Modern human culture is all about repeating cycles of fashion and recycling old ideas. Hence the current trend for eighties, synth-styled music, fashions that harken back to the normcore nineties, and why the goofy old TV show Doctor Who got resurrected for a whole new generation. Thats also why humanity will, rather sentimentally, cling to New York as a symbol of our past even when were spreading out amongst the rest of the known universe - at least, thats what Doctor Who tells us. Well continue to strip mine our history for use in the future, too, as presumably producers did the costume department to save money back in the day. Presumably thats how the New Roman Empire was born, anyway, with various Caesar-style civilisations glimpsed in very early serials, and actually given a name by Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor in the literally-titled The End Of The World. Apparently flourishing in the year 12005, Rose doesn't take The Doctor up on his offer to swing by for a visit, but it probably stands to reason that its exactly modelled on the classical Roman Empire. Things move in cycles: there will probably be future attempts to bring back the British Empire, too. But like, in a more speculative sci-fi way than what Ukip are after nowadays. These are more far-flung predictions, after all. And slightly less dystopian.