We all know it’s the year 2012 and if you’re a science fiction and fantasy aficionado, you’ve heard all the theories about the end of the world. Predictions of swine flu and H1N1 outbreaks, terrorist attacks, wars in the Middle East, global warming and The Great Meltdown are rampant. Yet are they backed by any bit of truth whatsoever or are they simply fodder for the next best urban fantasy novels?

December 21, 2012 is the actual end of the 5,126-year Mayan calendar, aka a sign of the apocalypse. If I were a science fiction and fantasy writer, I’d be basing my next novel around that. I can see the marketing campaign now 12/21/12—the end of a beautiful mess. The numbers are perfect and the possibilities endless.

Hundreds of thousands of young adults (and some not-so-young) are lining up to see the latest dark urban fantasy and dystopian novels turned into films. There seems to be a fascination, albeit a little sick, with watching the future-as-a-nightmare come to fruition. Young adult books with dystopian titles are being released by the masses, with fans letting their imaginations run amok with scenarios of everything from viruses and flesh eating zombies to totalitarian leaders and an absolute scarcity of food and other resources.

As we wonder what the future holds, could we actually be manifesting these pipe dreams into reality? If books like The Secret and other pop culture phenomena touting the power of our thought and the Law of Attraction are accurate, and readers continue flocking to read and set their attention on the latest young adult books with post apocalyptic scenarios, we could theoretically set these disastrous circumstances into motion, couldn’t we? As people everywhere, Pearls and Coals alike, stockpile food and weaponry, prepare for zombie altercations and obtain vaccinations for the most obscure diseases, aren’t they actually setting their intention on creating these exact circumstances?

Regardless of what 2012 brings us, the obsession seems to have only begun. As we continue to work to save the Pearls, the rest of our population seems focused on all these imaginary, mythical threats. Perhaps focusing on a world of fantasy is the only way some can deal with impending doom. Either way, we’ll keep trying to help as many Pearls as possible survive their real life threats and face their ultimate destiny.

Source: Open.Salon.com