23 March, 2010

Living in Fear of the Future

I think about the future every day.

Near future, far future, future with teleportation and flying cars and space travel, future with waking up in the morning and driving the same route to work. I think about the possibilities - maybe going on vacation to Florida, someday going to Rome again, seeing Greece, wondering if I'll ever be daring enough to dive again.

Will I graduate college, and proceed to a Bachelors? Will I continue improving at my current job, or burn out? Is it possible to do something I really want to do?
Is there anything I'll ever really want to do?

I don't know.

Will we cure cancer? AIDS? Fibromyalgia? Lupus? Will I be a cyborg? Can my mind be ported into a computer? Will I live forever, or die before I'm 50? Will I be in pain forever, or will medicine become so powerful that I'll go without pain for months, years, or even the rest of my life? Will there be a medical mistake that creates zombies?

Can cars fly? Can we travel through space to planets we can't see? Are there other galaxies that we'll reach, or are we stuck within the bounds of our own solar system, dreaming of stars undiscovered? Will I ever see Earth from orbit?
What happens when you teleport? Is it possible to teleport? Will we ever have instantaneous replication of matter? Can we clone people without losing their personalities, or can we clone people and maintain their personalities?

When will I die?

When will my family members die, or my husband, or my pets? Will there be another world war? Will there be a global government? Will I lose my freedoms? Will someone mug me and take my identity?

Can I survive an apocalypse? Can I make myself strong enough to survive a desolate world, or will I die before everyone else?

Will someone kill me, or will I die of illness, or of age? Will I go crazy?

I wonder about this every day. It's a lot to think about, that's true, but my mind never stops turning, the gears keep on twisting and screeching. I hate not knowing what will happen, but I am terrified of knowing - but only if it's impossible to change it.

Can you see the future?

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