Nothing dates as quickly as a prediction. That is why we have asked authors of our new weekly ‘Futures’ series, briefed to think about the scientific advances of the millennium to come, to concentrate on enjoying themselves rather than presenting anything especially serious or accurate. After all, when Nature was first published, 130 years ago today, predictions of the twenty-first century might have portrayed women in crinolines riding around in steam-driven airships.

This pursuit of happiness explains why we have asked, in the main, science-fiction writers to share their thoughts. As a genre, science fiction has purposes besides entertainment. It provides a medium in which writers can express not their predictions but their preoccupations with the present day. Moreover, such professional writers are perhaps better equipped than scientists to understand and convey how technological changes will affect the way we live, in all sorts of ways besides the mechanical. Nevertheless, we do expect scientists to contribute to this series, and we shall also be publishing other researchers' anticipations in a supplement at the beginning of next month.

In the weeks to come, the Futures series will present new writing from some of science fiction's household names — and some excellent new writing from authors of whom you might not have heard. For the first exercise in this new venture, Nature is delighted to publish an original contribution from Sir Arthur C. Clarke, perhaps science fiction's most famous name of all. You can find it on page 19.