From The Shoulders of Giamts, Robert J Sawyer posits the far-flung future of humanity, in which governments that use force to control give way to logic and reason in a voluntary society. In his story, colonists start a 1,200 year journey at 1% the speed of light toward a potentially habitable planet, only to be overtaken by subsequent colonists at near-lightspeed. Sort of reinstills the vision that Clarke offered in Childhood's End.
"When the quarantine was over, we did go down to the planet. The temperature was perhaps a little cooler than I’d have liked, and the air a bit moister—but humans adapt, of course. The architecture in Soror’s capital city of Pax was surprisingly ornate, with lots of domed roofs and intricate carvings. The term “capital city” was an anachronism, though; government was completely decentralized, with all major decisions done by plebiscite—including the decision about whether or not to give us another ship."
Published in Galaxy’s Edge Magazine: Issue 1, March 2013
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