Escapism

[Evisse the Blue]

As if somewhere in the history of Mankind we all took a very wrong turn, and that the authors of alternative fiction are imperfectly remembering another way of life that we might have had, except for choices made in the distant past that we are still paying for.

That is a very interesting idea, Birdland. Could you elaborate on that?
I have a few examples, but I'm afraid they imply too literal an interpretation of what you said. For instance, one of these turns might have been when the man of Cro-Magnon killed the man of Neaderthal during the fight for the survival of the fittest. The man of Cro-magnon being a warrior, this could explain the subsequent wars and endless fights for domination. If this turn was not taken, we might inhabit a gentle, more peaceful Earth.