21st century

In calendars based on the Christian Era or Common Era, such as the Gregorian calendar, the 21st century is the current century, as of this writing. By some interpretations, it lasts from 2001 to 2100, and the 3rd millennium lasts from 2001 to 3000. This is based on the argument that there was no Year Zero, so the first century began in year 1 http://www.astronomyboy.com/millennium/. However, common usage often regards the 21st century as lasting from 2000 to 2099. In 2000 the ISO implicitly backed this common usage by creating a calendar that incorporates a Year Zero (see 20th century). Decades are almost always considered as starting with the "0" year and named accordingly ("2010s", etc.), so the first decade of a century could overlap back into the preceding one.

Science fiction set in the 21st century

Television and film

• Most of ' is set in 2001.
• The events of Stargate SG-1 continue into the early 21st century.
• Stargate Atlantis is set in the early 21st century.
• The episode Carpenter Street takes place in 2004.
• Part of Back to the Future Part II is set in 2015.
• The Japanese anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion is also set in 2015.
• The modern classic film Blade Runner takes place in November, 2019.
• Both parts of the episode 'Past Tense' take place in the 2020s.
• The Japanese anime show The Super Dimension Fortress Macross spans the years 2009 to 2012 (its final episode takes place on New Year's Day, 2012; and an direct to video epilogue featurette takes place in September 2012). Its prequel and sequels take place in 2008 (Macross Zero), 2040 (Macross Plus) and 2045 (Macross 7). A dramatized historical fiction movie about the First Space War, , is filmed in 2030.
• The American cartoon show Robotech, composed from the footage of three unrelated anime series (including Macross, above) spans the years 2009 to 2015, 2030-2031 and 2044-2045.
• Demolition Man is set in 2032.
• I, Robot was set in 2035.
• Minority Report was set in 2054.
• The 1998 remake of Lost in Space was set in 2058.
• Most of ' takes place in 2063. According to Star Trek canon, the human Zefram Cochrane will develop faster-than-light travel and make first contact with an alien race during this year.
• The Nickelodeon cartoon My Life as a Teenage Robot is set in 2072.
• The Japanese anime show Cowboy Bebop is set in 2071.
• equilibrium is set in 2072.
• The films Strange Days and Until the End of the World were both set at the changeover between the 20th and 21st centuries. The change of century was an important plot element in both films.
• Total Recall is set in 2084.
• The Jetsons is supposed to take place in the late 21st century.
• Due to the time-travel nature of its stories, Doctor Who has taken place at various points during the 21st century.

Computer games

• Uplink is set on the internet of the year 2010.
• Perfect Dark is set in 2023.
• The races in San Francisco Rush 2049 take place in 2049.
• The events of Deus Ex take place in 2052.
• System Shock is set in 2072.
• The discovery of the Zohar in Xenosaga takes place in 20XX.
• The Great War of the Fallout universe starts on October 23, 2077; nuclear bombs are launched, nobody knows who the aggressor was.
• The Classic Megaman franchise supposedly begins in 200X (circa 2008?). Megaman 3 introduces the 20XX numbering scheme (circa 2010?)
• The events of occur in 20XX.

Novels

• Tad Williams' Otherland series is set at some undefined point in the 21st century
• Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age is also set in the 21st century, after some disaster befell the centralized telephone network. This led people to build a decentralized network, which they used to transfer money, thus destroying normal methods of taxation and bringing down most large governments.
• Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars of his Mars trilogy starts at 2027.
• Some books by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky are set in 21st century