in the anthology belong to the Future History category, and that some included are only weakly linked to it.

James Gifford^[2] adds Time Enough for Love, which was published after The Past Through Tomorrow, and also "Let There Be Light", which was not included in The Past Through Tomorrow, possibly because the collection editor disliked it or because Heinlein himself considered it to be inferior. Time Enough for Love is a Science fiction Novel by Robert A Heinlein, first published in 1973. “Let There Be Light” a Science fiction Short story by Robert A However, he considers Time Enough for Love to be a borderline case. Time Enough for Love is a Science fiction Novel by Robert A Heinlein, first published in 1973. He considers The Number of the Beast, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, and To Sail Beyond the Sunset to be too weakly linked to the Future History to be included. The Number of the Beast is a concept from the Book of Revelation of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The Cat Who Walks Through Walls is a Science fiction Novel by Robert A To Sail Beyond the Sunset is a Science fiction Novel by Robert A

Bill Patterson^[3] includes To Sail Beyond the Sunset, on the theory that the discrepancies between it and the rest of the Future History are explained by assigning it to the same "bundle of related timelines" in the World as Myth multiverse. To Sail Beyond the Sunset is a Science fiction Novel by Robert A However, he lists a number of stories that he believes were never really intended to be part of Future History, even though they were included in The Past Through Tomorrow: "Life-Line" (which was written before Heinlein published the Future History chart), "The Menace from Earth," "We Also Walk Dogs," and the stories originally published in the Saturday Evening Post ("Space Jockey," "It's Great to Be Back!," "The Green Hills of Earth," and "The Black Pits of Luna"). Life-Line is Heinlein 's first published Science fiction story ( 1939) about a man who builds a machine that will predict how long a person will " The Menace From Earth " is a Science fiction Short story by Robert A "—We Also Walk Dogs" is a Science fiction Short story by Robert A The Saturday Evening Post was a weekly Magazine published in the United States from August 4, 1821 to February 8, "It's Great to Be Back!" is a Science fiction Short story by Robert A " The Green Hills of Earth " is a Science fiction Short story by Robert A " The Black Pits of Luna " is a Science fiction Short story by Robert A He agrees with Gifford that "Let There Be Light" should be included. “Let There Be Light” a Science fiction Short story by Robert A The story "—And He Built a Crooked House—" was included only in the pre-war chart, and never since. “—And He Built a Crooked House—” (the quotation marks and dashes being part of the story’s title is a Science fiction Short story by

The Heinlein juveniles do not hew closely to the Future History outline. "Heinlein juveniles" is a phrase that refers to the twelve novels written by Robert A Gifford states that "Although the twelve juvenile novels are not completely inconsistent with the Future History, neither do they form a thorough match with that series for adult readers. It is not often recognized that they are a reasonably consistent 'Future History' of their own. . . At least one major story specified in the Future History chart, the revolution on Venus, ended up being told in the framework of the juveniles as Between Planets. Between Planets is a 1951 Science fiction novel by Robert A Heinlein, originally serialised in Blue Book magazine "^[4] The novel Variable Star, written by Spider Robinson from Heinlein's detailed outline, incorporates some elements of both the Future History (e. For the astronomical object see Variable star. Variable Star is a 2006 novel written by Spider Robinson Spider Robinson (born November 24, 1948) is an American-born Canadian Hugo and Nebula award winning Science fiction g. , references to Nehemiah Scudder) and the universe of the Heinlein juveniles (e. "If This Goes On—" is a Science fiction short novel by Robert A g. , torch ships and faster-than-light telepathic communication between twins). The adult short story "The Long Watch," generally considered to be a Future History story, connects to Space Cadet through the character of (John) Ezra Dahlquist, the central character of the first, memorialized in the second. " The Long Watch " is a Science fiction Short story by Robert A Space Cadet is a 1948 Science fiction novel by Robert A Heinlein about Matt Dodson who joins the Space Patrol to help preserve peace in the Solar System ^[5]

Chronology

The following is a chronology of the Future History. Years are included (where known) to indicate when each story takes place within the narrative timeline. Stories that were planned but never written are noted; see explanatory comments below.

The anthology The Past Through Tomorrow was meant to collect all the Future History stories that were less than novel length. The Past Through Tomorrow is a collection of Robert A Heinlein 's famed Future History stories

• Life-Line (1939 in the original published version, 1951 in book collections)
• "Let There Be Light" (soon after Life-Line)

Word Edgewise (Never written)

• The Roads Must Roll
• Blowups Happen
• The Man Who Sold the Moon
• Delilah and the Space Rigger
• Space Jockey
• Requiem
• The Long Watch (1999)
• Gentlemen, Be Seated!
• The Black Pits of Luna
• "It's Great to Be Back!"
• "—We Also Walk Dogs"
• Searchlight
• Ordeal in Space
• The Green Hills of Earth

Fire Down Below (Never written)

• Logic of Empire
• The Menace from Earth

The Sound of His Wings (Never written)

Eclipse (Never written)

The Stone Pillow (Never written)

