"In The Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus)" by Zager & Evans

Here we are in 2024, and artificial intelligence is all the talk and concern. Not sure what more to say but let's go back to the past and analyze one classic hit that hinted about it before it even happened. I'm sure by now these lyrics, whether you have heard this song or not, ought to click in your mind instantaneously. Heck, if you've seen movies like Artificial Intelligence (2001), I, Robot, or even Her, you should be familiar with what's being said here.

"In the year 2525, if man is still alive,
If woman can survive, they may find.
In the year 3535,
Ain't gonna need to tell the truth, tell no lie.
Everything you think, do and say,
Is in the pill you took today."

Firstly, at the pace things are going today, we're not even sure if humanity, or even post-humanity, will survive in the year 2525. At the time of this writing, it's 2024 and next year will be 2025. Two hundred years in the future remains to be seen. Secondly, Evans then goes on to sing about the year 3535, which, from now, is 1,511 years. These very first opening lines already depict what the deep future may look like and seem. Notice Evans says "if man/woman is still alive." Will we? Makes us listeners now wonder what the future may hold, but also, given all that's been going on, from the global economy, societal issues and resources needed for survival, it seems many of us are bleak about the already-bleak future. What have we done to ourselves? Not to mention, if you can take a pill for weight loss, it shouldn't surprise anyone to take a prescription pill to help you think, say, and do. Oh, wait a minute...

"In the year 4545,
You ain't gonna need your teeth, won't need your eyes,
You won't find a thing to chew,
Nobody's gonna look at you.
In the year 5555,
Your arms hangin' limp at your sides
Your legs got nothin' to do,
Some machine's doin' that for you.
In the year 6565,
You won't need no husband, won't need no wife.
You'll pick your son, pick your daughter too,
From the bottom of a long glass tube."

Gets better, doesn't it? Looks like the average human won't be able to eat while gradually losing their five senses. In relation to today, this must mean that humans have normalized laziness to the point where our muscles are given no usage or activity to the point of decay. It's no wonder people are lazy, yet here they are stuck on their smartphones and tablets. "You won't find a thing to chew," tells us that there won't be enough food to go around. I wrote a blog post about this. Because businesses, let alone consumerism, continues to rise, more land will be occupied to maintain these. More land occupied and little room for food growth. Shouldn't food be a priority before anything else?

We now go to the year 5555, and it capitalizes on my depiction of normalizing laziness. If you or anyone you know runs a fitness program or a gym, business survival ought to be your number one priority. The moment people stop exercising and putting their muscles to use could mean rapid decay as they age. In this case, it won't get better, and if young kids are already wearing prescription-grade eyeglasses, it's only a matter of time we see those innocent souls in wheelchairs. And it's not because of health reasons or any ailments they were born with. Think about that.

Onto the year 6565, and talk about a new way to adopt a child. There have been talks about fertility and sperm count dropping at stunning rates, let alone many couples choosing not to have nor can afford children. In that case, the future holds that couples can choose a natural-born child...unnaturally. Choose your gender and you're set!

Halfway through the song and it already speaks volumes. For that, raise it up.

"In the year 7510,
If God's a coming, He oughta make it by then.
Maybe He'll look around Himself and say,
'Guess it's time for the judgment day.'
In the year 8510,
God is gonna shake His mighty head.
He'll either say I'm pleased where man has been,
Or tear it down, and start again."

Okay, so we're at the year 7510—the year God, whether you believe in Him or not, finally arrives. This tells us that all that's happened has worn out and now, under His eyes and His guidance to which He has provided for us, will now determine who He will bring back to His Kingdom and those who won't. However, we now go to the year 8510, and now the Almighty God starts to mull it over but seems to come to a conclusion that He created a great idea. To have Him start again would be an interesting take. I'm actually quite fascinated by that line.

"In the year 9595,
I'm kinda wonderin' if man is gonna be alive.
He's taken everything this old earth can give,
And he ain't put back nothing."

Back to the intervals of five and we are now at the year 9595. This very much sums up all that's happening right now especially in this age of intense survival, despite that we're all still recovering from the global lockdowns of 2020. Suddenly, we've come to the thought of "do this, grab that, buy everything, and post it on social media" mindset and not having a care in the world about Mother Nature. Mother Nature has offered all She could, but unfortunately, every one of us, from us citizens to the powers that be, continue to exhaust all that this planet can handle. Sounds like we're trying to be part of this "green" movement or sounding like complete hippies, but because of the resources being used every yoctosecond, it's no wonder we continue to take Nature for granted. (Reminds me of that internet meme featuring a tweet from someone complaining why trees do nothing, and should emit Wi-Fi of all things. Thanks to him, there are 5G towers built everywhere and covered in fake leaves. You happy, dude?). To think we'd rather be indoors and on our phones all day, we continue to forget, or even be thankful and blessed, for being able to go outside and bask in the beauty of Nature. Oh, and yes, Nature can cure ailments from eye strain to cancer. We aren't medical professionals, but it's high time we know about this and have the word spread out, folks; We need to take better care of ourselves from here on out.

"Now it's been ten thousand years,
Man has cried a billion tears.
For what, he never knew, now man's reign is through.
But through eternal night, the twinkling of starlight,
So very far away, maybe it's only yesterday."

This is very much saying that the human life was fun and we all learned from it. Some of us wish we could live it again, but given all that's happened, we probably are ready for the next realm of existence. In other words, you gain a lot from the Life you live(d) the more you learn. The unfortunate truth is many people don't know, understand nor care about this. Power, money, love, attention and the desire for acceptance are things other people are too needy on and don't even care about others, which makes sense since they don't care about themselves. It's often you hear people say, "Be nice to yourselves and to other people because none of us are getting out of here alive." Once again, checking on reality, that seems to be a struggling case. Even worse, the media glamourizes those who trash talk and mistreat others because people love drama, even if it means livestreaming their actions/antics or even getting in trouble with the law. It's no wonder mental health is currently a "pandemic."

For such a hit back in 1969, this song has a lot to say in two minutes, many of which branches out for further discussion. Since we're currently about halfway through the 2024 year, there's still plenty to comprehend. From rumors of a second pandemic to a likely alien invasion, it's like we don't know what's going on anymore nor know what's about to happen. The only thing we do know, and what to do right now, is survive by any means possible. And hearing how barren and empty such future may seem for humanity, it's almost like there isn't much we can do given how distant people have become of one another. Nevertheless, here we are, and to think it's going to get better or worse remains to be seen. We may check back on this song "just in case."

Then there are those telling us, "Yo, chill dude, it's only a song. Calm down." Yeah, Life is *just* life, too. Why live it if you have nothing better to do, let alone find any meaning for yourself? Yet more proof why people are not happy...and thankful. They really don't know, don't care and basically don't get it.

What do you think the song tells us, especially at this day and age? Let's talk about it in the comments below!

Kris Caballero

Founder of KCU Network and KCU Plus, Kris has been writing since he managed a personal blog made back in late 2005. Officially back to doing computer programming (software development) and video production, Kris enjoys reading books on Mathematics, Quantum Computing, Philosophy, playing old video/DOS games, digital video archiving, and listening to sports, public radio and classical music.

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