One of the recurring discussions in my Creative Writing class has been the Olympics. I'm not really following the story, but I do know that there's a lot of bad things happening. During our last discussion, I suddenly remembered someone I had read about a few years ago: John Titor.
I think I've written about him before, but basically, around 2000-2001, there was this guy on some internet forums claiming to be a time traveler from 2036. He was on a mission to go back to the 70's to obtain an IBM 5100 computer to fix some wacky Y2K like stuff that is supposed to happen in 2038. And as far as I know, yes, this is absolutely a real problem. And Wikipedia confirms it! He was here in 2000, however, to stop by and met his three year old self, or something like that.
I seemed to remember Titor mentioning something about the Olympics, but couldn't recall what, or when. Today I happened to re-remember I needed to check out his story, and well, this is what he had to say:
As a result of the many conflicts, no, there were no official Olympics after 2004. However, it appears they may be revived in 2040.
John Titor — 2036
Interesting… Now, we mustn't overlook the 2006 Winter Olympics. I think most people who don't believe Titor state this as being absolute proof that he was wrong, while those of us who want to believe him or aren't sure state the Winter Olympics as "not counting". I wouldn't say I absolutely believe him, not until there's more proof. Nor do I necessarily want what he says to come true, as you may already know, if you know the story, or will soon know, if you continue reading.
I also seem to recall him predicting mad cow disease, and there's an entire section on his website devoted to that.. He also predicted civil unrest starting around the 2004 US presidential elections, and while I'm a little rusty on my own time period, apparently this has happened?
Another website says that he said the president in 2008 would be a female. Ahem, Hillary, anyone?
The President or "leader" in 2005 I believe tried desperately to be the next Lincoln and hold the country together but many of their policies drove a larger wedge into the Bill of Rights. The President in 2009 was interested only in keeping his/her power base.
John Titor — 2036
Also in Writer's Craft, we discussed Nostradamus predicting 9/11. I was quick to dismiss these predictions as they are all much too vague. I'm not going to stake my life on Titor being real, because, as most people are saying, the jury is still out on him. He has made some pretty good predictions, though. And this quote, on a recent discussion forum, supports the fact that the chance of someone predicting Hillary as being president in 2000 wasn't the most logical thing, and in fact, would have been rather silly:
Given that polls had previously shown that at least 50% of the population would never, ever vote for her under any circumstances … how could he have known that?
John Titor Was Right : Hillary Will Win In 2008
Some people also cite the "his/her" thing as meaning "Bill/Hillary", but I think this quote disproves that:
Q: What happens to Bill Clinton?
A: I don't really know.
John Titor — 2036
One argument that I remember people always making is the fact that Titor never said anything about 9/11. But today, rereading his messages, I found a quote that explains this:
I will not disclose any detailed information that would allow someone to avoid death by probability. This means no earthquake or bombing information.
John Titor — 2036
From this, I'm also seeing something major happening in California sometime soon…
From how he describes the future, it sounds like I'll be pretty well prepared. He talks about banking and things being decentralized, and I think that's a kind of a libertarian thing, which I can totally dig. He also says that in their spare time, people like to read and play music together. Another interesting quote, which I'd say has been proven true, is as follows:
Yes, there is an entertainment industry. Again, it is very decentralized. The technology to express yourself with video is so readily available that many people do it all by themselves or in small groups. Much of the distribution is over the web. I would compare it theater here.
John Titor — 2036
I'll give you one guess as to what I think that's all about.
Now, Titor being American, and the majority of the population of the forum being American, a lot of the information is not all that close to home for me. He discusses the proposal to change the fifty stars on the American flag to only five… hmm, interesting… but what does that mean to me, being Canadian? Luckily, I've found a quote from him about Canada.
I've noticed that when most Americans think about Canada in this time,they think about pine trees, chooks and back-bacon. It may interest you to know that most Canadians in 2036 are some of the most efficient, ruthless and dangerous people I know. God help Quebec.
John Titor — 2036
And an interesting quote to boot! I think I could be efficient, ruthless, and dangerous… assuming I'm not one of the three billion killed in the 2015 nuclear war. He didn't say exactly where was hit in the war, but apparently 120 million Americans are gone. Australia's major cities were attacked, but South America did fairly well. Someone does think to ask more about Canada, but his response isn't very helpful:
There's not a great deal I know about Canada except to say they were pretty much in the same type of conflict. They did have the Dew Line you know.
John Titor — Civil War
If Canada does get attacked in the future, I would think it's going to be Toronto, Ottawa, and such major cities. Possibly even my hometown, as I think we are somewhat of a major city too. I don't know the exact range of these nuclear weapons, but I think it's safe to say I am in danger, staying where I am now. Titor says "Megaton nuclear weapon will vaporize metal to 35 miles and have a heat effect to about 250 miles". I'm about 40 miles from Toronto, 70 miles when I go to university. So yeah, I'll definitely be affected, but possibly not dead. Woohoo!
But it looks like wherever I am, and wherever you are, we can all be safe, even if we live in Major Military Town, USA. Quoth Titor:
I submit to you that when the moment comes it will be absolutely plain as day that you are unsafe in the cities. The millions people that stay will choose to stay. That's what comes as a surprise.
John Titor — Civil War
So it looks like if I just go trekking along up north, I should be just fine and dandy. Plus, he said that most people die from starvation anyway. I don't eat as much as most people in the first place, so I should be able to handle that. Eh!
Some other quotes that I connect to Canada, but that were never explicitly stated as having to do with Canada are the following:
Q: What is your biggest environmental issue?
A: Water. You need it for everything and there is very little left in the world that is positively safe to drink.
John Titor — 2036
[F]resh water is hard to come by without talking to someone with a gun first.
John Titor — 2036
Canada has something like 20% of the world's fresh water, and us "ruthless" Canadians are probably now guarding it with our guns. At least, that's how I see it.
But thermonuclear war and all that fun stuff aside, there's something even more important here. He mentions several times that there are issues with pregnancy. It's much harder to become pregnant in the future, he says… and I think, wait a tick! Pregnancy? Time travel? Making your own kind of music? What does this remind you of? Class? Everybody now…!