When The Future Arrives…

I’m watching The Postman this morning in a continuation of my post-apocalyptic theme of the week.  And I about fell off the sofa laughing that this post-apocalyptic tale is set…next year.  Given the book it was based on was written in 1985, I guess 2013 felt like a long way off.  Hey, in the 50s, they thought we’d all have flying cars by the 90s.

It is a gift of the writer to be able to extrapolate and envision the changes that might befall our world.  I find it by turns fascinating and hilarious what various authors have postulated the future would turn out to be.  From the seemingly far fetched of science fiction to the disturbingly real possibilities that are only a handful of steps away from some of the political realities of our world.

Possibly if I wasn’t drugged up the wazoo for this sinus infection, I’d have something profound to say about this.  About how the world should sit up and pay attention to both history and possibility and correct its lazy, selfish ways (certainly it’s something I think about every election year when we fail to have a decent candidate).  But mostly I’m reflecting on how all these post-apocalyptic futures, be they caused by nuclear war, a solar flare, alien invasion, or zombies, always polarize society and bring out the best and the worst in mankind.  Which is, I suppose, the truth of humanity.  When faced with serious adversity, the cream and the crap both rise to the top.

The Hunger Games.  Divergent.  The City of Ember.  Incarceron.  I Am Legend.

What are your favorite post-apocalyptic stories?