Flashback to the mid 90s NBC aired 4 specials hosted by David McCallum called Ancient Prophecies. Now I had been watching shows like Unsolved Mysteries and Sightings but they rarely delved into the realm of prophecy. It was through these specials that I was introduced to Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce, and it’s where I first learned about the Mayan Calendar. There’s something about McCallum’s delivery that brings a measure of gravitas to the program.
All the major dates had come and gone without calamity so why do I find myself using the show to fall asleep at night? It goes back to my fascination with dystopian science fiction and supernatural horror. The time that I enveloped myself in those movies is the time that I started listening to Metallica and Black Sabbath. There were plenty of songs that dealt with End Times imagery so I had plenty of things to feed my Armageddon needs. Even though I didn’t have many movies like the Omen on VHS it didn’t matter because basic cable was more than accommodating.
There was a bit of a resurgence with Doomsday Preppers but that’s bargain basement prophets, I still like it though. The thing that it’s missing is the story. Watching somebody stockpile food and weapons in a bunker is fun but it lacks real drama. In The Day After those scenes right before the strike had that sense of urgency and you can feel the panic.
Stories get passed down and retold so things like the story of Atlantis stand the test of time. If you’re going to create a prophecy you need to world build to the level of Tolkien. Let it begin in the age of prehistory and tie it into the collapse of civilizations that we know existed. Create an unstoppable antagonist and theorize what they could do to our current civilization. Giants ruled the British Isles and North America but the reason there are no skeletal remains is because those that wiped them out had weaponry that turns organic matter to carbon dust. Even the advanced races of giants where no match for them. The people of Atlantis were technologically superior they were still overwhelmed and their existence was pushed into the world of myths and legends. A select few in the know not only keep this knowledge hidden they prevent humanity reaching its pinnacle to avoid returning to zero again. It’s the reason why so many Tesla inventions never came to be. I’m sure the Hadron Collider has caught their attention and they might make their return.