The Maurai series is a series of short stories and a novel by
Poul Anderson set in a
resource depleted,
post-apocalyptic earth several centuries in the future. The series is named after its most frequent protagonists, citizens of the Maurai Federation. The Maurai (originally descended from
Māori peoples of
N'Zealann and other
Polynesians, but including a diverse array of ethnic and racial groups) dominate the
Pacific and
Indian Oceans. Fearful of the social and ecological implications of a return to large-scale industrial society, they use their considerable might and covert resources to prevent other nations from developing nuclear power.
In Orion Shall Rise, the novel that culminated the series, Anderson allowed for the possibility that a more equitable distribution of power, and an advanced,
space-faring civilization, might evolve.
The Five Nations of the
Mong - a feudal society in the center of North America, where an elite descended from post-war Russian, Chinese and Mongol invaders rules over a serf class descended from US citizens
The Domain of Skyholm, a class-based European society located in
France, the
Alps, and the
Low Countries dominated by an ancient pre-war
dirigible sky-city.
In
North America, various "Free
Merican" states exist, including
Corodo and the piratical "Sky People", who raid
Meyco to the south with primitive
airships.