Times are a Changin’

That clip above is from the movie Watchmen. This is my feeling in a nutshell.

With all of the change going on in the world at the moment, it is hard to tell what is going to happen in the future. People are hoping that in a few weeks, things will go back to normal, and we will all go back to work. People expect this situation will be a distant memory.

The human part of me hopes this will be the case. July will roll around, and the world will be back to normal. Borders will be open, people will go to concerts and sport’s games.

The writer part of me knows this won’t be the case. The writer part of me starts asking questions. Many of which the human part of me knows that’s not going to happen.

(Please note, this is a thought exercise to show how I world build scenarios for my novels.)

The writer in me starts compounding the situation. The scenario. In the United States, ten million people have lost their jobs in a week. Air travel has stopped, and borders are closed. Millions of ex-pats are trapped in foreign countries with no ways to get home.  Around the world, tens of thousands have died from the disease and more will before everything is over. Most of those who have passed away are the elderly, but the young have also been affected.

I see things happening in multiple ways. This list is not complete.

One. In response to these events, many places have adopted authoritarian policies to combat this virus. China went even more welding people into their homes. Hungary has taken authoritarian policies. In New Jersey, a guy was arrested for paddleboarding. There was no one within miles of him.

Authoritarian power is given by the people willingly. Those in charge will never voluntarily give that power back. It only is given after violence. This is the start of a dystopian world where everyone is afraid of the virus and stays isolated from each other.

Two. A cure is found and wildly given to societies. People try to go back to the way it was in the hopes they can have normal. It doesn’t come as the world of yesterday is gone and gone for good. The new world is one where people are wary of each other, where people keep a stockpile of food and medicine. Where people pay off the debts and gather together three months of money. The threat of a new disease spreading across the world is too high for people.

Three. Things get worse. Currently, there is an argument over the real death rate of the disease. Accusations of the CCP lying about their numbers is rampant. There are huge gaps between what is happening in New York City and rural Alabama. There are also reports that people are getting re-infected over again.

The disease exemplifies the rifts in society and causes society to crumble. Federal governments become helpless to do anything as their employees refuse to go to work to keep safe their own families. Regional warlords and strongmen pop out of the woodwork.

Are any of these going to happen? Who knows. I am not an oracle. I don’t have the gift of foresight. But I can make educated guesses by studying current events.

If I were to write a novel based on one of those scenarios, then I would spend more time fleshing out the idea.

But as a writer, what do you think is going to happen?

This journey is not something I can do alone. It takes support from many people for it to become a reality. The easiest way is to visit my Amazon Author Page and purchase one of my books. They are available in all countries and for free on Kindle Unlimited. I do have a tip jar set up at Ko-Fe, where you can buy me a coffee. Or you can also visit me on Facebook. Your help and support are much appreciated.