I think storieswe see usually end or start the way they do because...well, it
seems the human tendency is to try to bring order to a universe that tends
toward disorder rather than to harmonize with it...Why try to force it into
your idea of perfection intead of embracing and working with its uniqueness?
Also, all of humanity resists, though unsuccessfully, change. Even the most
open-minded of us tend to resist change in some form or another...But for story
writers, that's ok...It is conflict that makes the stories interesting. Any one
of the scenarios are great to me although Utopia seems the most unrealistic to
me...No matter how perfect a world, someone's idea of Utopia will be someone
else's idea of Hell, i.e. 'Logan's Run' and 'A Brave New World'...However, I'd
love to see a universe where reality shows are outlawed under penalty of death!
LOL
Keith Johnson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:From a recent conversation. Which
scenario seems most likely to you may
reflect your current feelings about society, humanity, and the country
in which you live:
What will the world be like one hundred years from now? Hmmm...let's
consult the ol' crystal ball...
Scenario one: Utopia. Leaving behind the destructive depencies on fossil
fuels and mechanisms, we have returned to Eden. We are one with the
Earth, using holistic medicine, eating organic food (much of which is
produced from giant kelp farms on the ocean). Solar and wind power
provide most of our energy, along with safe, clean fusion. Travel across
the world is possible via underground supersonic "tubes"; cars when used
are electric, and use vast intelligent networks to drive you to your
destination and avoid accidents. Cities are built with a mind to blend
with the environment, rather than disrupt it. The rainforests, coral
reefs, plankton, and the ozone layer are all on the rebound. Racism and
religious intolerance have been replaced with an embrace of diversity.
Worldwide cooperation in the life sciences has cured most disease and
yielded phenomenal methods to heal injuries. The average human lives to
be 110 years old. Luna and Mars have been colonized and are yielding
valuable materials which can only be produced in low-G environments.
Humanity is exploring the rest of the Solar System in ships which ride
the solar winds.
Wal-Mart is no more. "American Idol" has been outlawed.
Examples: Can't think of a single bloody movie or book at the moment--at
least, not one that doesn't end with Satan crawling back into Paradise
and ruining things
Likelihood: Not sure how likely this future is. I'll ask the Easter
Bunny and Santa what they think next time I see them...
Scenario two: Status quo. The world goes on much the way it always has.
Some good times, some bad. Good leaders, crooked leaders. Rogue states,
and cooperative alliances. Lots of wars still being fought, just no
world wars, no nuclear exchanges. Terrorism still a problem but the
dreaded nuking of a city by fanatics never took place. (Okay, maybe
one). Some people prosper, some starve. Some countries are rich, others
are still poor. Technological improvements abound in terms of DNA
research, AI, curing disease, etc. For many the world's a better place,
but it's not Utopia. We go to work, to school, to the movies--which are
now holographic--the same as previous decades. Kids learn more thanks
to neural hookups that tie their brains directly into their computer
ports, and phone calls are made and answered with circuitry implanted in
the bones of the skull. None of it is any more out of the ordinary than
iPods or PDAs are now. In short, it's more of the same, with humanity
crawling slowly forward, with times of regression. It'll be a world
much like ours, just with cooler stuff.
Examples: "Minority Report" (minus the telepathy angle), "Star Trek",
"Century City"
Likelihood: Highly probable. If we don't kill ourselves I think humanity
will just muddle along...
Scenario three: Big Brother as God. Technologically and materially
we'll be much like Scenario two above. But socially, politically--ah,
there's the rub! A world in which religious and philosphical views
dictate our personal lives even more than now. Separation of Church and
State is gone, replaced by virtual theocracies in which state views on
religion and morality shape everything you do. Need a job? Worship the
right god (or in some countries, none at all). Call yourself a
Christian? Better be the right kind if you want to avoid harassment.
Better watch the right TV shows, read the right books, surf the right
Web sites, as the Patriot Act will have expanded to give the government
the right to monitor anything you do, anytime they feel like it. School
prayer is mandatory, Bible studies enforced as part of the curriculum,
evolution not only not taught, but a criminal offense to discuss.
Newspapers run by the state, "reporters" little more than hand-picked
stooges to filter what info the public receives. In America the
two-party system has died off, as only the Constitutional Conservative
Christian Party is allowed to field candidates. Behaviour is closely
monitored, from the type (and gender) of partner you pick, to the number
of kids you can have, how they're raised, and where they go to school.
