A Post-Cyberpunk trilogy by Malka Older, this series explores the concept of microdemocracy, in which each population of 100,000 people form their own nation and collectively form larger governments. This is all administered by Information, the hybrid of the UN and Google who ensure that the population is informed and run elections.
Infomocracy is about an election in which a single Supermajority party has been in power for 20 years, and the question of whether they are the defacto world power is raised.
Null States is about what happens when archaic nation states are still sticking around in a limited fashion and decide to use the old fashioned thing called armies. It also features the beginnings of a conspiracy against Information and microdemocracy.
State Techtonics is about whether or not Information itself is worth saving.
The short story Narrative Disorder
is also part of the series, serving as Mishima's origin story and a discussion of Narrative Disorder. `
The Centenal Cycle feature the following tropes:
- Action Girl: Mishima is this, essentially serving as an Information spy. Officially she is merely an analyst.
- All Elections Are Serious Business: This plays out in an interesting fashion. Because control of the world is dictated by control of the largest number of centennials
- Ambadassador: SVAT(Specialized Voter Action Teams) are largely this, serving as a hybrid of aid workers and diplomats that also generally have very well equipped security teams.
- Balance of Power: This plays out with the first election cycle, in which Information is trying to balance between the current Supermajority and their rivals.
- Cool Plane/Cool Airship: Given the nature of Centenals, conventional mass transit is in decline. Fortunately, the crow is an effective replacement, as an odd hybrid of a helicoper, airplane, and airship. It is large enough to serve as a private apartment for an individual.
- Fantasy Gun Control/Power Nullifier: One of the technologies of the setting is the Lumper, which emits a magnetic field that makes guns useless without any major side effects. Flamethrowers and explosives still work fine though. We also later see that low velocity plastic guns can be used, but they are less effective overall.
- Fictional Disability: Narrative Disorder is an example, in which people have an attachment to finding, consuming, and creating narratives in everything they do. The obvious parallel is Autism, or more specifically the character Abed in Community. Mishima has this condition, and like those with similar real conditions, it is used as a means to shut her down by those who don't want to listen to their conclusions.
- Fictional United Nations/United Nations Is a Superpower: Information is essentially a hybrid between Snopes, Google, and the United Nations, combining the power of the latter two. They even have peacekeeping squads that are engaged in both diplomacy and education.
- Hegemonic Empire: This is what the supermajority inevitably becomes.
- Multiple Government Polity: The point of microdemocracy is largely about creating this.
- Post-Cyberpunk: Whether or not Information is better than the alternative is a question asked by the series even as most of the main characters are agents of it.
