20020: A new system is developed called The Grid. It is a huge interconnection between everything. The concept is this- not getting enough power to run your games? Then why not use the processing power of another computer in you house (15 units), still not enough why not use your dvd player (4 units), television (3 units) and your microwave (1 unit)? Still need more power why not nab some off someone elses pc? The bottlenecks that occur in the internet due to its structure have been vaporized by the research done by physicists.
This has also allowed a new version of the internet called 'Gridnet'. Due to the power from the Grid, users can use holographic displays from their computers to actually go inside Gridnet and walk around and talk to other people.
20024: Despite government assurances that the Grid is secure against hackers, a group called the 'L33t Pirates' manages to reverse engineer the WAN encryption code and shut down New York for 15 minutes.
20028: South Korea says that they have been developing a global firewall system that runs off of an advanced AI, and should be ready in less than 2 years. By now many more hacks have been made against the Grid, despite the governments attempts to keep them out.
2030: South Korea unveils its new AI system, 'Program1'. The system works perfectly, changing encryption codes on a minute-by-minute basis. No hacks are recorded while it is in service to this present day.
2032: After P1 running for 2 years, America says that it has been experimenting with a new kind of AI called 'Angell-safe', and that they believe their technology could be used to make a much more powerful system. They believe that within the next year a new system will be in place which will make P1 look obsolete. They boast about how, unlike P1 which is purely a interface driven program, Angell safe will allow those working on it to actually go inside Angell just like they can Gridnet.