The draft is back, needed to back aggressive policies that often lead to
conflict with other countries who don't yet see the Light. Europe in a
type of tailspin since the US has broken most ties with it and put
unacceptable conditions on the alliances it makes. The loss of US power
and support, coupled with the rise of China, threatens the stability of
the EU. Other countries, both upset and galvanized by the increasing
factionilism and theocratic leaning of the West, see it as an excuse to
become even more totalitarian than before. Some become increasingly
fanatic about their own religious beliefs, others become more agnostic.
Life goes on, technology thrives in some ways. Spiritually it's a
wasteland.
Examples: Brave New World; the daily news; the current administration
Likelihood: Right now, more than fair. Every sentence above takes place
in some form somewhere today---even in the US. If we don't watch it...
Scenario four: Technology gone wild. Mechanization and
industrialization have taken over. The bulk of the world's resoures are
used to produce weapons of war and destruction, cars that belch
pollution, and monstrous, ungainly skyscrapers where the populace
dwells. "Bigger, stronger, and more destructive" is the mantra of the
day. Everything is metal and concrete. Miles-long factories produce
vehicles, weapons, chemicals, prefab building blocks, synthetic clothing
and processed food--often all in the same facility. Farming is almost
obsolete, thanks to mass extinction among thousands of plants and
animals. The oceans, lakes, and rivers are cesspools of fetid odors and
acid.The atmosphere is a choking, toxic, sea of hydrocarbons. Never
having controlled fusion, the world is increasingly relying upon unsafe
fission plants to supplement the dwindling supplies of coal and oil.
The world's economy is ruled by giant megacorps that are for all
practical purposes governmental bodies. There is little in the way of
greenspace left, and that which remains is the playground of the filthy
rich. The average citizen amuses himself by plugging into the virtual
gaming and holographic worlds provided by their Playstation Mark 20 and
Xbox Iteration XVII. Life is one long, featureless, numbing,
soul-crushing ordeal of menial labour and cheerless landscapes.
The General Mills Conglomerate is releasing a new power bar to
supplement the diet: Soylent Green.
Examples: "Metropolis", "Blade Runner", (of course) "Soylent Green"
Likelihood: A few more years of these Bush cronies who question the
excistence of global warming and scoff at environmentalists, and this
ain't as far-fetched as you might think.
Scenario five: Post-Apocalypse. (See scenario four as a precursor).
Idiots that we are, humans finally give in to our baser nature and nuke
ourselves to near oblivion. Like Taylor said in "Planet of the Apes",
"You blow it up you bastards!". On the other side emerges a world of
total chaos and anarchy. Governments are gone, replaced by at best local
feudal states ruled by those lucky and ruthless enough to accumulate
whatever tech still works. Disease, death and starvation are rampant,
thanks to a decade-long "mild" nuclear winter that affected plant
growth. Fully two-thirds of the world's population circa 2010 was wiped
out, either as a direct result of war, or in the aftermath.
International travel is no more, planes are practically non-existent,
communications nil. Computers are things of legend. Electricity possible
only in villages large enough to create primitive generators--and strong
enough to keep them. It is a bleak, lawless world of roving gangs of
thieves and cutthroats, petty dictators, rule by family clans, and
savagely predator animals.
But deep beneath the mountains of Colorado, the sons and daughters of
those who started the war survive. Healthy, well-fed, educated, and
utterly devoid of conscience, they wait. In self-contained caverns
filled with technology and weapons, they make plans to emerge and
re-take the world once again....
Examples: "Mad Max", "Jeremiah", "Thundaar the Barbarian", and a host
of films, including any crappy post-apocalyptic movie starring Van Damme
or Dolph Lundgren.
Likelihood: Hopefully not very likely, at least not on a large scale.
Perhaps a limited nuclear exchange will produce conditions like this in
local pockets.
Scenario six: Silence. From the surface of the Moon, the Earth looks
like a jewel. A round, pretty, enticing jewel--that glows with a ghostly
light all its own. No buildings. No cities. No technology. Not even
those gangs of theives and feudal lords. We nuked ourselves into
oblivion, leaving behind a planet that'll remain irradiated for
millenia. Man is gone, the Earth--what's left of it--is now the
province of roaches and rats.
Examples: Can't think of any books or films offhand in which we
completely destroy ourselves. Usually they blame it on evil aliens, as
if we need the help!
Likelihood: ????
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