It’s a concept so fascinating. Imagine seeing lives as stories already told. How would you change your behavior? What would you do? I can’t remember where I read the story about an alien species able to see the entire life of a human being unrolled in front of them from their birth until their death. I don’t remember if that life was seen as certain or ever-changing, branching towards possibilities. I like to think that it was possible to see possible lives in their entirety.

The only way we have to learn about lived lives is to listen to the stories told about them or to look at the evidence produced during their courses. We have the power of looking at an entire life when it has passed. We have half of that power.

How can we cover the other half, the one looking at the to-be-live part? Is knowing the past enough to see the future of our lives? How are the artifacts we’ve been responsible for affecting our future? What kind of evidence shall we collect to learn better about our future?