What did you see?
It was the new “How’s the weather?” greeting in the 2010 series of Flashforward, a science fiction television series that rounded up a pretty hefty fan-base before being axed by its production company in June. Based on Robert J Sawyer’s novel of the same name, it followed the fictional lives of those central to the FBI in Los Angeles after a massive blackout that affected the entire world. People didn’t just collapse- they saw a glimpse of their future in six months time. From being pregnant, drowning and doing nothing out of the ordinary to seeing nothing at all; it became the speaking point that everyone had their own opinions to. But the question is: What would you see?
Six months from now neither sounds a long time nor feels it when it passes, but would seeing your possible future change your future? The character Nicole Kirby, who didn’t really care much for life, saw herself being drowned as a punishment in her flashforward, and so back in the real world she chose to ‘atone’ for something that had never even occurred yet. Byrce Varley was about to commit suicide before his vision saw him meeting the girl of his dreams. And finally, Demitri Kno had no flashforward, and so had to carry on in life knowing in six months’ time he may be dead. Whilst some leaned toward their visions, others desperately tried to avoid it as much as possible. Either way, their lives were consumed by what they saw. But the question is: What would you see?
It’s the whole Macbeth scenario all over again: did he become king because he was told he was going to be king? It’s hard to get your head around, but does having the knowledge make it come into fruition? Can it go the other way as well, where you can change the future? The series toyed with these ideas and questioned the idea of free will, or whether life journeys are pretty much set in stone. However, it gets to the point where you realise that if you knew where your life was heading, you may turn down opportunities that don’t fit with it, and thus you’re not open to what could happen. Seeing the future may also discourage people from working for their goals, and so the job promotion they saw themselves getting may not actually happen. Even though there’s the desire to see where you’ll lead, in actual fact it totally changes your mindset and ironically, life. Abraham Lincoln stated: “The best way to predict your future is to create it”, and so sometimes not knowing what’s going to happen is the best way- it makes life interesting. And without the knowledge, you’re making up your own ending. So the question is: What would you see?
L Wilkinson
