At that time, it had long been clear that humanity was facing a major crisis, the main trigger of which was the ecological disaster caused by our own actions. Although there was not yet a thorough understanding of all the causes and effects, this awareness had become a central theme in narratives and reflections on the global situation. The techno-tycoons then began to mumble about an escape from an uninhabitable Earth. This gimmick was nothing new; science fiction had often invoked it and so had some major space agencies of the bipolar era. But now it was a matter of somehow exorcising the mortal fate of the biosphere in accordance with their transhumanist creed of human empowerment, symbolized by the ingenious logo “h+” for human+. It was no coincidence that transhumanism had spread through the tight circles of Silicon Valley from which the first techno-tycoons came as a paradoxical syncretism between technology and religion that sought ways out in the face of the dreaded final crisis. Although everyone was careful not to say so, the survival and empowerment promised by transhumanists was reserved for a small number of the privileged, particularly the technological elite who could afford it. To camouflage this dire prospect, the techno-tycoons solicited their marketing divisions. Out of it came the good ol’ trick of naming a new High Frontier to be conquered through technological innovation and escape from Earth's apocalypse. In short, the High Frontier would have been a reverse metaphor for the myth of the gold rush of the many proletarian pioneers of the Wild West; instead, this time the elite of the ruling classes would have participated in the conquest of the High Frontier by moving away from Earth. Of course, you must have guessed that this allusion to the Frontier came from US techno-tycoons. But it seems that, underneath, others in the West and in the Middle Empire secretly shared their ambitions.
