I think that if we continue to be apathetic and not address the problems of right now (e.g. racism, homelessness, an ineffective educational system, poverty, drug abuse, violence, global warming, the mixture of religion and politics), then the world will be an even scarier place than it already is. Read Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler. In these two cautionary tales, the latter of which received the 2000 Nebula Award, She deals with the subject of where we may possibly go.