• "If This Goes On—"
• Coventry
• Misfit
• Universe (prologue only) (2119)
• Methuselah's Children (2136-2210)
• Universe (~3500)
• Common Sense (~3500)
• Time Enough for Love (4272- and earlier time periods)
• To Sail Beyond the Sunset

Stories never written

The chart published in the collection Revolt in 2100 includes several unwritten stories, which Heinlein describes in a postscript. Life-Line is Heinlein 's first published Science fiction story ( 1939) about a man who builds a machine that will predict how long a person will “Let There Be Light” a Science fiction Short story by Robert A " The Roads Must Roll " is a 1940 Science fiction Short story by Robert A " Blowups Happen " is a Science fiction Short story by Robert A The Man Who Sold the Moon is a Science fiction Novella by Robert A " Delilah and the Space Rigger " a Science fiction Short story by Robert A " Space Jockey " is a Science fiction Short story by Robert A Requiem is a Short story by Robert A Heinlein, serving as a sequel to his short Science fiction novel The Man Who Sold the Moon " The Long Watch " is a Science fiction Short story by Robert A " Gentlemen Be Seated! " is a Science fiction Short story by Robert A " The Black Pits of Luna " is a Science fiction Short story by Robert A "It's Great to Be Back!" is a Science fiction Short story by Robert A "—We Also Walk Dogs" is a Science fiction Short story by Robert A " Searchlight " is a very short Science fiction story by Robert A " Ordeal in Space " is a Science fiction Short story by Robert A " The Green Hills of Earth " is a Science fiction Short story by Robert A " Logic of Empire " is a Science fiction Novella by Robert A " The Menace From Earth " is a Science fiction Short story by Robert A "If This Goes On—" is a Science fiction short novel by Robert A " Coventry " is a Science fiction Short story by Robert A Misfit is a Science fiction Short story by Robert A Heinlein. Orphans of the Sky is a 1963 Science fiction Novel by Robert A Methuselah's Children is a 1941 Science fiction Novel by Robert A Orphans of the Sky is a 1963 Science fiction Novel by Robert A Orphans of the Sky is a 1963 Science fiction Novel by Robert A Time Enough for Love is a Science fiction Novel by Robert A Heinlein, first published in 1973. To Sail Beyond the Sunset is a Science fiction Novel by Robert A Revolt in 2100 is a 1953 collection by Robert A Heinlein and is part of his Future History series "Fire Down Below," about a revolution in Antarctica, would have been set in the early 21st century. Three more unwritten stories fill in the history from just before "Logic of Empire" in the early 21st century through the beginning of "If This Goes On—". " Logic of Empire " is a Science fiction Novella by Robert A "If This Goes On—" is a Science fiction short novel by Robert A "The Sound Of His Wings" covers Nehemiah Scudder's early life as a television evangelist through his rise to power as the First Prophet. "Eclipse" describes independence movements on Mars and Venus. "The Stone Pillow" details the rise of the resistance movement from the early days of the theocracy through the beginning of "If This Goes On—". "If This Goes On—" is a Science fiction short novel by Robert A

These stories were key points in the Future History, so Heinlein gave a rough description of Nehemiah Scudder which made his reign easy to visualize—a combination of John Calvin, Girolamo Savonarola, Joseph Franklin Rutherford, and Huey Long. John Calvin (or Jean Calvin) (10 July 1509 – 27 May 1564 was a French Protestant theologian during the Protestant Reformation and Girolamo Savonarola ( September 21, 1452 &ndash May 23, 1498) was an Italian Dominican priest and leader of Florence from Joseph Franklin Rutherford ( 8 November 1869 — 8 January 1942) often referred to as "Judge" Rutherford was the second president of Huey Pierce Long Jr ( August 30, 1893 September 10, 1935) nicknamed The Kingfish, was an American Politician His rise to power began when one of his flock, the widow of a wealthy man who would have disapproved of Scudder, died and left him enough money to establish a television station. He then teamed up with an ex-Senator and hired a major advertising agency. A senate is a Deliberative body, often the Upper house or chamber of a Legislature or Parliament. An advertising agency or ad agency is a service Business dedicated to creating planning and handling Advertising (and sometimes other forms of promotion He was soon famous even off-world—many bonded laborers on Venus saw him as a messianic figure. Debt bondage or bonded labor is a means of paying off loans with direct labor instead of currency or goods He had muscle as well—a recreation of the Ku Klux Klan in everything but name. Ku Klux Klan ( KKK) is the name of several past and present secret domestic terrorist organizations in the United States, generally in the southern states that are "Blood at the polls and blood in the streets, but Scudder won the election. The next election was never held". Though this period was integral to the human diaspora that would follow several hundred years later, Heinlein stated that he was never able to write them because they featured Scudder prominently; he "dislike(d) him too thoroughly".

References

External links

• A review of the Future History by Robert Wilfred Franson
• A timeline of the Future History by Alberto Monteiro
• A review of the Future History by Galen Strickland at The Templeton Gate
• A copy of the timeline of the Future History published in The Past Through Tomorrow at The Templeton Gate