You think you will know the end when it arrives. How could you miss an epic plague, a meteorite plunging into the sea, a zombie invasion? How could you miss a tidal wave or a government coup, nuclear annihilation or environmental collapse?
We reassured ourselves by imagining ever more fantastic catastrophes while the real disasters unfolded. We saw the bees disappearing, and the seas warming, and the anonymous oligarchs funding political campaigns. Sometimes, it seemed it was all we talked about, but our complaints were mundane. The weather, for instance: no snow on Christmas. Flood insurance premiums increased, but only on the coast, and don’t they have enough money there? Those people with their beach houses? I can’t afford a beach house; I can’t afford any house; I can’t afford my educ
