many places by shameless ignorant men, while freedom of expression was in retreat and digital public spaces resounded with the shouts of delirious masses. Truth had no consensus. New nuclear weapons multiplied, commanded by hair-trigger artificial intelligence, while vital natural systems, including jet streams, ocean currents as well as pollinating insects, submarine cliffs of coral and the biological churn of rich natural soils and all manner of diverse flora and fauna—wilting or becoming extinct. Parts of the world were burning or drowning.
