An old episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine showed the world that the 2020s weren't going to be too great.
In the episode Past Tense, which was first broadcast in 1995, Commander Sisko, Dr. Bashir and officer Jadzia Daxtravel travel back in time to 2024 where they're meet with high levels of homelessness, racism, violence and a general lack of caring about human suffering.
When they first arrive in 2024 San Francisco they're shipped off to a 'Sanctuary District', a walled in camp that keeps homeless people penned away from the rest of the population.
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Once inside Sisko realises that they're just a few days away from the start of infamous Bell Riots, which saw prisoners from the Sanctuary attempt to take over, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people.
At one point, Dr Bashir asks: "You know, Commander, having seen a little of the twenty first century there is one thing I don't understand. How could they have let things get so bad?"
To which Sisko replies: "That's a good question. I wish I had an answer."
Fans of the show have taken to social media to suggest that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was actually 'predicting' the future.
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One person wrote: "It's genuinely concerning that Star Trek is predicting the future. Look at what they predicted would happen in the 2020's in past tense. Now I am counting the days until WW3."
Another joked: "Drinking game: pour yourself a drink - watch the Star Trek: DS9 episode Past Tense (it shows the US on the edge of collapse in the early 21st century). Drink every time you realise how close to Past Tense we're getting. Worry."
While someone else wrote: "Star Trek Deep Space Nine's two-parter, Past Tense, is a really scary look at a potential near future, and it even takes place in 2024."
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Another fan wrote: "Ended up watching Star Trek Deep Space Nine Past Tense today while I was working and damn it hits different this year."
Well, I guess it makes a change from The Simpsons predicting the future, eh?
Featured Image Credit: CBSTopics: TV and Film