Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Written in Stone


At the heart of much speculative fiction (and fiction in general) is a question. What if? On Tuesdays I like to throw one out there and see what you make of it. Do with it as you please. If a for-instance is not specified, feel free to interpret that instance as you wish. And if you find this becomes a novel-length answer, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements ;)

What if you had the ability to see the future (either psychically or via other means), but you had absolutely no power to change it? 

19 comments:

  1. Then I don't think I would like to see the future if I had no ability to change it. That would be very nerve wracking I think.

    betty

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  2. I would probably be a mental patient in a padded room. :p

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  3. I think it would drive me nuts as well.

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  4. Maybe you wouldn't want to. Maybe the future is good.

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  5. One of the things that gives me the greatest anxiety is not knowing what's going to happen. So if I can see the future, I don't need to be able to change it. I can just prepare for it. I'd definitely go for it :)

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  6. No thank you. Not in either case, actually.
    The world's beauty is in its mystery.

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  7. No, thanks! What I see now is enough. Seeing what all this leads to bothers me. I would start wondering about my descendants.

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  8. Ick! That would be frustrating and I would be in a padded cell. Give me the mystery of life (as sung by Madeline Kahn in Young Frankenstein)

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  9. I don't want to see it either!!

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  10. Thought one. Not change it, but what about warning others? That I could deal with. Otherwise I'd be pissed. :)

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    Replies
    1. I suppose you could warn others about what you saw. But would they be able to change anything?

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  11. Not for me...too much of a fraidy-cat. Gene testing would be a very real place to start and I won't do that either. Rather roll with the punches, and some of the joy would be lost if you already knew about lovely things coming.

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I appreciate your comments.

I respond to comments* via email, unless your profile email is not enabled. Then, I'll reply in the comment thread. Eventually. Probably.

*Exception: I do not respond to "what if?" comments, but I do read them all. Those questions are open to your interpretation, and I don't wish to limit your imagination by what I thought the question was supposed to be.