It would be interesting to see Soviet fragmentation starting. Like the Baltics and Ukraine being unhappy with Moscow.
I have a feeling that will be a solid plot point, if not the overall "B" plot for the next season as we now have a major character in the Soviet Union who can be our eyes from the inside, and we've yet to see evidence that the major underlying issues of the Soviet Union have been tackled, only wallpapering over the cracks shall we say.
America gets the internet.
I think the internet is going to be a major plot point as well. With how tech is in FAMverse, I'd say it's likely you have a net infrastructure more in line with the early 2010's, but that the culture isn't quite there yet.
Don't know if you were online in 2002, but it was a totally different beast to the internet nowadays, and that's only my brief memories of it at the time (Irish dial up at the time meant I didn't get to spend much time)
Commercial space travel is still a thing. Who knows a whole chain of space hotels could be in orbit. Meanwhile, airlines operate spaceplanes.
Probably, although I'd argue that you are more likely for projects like Concord and other supersonic long-haul planes being focused on than straight spaceplanes yet.
Anime likely starts getting big in America and outside of Japan post 1995.
Oh Anime is going to take off like a rocket (no pun intended)
9/11 avoided, no troops in Middle East, but Middle Eastern terror could still be around.
That's going to be a big question mark hanging over the next season for sure.
IRA still active, as is their enemy the UDF (Ulster Defense Force) and the RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary) is still around.
I'm somewhat hoping that particular chapter of humanity will be closing as we come into 2002. I 100% admit that is personal bias though.
How much worse would Y2K freakout be in universe.
Hopefully about the same. I'll remind people who weren't there at the time that while it is funny to joke about Y2K now, a
lot of work went into making sure it didn't become the earth ending crisis people thought it might be.
Without that work, it's liable that some stuff would have actually gone wrong.
Catholic Church sex scandal still happens.
Good. Fuck em.
We See Ed as an even crankier old Astronaut but by 2000 has been retired.
I hope we get an "Ed punching out a Moon Landing Denier" scene. Even if we don't see it and it's only alluded to.
I don't know if ttl ussr will collapse in the same way, it is quite likely that the baltic countries and ukraine will be part of the russian empire.
If the USSR collapses, the Baltics will be the first out the door. Control there was always less solid than the rest of the CCCP.
Maybe Ukraine could be kept, but that's going to take some butterflies.
Islamic terrorism will be much smaller. With more wars between dictators and radicals taking place in the Middle East. Another thing not mentioned on the show is whether Turkey or Iran will control the Middle East. Without the Saudi Arabian competing for power (Saudi Arabia will be very poor in this timeline).
This is a very good point, and brings me back to the Middle-East having a big ? over its head for the next season.