Prophecy possesses a power unlike any other over human consciousness. However secular the race might become, however agnostic to religious belief, the thought that the future might be surely, perfectly known captivates and frightens in equal measure.

It is the greatest form of mind control, for if what is to come is already known, written in stone, it cannot be escaped. And if the future cannot be escaped, what sense is there in anything other than despair?

 

From the personal diary of Emil Durré