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The Worst Has Happened. Where Do We Go From Here?

Join Vocativ as we embrace an uncertain future with a series that explores what could go wrong — and how ready we’ll be

Illustration: R. A. Di Ieso

Jan 20, 2017 at 8:04 AM ET

Up until the last hours on Election night, pollsters and experts believed Donald Trump’s victory would never happen. Yet here we are: In the first months of the Trump era, and it’s already a worst-case scenario for many (but clearly not all) Americans.

Among much else, Trump’s victory is a lesson not to discount or dismiss the improbable, and it’s a case study on why taking a ‘worst-case scenario’ seriously isn’t a mere gloomy game. In politics, technology, economics, and science, imagining the worst that can happen is an exercise that helps societies prevent terrible outcomes and build resilient structures for when Plans A, B, and C must be tossed aside.

Over the next two weeks, Vocativ will publish a series of stories that explore the ‘worst-case scenario’ on topics including immigrant and reproductive rights, privacy and cyber warfare, antibiotic-resistant superbugs, and yes, even a world-ending asteroid. Many of these stories are influenced by the nation’s current political mood: What would it look like if Trump really tries to deport millions of immigrants? How does all-out cyber-warfare happen?

The goal isn’t to publish science fiction — these stories explore the boundaries of what’s possible, but they’re extrapolations based on history, current events, and expert opinion.

As Vocativ sees it, the future isn’t something that just happens to us. Every day, societies can make choices to create a more just, free, and advanced planet, or they can choose to give into fear and uncertainty, looking back toward the past. In exploring these worst case scenarios, we hope to raise readers’ consciousness about these darker visions and also highlight the people working to avoid these grim potential futures.

Ahead, explore the worst that could happen — from an advanced surveillance state to a global ocean collapse to an asteroid that puts us all out of our misery.