.JPG)
"What will America be like in 2017?" That question doesn't inspire me sufficiently to hazard a guess. It feels, to me, as though things are coming to a point of flux. Almost anything could happen in the next ten years. I'd prefer to look further ahead, to a time when the dust has settled, or a new dust-cloud has appeared.
I recall some illuminating, and often touching, entries from professional writers and others in response to a request at De Smog blog.
"We asked friends of DeSmogBlog to write a letter to their great, great grandchildren about their vision and hopes for their world in 100 years, in the context of global warming. Will we all be underwater? In outer space?"
Having no children of my own I don't qualify for great-great-grandchildren. This is something about which I often feel relieved. My husband has four offspring, however, all grown and most with sons and daughters of their own, so I don't feel totally excuded from these thoughts
What will the outer planets will be doing in around 100 years' time?
In 2104 (just short of 100 years from now) there will be another Uranus/Pluto conjunction. This one will occur in Taurus. The last Uranus/Pluto conjunction was in 1965/6 in Virgo. To find the previous one in Taurus we must look back into the centuries Before Christ - 322BC and 576 BC (see Richard Nolle's list HERE).
Will great-great-grandchildren of today's population live through an updated re-run of the turbulent years of the mid-1960s: Vietnam war, civil rights activism, hippies, etc? There's little doubt, in my mind, that if the human race manages to survive that long, there will be turbulence. Turbulence which makes the mid 1960s look serene by comparison. The conjunction in Taurus has a distinctly more robust flavour than the earlier one in Virgo. It will still be in an Earth sign, but Fixed Earth, more determined, single-minded and focused. This may be the revolution many of us feel a need for now. Perhaps the great-great-grandchildren will live it for us. And by 2107, perhaps the worst will be over, and a new world will be taking shape.
I can't help recalling, too, some thoughts of my own about a time even further into the future. I wrote a short story last year, a first attempt at fiction, "Regions of the Home Wind". A futuristic tale of two travellers, many many centuries from now, from a far-off world whose ancestral roots are here, planet Earth. They return to their roots. About halfway through the story they discover a hidden refuge and store-place with materials which help them understand Earth's history. Among their finds is a sunlight-driven recording device, containing a message from the year 2045.
"A male voice, deep and resonant:
" To whomsoever may hear these words in the future, I send greetings from the people of the United States of America in the year 2045."
"We fear for the future of our planet in these dark times. We have tried to collect and store, in a secure place, items which may help and inform any of our people who are able to survive into a new age of planet Earth, an age which must surely come. As well as the items you already have discovered within this container, there is more. You must remove the base of the container using the same tool you have used to open the cabinet. Under the base you will find supplies of seeds. These will survive for hundreds, or thousands of years. They are seeds of corn, wheat, vegetables, fruit and flowers from our world. These, carefully planted and tended, will provide an ongoing solution if food is in short supply. There are illustrated instructions to assist you.
We, who have used our planet Earth so unwisely ask one thing only of those who might survive these times to build a new future: Love your planet. Live in harmony with it, and with one another. These are the lessons we have learned, but learned too late.
On behalf of the people of North America and planet Earth, I ask your forgiveness and trust that our mistakes will bring forth your wisdom.
I am President of the United States of America.
Goodbye."
We remained in silence, deep sadness etched upon every face. Cheroka and I felt proud that the people of Alterion have, indeed, learned from the cruel lessons of their ancestors."
I recall some illuminating, and often touching, entries from professional writers and others in response to a request at De Smog blog.
"We asked friends of DeSmogBlog to write a letter to their great, great grandchildren about their vision and hopes for their world in 100 years, in the context of global warming. Will we all be underwater? In outer space?"
Having no children of my own I don't qualify for great-great-grandchildren. This is something about which I often feel relieved. My husband has four offspring, however, all grown and most with sons and daughters of their own, so I don't feel totally excuded from these thoughts
What will the outer planets will be doing in around 100 years' time?
In 2104 (just short of 100 years from now) there will be another Uranus/Pluto conjunction. This one will occur in Taurus. The last Uranus/Pluto conjunction was in 1965/6 in Virgo. To find the previous one in Taurus we must look back into the centuries Before Christ - 322BC and 576 BC (see Richard Nolle's list HERE).
Will great-great-grandchildren of today's population live through an updated re-run of the turbulent years of the mid-1960s: Vietnam war, civil rights activism, hippies, etc? There's little doubt, in my mind, that if the human race manages to survive that long, there will be turbulence. Turbulence which makes the mid 1960s look serene by comparison. The conjunction in Taurus has a distinctly more robust flavour than the earlier one in Virgo. It will still be in an Earth sign, but Fixed Earth, more determined, single-minded and focused. This may be the revolution many of us feel a need for now. Perhaps the great-great-grandchildren will live it for us. And by 2107, perhaps the worst will be over, and a new world will be taking shape.
I can't help recalling, too, some thoughts of my own about a time even further into the future. I wrote a short story last year, a first attempt at fiction, "Regions of the Home Wind". A futuristic tale of two travellers, many many centuries from now, from a far-off world whose ancestral roots are here, planet Earth. They return to their roots. About halfway through the story they discover a hidden refuge and store-place with materials which help them understand Earth's history. Among their finds is a sunlight-driven recording device, containing a message from the year 2045.
"A male voice, deep and resonant:
" To whomsoever may hear these words in the future, I send greetings from the people of the United States of America in the year 2045."
"We fear for the future of our planet in these dark times. We have tried to collect and store, in a secure place, items which may help and inform any of our people who are able to survive into a new age of planet Earth, an age which must surely come. As well as the items you already have discovered within this container, there is more. You must remove the base of the container using the same tool you have used to open the cabinet. Under the base you will find supplies of seeds. These will survive for hundreds, or thousands of years. They are seeds of corn, wheat, vegetables, fruit and flowers from our world. These, carefully planted and tended, will provide an ongoing solution if food is in short supply. There are illustrated instructions to assist you.
We, who have used our planet Earth so unwisely ask one thing only of those who might survive these times to build a new future: Love your planet. Live in harmony with it, and with one another. These are the lessons we have learned, but learned too late.
On behalf of the people of North America and planet Earth, I ask your forgiveness and trust that our mistakes will bring forth your wisdom.
I am President of the United States of America.
Goodbye."
We remained in silence, deep sadness etched upon every face. Cheroka and I felt proud that the people of Alterion have, indeed, learned from the cruel lessons of their ancestors."
No comments:
Post a Comment