Universe 2525

This is a version of our universe in the year 2525. A lot has happened in the period between our present and the year 2525. The large corporations that once controlled almost everything have now been dismantled, and the few that still exist, do so under strict regulations. The representative governments are also gone in this future, in favour of a direct voting system.   Advances in automation have made employment obsolete, but access to an abundance of resources means people can live very comfortably without having to work. This, combined with the various methods of life extension that are available, have left people with a lot of free time and little need to do anything. Each person has a different response to this. Some look for meaning in their lives, either through faith, or through fame. Others pick up creative hobbies. Others yet, are happy with watching shows and playing videogames in the vast virtual landscapes of cyberspace.   Although ethnic identity does exist in this future, nations do not. All of humanity is united under a single organisation simply referred to as "Humanity". This organisation is often called an empire by its citizens, but is really federation of states. Humanity controls a million star systems. Sounds like a lot but is only a tiny dot in the milky way galaxy. Yet despite that, the surface of Earth has a very low population of about 1.5 billion people. Those live in self sufficient cities that don’t have any negative effects on the planet.   Humans in 2525, are not the same as they are today. The word human is used to describe a people instead of a species. Homo sapiens still make up the majority of humans, but transhumans, advanced a.i., and neurologically augmented animals, all exist and think of themselves as human as everyone else.   Strangely, the most recognisable thing in this future is the technology. There’s no physics breaking technology like anti-gravity, FTL, or time machines. What new technology does exist is allowed by known science.