Cold fusion is possible. No one bothered to tell me.

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A breakthrough like that, and I had to hear about it from a teevee show instead of from a family member, a friend, or even a newspaper. For years, fusion reactors have been up and running.

Fusion.

Humans can create energy the same way stars do.

If humanity can hang on through World War Three, aka Crusade IX, fusion reactors will provide the world's electricity. That's right: Hang on to your Christianity, because eventually sea water-powered fusion reactors will be supplying our zapping juice.

Of course, the Western World will enjoy fusion's benefits first and be an asshole about sharing with the other kids. Humans will be fusing atoms, but not getting rid of massive-scale poverty, hunger, and disease. The cherry on the sundae: The world will use the whole fusion-thing as an excuse:

"Yeah, we still haven't gotten around to the 'ending world hunger' thing. 'Next year,' we always say!

"But come on now: Fucking. Fusion. The world [the speaker knows the audience will understand the "world" to be only the countries on it with strong, interdependent, economies] makes energy the same way the god damned stars do! This city -- this country -- is running on the energy provided by a cup of freaking sea water!"

Of course, for fusion to be viable, it will have to be cheaper than other means of creating electricity, which is likely to make it the juice-generator of last resort.

Still, given enough time, humans will be using plasma power. And these generators' worst byproducts will be nonradioactive only three hundred years after their creation.

...We may be in another ice age by then.
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