Hive

In the twenty-fifth century, there are seven major governments, called hives. Unlike the nations of the eighteenth through twenty-second centuries, hives are not bound to particular regions nor constrained within national borders. Upon achieving adulthood, young people choose which hive they will become a member of. They are then subject to the laws of that hive, a beneficiary of the services of that hive, and in most cases a taxpayer and voter of that hive. Switching to another hive later is far easier than twenty-first-century immigration. In all cases, the continent of residence is independent of hive membership, because of the ubiquity of supersonic cars.

List of Hives

The seven most populous hives as of 2454 CE are:

• The Masonic Empire
• The Cousins
• The Humanists
• Mitsubishi
• The European Union
• Gordian
• Utopia

In addition, adults who do not wish to join one of the above seven may instead elect to enter one of three Hiveless categories:

• Whitelaw Hiveless - A conservative and restrictive set of laws that ban the subject from a variety of immoral or improper behaviors. One of the least populous of all ten legal categories.
• Greylaw Hiveless - The default set of laws that govern all children (and other sentient beings) from birth. Many elect to retain this legal status upon adulthood.
• Blacklaw Hiveless - The Eight Universal Laws govern all of civilization, and Blacklaws accept this bare minimum of law. Notably, a Blacklaw can legally murder another Blacklaw - but not a non-Blacklaw.

History

The transition between geographic nation-states and hives happened during the Church Wars, most dramatically manifested in the Great Renunciation of 2131 CE.

Hive Law

Each hive is a sovereign government that creates its own laws and has power over its own citizens. Cities and regions also have their own local laws that enable the coexistence of people governed by seven different sets of laws. A complex body of inter-hive law governs interactions and disputes between members of different hives. This can be a thorny topic, considering how heterogeneous the hives are. The Cousins and Utopia resemble volunteer organizations, for example, while Mitsubishi has a quasi-corporate structure and the Masonic Empire is an absolute monarchy.

Further Reading

Fan interview with author (contains some spoilers)