A polar bear on melting ice: It's a favorite image of nature documentaries and charity ads alike, never failing to put you in the emotional dumps for a simple reason--it forces you to grapple with a changing world, a darker future. But that emotion is often temporary, replaced quickly by others, because its effects are not immediately or directly felt, explained Peter Schlosser, the vice president and vice provost of global futures at Arizona State University. Footage of houses on fire in California, Oregon, and Australia alarms us, but falls short of making us understand that our own home may be next. These "delusions of escape," in the words of science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson, or "failures of imagination," in the words of Future Tense academic director Ed Finn, placate us into reactive, piecemeal, short-sighted decision-making. But storytelling lights the path forward, agreed Robinson, Finn, Schlosser, Future Tense fellow Alexandra Zapata Hojel, and Malka Older, also a sci-fi author.