I am fascinated by dystopian fiction. Part of my interest probably dates back to my days growing up in the church, where the end of days was subtext to the present. In the Lutheran church, we didn't get much focus on fire and brimstone, but it was there in the background. Nowadays, when scientists speak of the climate crisis, there is an echo and a resonance for me. It can feel like the end times, even as I have stopped going to church a long time ago.

I think the dystopia narrative, while seductive, is dangerous, because it can feel inevitable and unavoidable. It can feel like a linear narrative, and that is disempowering. In this essay I am arguing against the linear narrative and in favor of something like a three dimensional matrix of possibilities.