Fictional Splits

I wrote A More Perfect Union in some ways as a response to contemporary events, and in some ways as an interesting exploration of a theoretical “what if” - namely, if the United States ever did break up, how might it happen? In particular, I was interested in a potential model for a peaceful transition. As I wrote, breaking up the country peacefully is vastly preferable to civil war.

That idea - the “what if” scenario - is the playground for think tanks and science fiction. Most fans of science fiction are undoubtedly aware of several different scenarios involving the eventual dissolution of the United States.

As a bit of a break from the usual non-fiction news, here are some of my favorites from popular media, with a particular focus on the different maps.

Hunger Games - The official map shows roughly how the districts are laid out. It’s not at all clear why these districts are in the configuration shown. It appears that the districts evolved from a combination of civil war[s] and environmental collapse. Interestingly, the Washington D.C. area is still the location of the capital - which in Hunger Games is an overtly dystopian nightmare.

Man In The High Castle - In this scenario, the United States has been carved up by the Axis powers in the wake of alternate history ending for WW2. Here, the country has been split mainly along geographic lines, with the Rockies serving as a breakpoint between the Japanese and German powers.

American War (by Omar El Akkad) - I don’t believe there is an official map, but this post offers a reasonable approximation. This map is notable for featuring an independent South (much smaller than the Confederacy of the American Civil War) and a significant loss of territory to Mexico.

Harry Turtledove’s Southern Victory series starts an alternate timeline with the victory of the Confederate States. As the focus is on the Civil War, the map[s] in the series directly follow the outlines of the Southern secession.

The ongoing Cyberpunk series video game Cyberpunk 2077 features an elaborate future history of the United States. There is an interesting overlap between the subdivisions of the fictional United States in 2020 and six nations scenario outlined in A More Perfect Union.

I haven’t personally read or seen the acclaimed The Handmaid’s Tale novels by Margaret Atwood, but it would seem odd to not include it. It appears that the books do not include maps, but the TV show does have some maps in the background. It’s on my list!

Finally, while not including a map, if you’re interested in alternative histories here’s an example of a dystopian prediction that’s typical of the Trump era.

If you have any others you’d like to suggest, feel free to hit reply and let me know!

All the best, and stay safe out there.

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