Welcome to the Future

I take writing about the future seriously. I try to see trends in political events and image where it will lead. I pay attention to history because it’s a record of what we’ve done. Predicting the future is easy when you consider that humans don’t change all that much. For example, seven hundred and fifty years from now, our advances in medicine will have conquered all deceases. Our geneticists will be repairing imperfect genes before birth. Stealing will be pointless because possessions will be created from recycled matter such as common garbage. However, we will always commit crimes of passion – assuming we can still feel betrayal.

I’m concerned predictions in my book will come true before it’s published. I wrote a scene where a homeless man assisted my protagonist, Cathryn.  She noticed his voice had a smooth quality to it like he could’ve been a voiceover announcer if his luck was any better. A year later, a homeless man in New York found a job because his voice had that same quality. A decade ago, most of the turmoil centered around Afghanistan and Iraq, so I went 1000 miles to the east and chose Syria as the hotspot in the near future. Now the Syrian government is killing its citizens. I may have to rewrite and reset the story another decade into the future.

I began writing my book in the fall of 2003. I made the mistake of being specific with my dates. I figured it was far enough in the future to remain fiction, yet still plausible for a few years. I now understand I have to set my story in the generic near future. If a cruise ship explodes on the way to Baltimore in a few years, say August 11, 2017, then get the hell out of New York City. October 17^th will be a bad day.

[Disclaimer: There are lots of keywords in this post. As the recent story of the tourist that foolishly tweeted "Destroy America" when he meant "party" showed us, I'd like to put on record that I LOVE America. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Whereas the Secret Service or Homeland Security visiting me may make for an interesting afternoon, I think I prefer my boring, uneventful freedom. Thank you.]