The future isn’t necessary bright in New York 2140, but it does promise an impressive display of human adaptability. Wall Street trading still exists (though the financial district has moved north to the Cloisters), social media remains a powerful self-branding tool, and human ingenuity has enabled New Yorkers to not only survive, but thrive (drowned streets are still passable via boat, and large air ships function as the futuristic equivalent of city buses). Climate change has caused ocean levels to rise 50 feet and everything below 34 th Street is under water.īut incredibly, New York City carries on as one of the most vibrant financial and cultural centers of the world. It takes place approximately 120 years in the future on a partially submerged Manhattan. Case in point: Science-fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson publishes next week the much anticipated novel New York 2140. No one can fully predict the future, but great writers can imagine a terrifyingly convincing one. Burning Worlds is Amy Brady’s monthly column dedicated to examining important trends in climate change fiction, or “cli-fi.”
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