Remembering the Future

Thirteen science fiction stories tell of fallible men and women struggling to cope with a changing world. They do not always cope very well. In some cases it is the world's fault, because of collapsing economies, ungoverned megacities, biological disasters, criminals, forces beyond the control of individuals. In other cases it is their own fault. One of the stories blends science fiction and surrealism to describe a terrible fate that unquestionably is the fault of its main character....
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Thirteen science fiction stories tell of fallible men and women struggling to cope with a changing world. They do not always cope very well. In some cases it is the world's fault, because of collapsing economies, ungoverned megacities, biological disasters, criminals, forces beyond the control of individuals. In other cases it is their own fault. One of the stories blends science fiction and surrealism to describe a terrible fate that unquestionably is the fault of its main character. Most of these stories describe very possible futures with a focus on the consequences for individuals. The possibilities include conditions much better than the present, conditions in which war and pollution are things of the past. But conditions also could be much worse, as a growing global population overburdens the strained resources and societies of our world. Technological progress can lead to the most unexpected difficulties-to a time when memories are not merely duplicated but stolen, to a time when genetic engineering is accelerated out of competitive zeal, to a time when homogenization of cultures and leveling of landscapes will leave a man disconnected from people and places. Other worlds will present other challenges, shaped in part by our own misleading assumptions about what we might find. We will change as the world changes. What will we become, when we aren't what we are? These stories explore that question.