We are absolutely worse off in the real 2024 than what “Past Tense” depicted.
Vin asks Sisko for a “UHC card” when trying to identify him. A universal healthcare card. In the real 2024? Still no universal healthcare in the US.
The famous billionaire’s role in the story of “Past Tense” was to get residents of the districts access to “the nets” to tell their story. In the real 2024, Elon Musk would just take to Xitter and advocate for crackdowns.
Once on the nets, the resident’s stories actually swayed public opinion. Can you honestly imagine the stories they told making a dent in the zeitgeist, even if they trended on YouTube and TikTok?
We are absolutely worse off in the real 2024 than what “Past Tense” depicted.
Ira Steven Behr set out to depict a horribly dystopic 2024, succeeded, and undershot.