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| Futility or The Wreck of the Titan on Amazon - by Morgan Robertson |
This month on Fiction Predictions, we look at a literary coincidence so mathematically precise it will make your spine tingle.
If you think you know this story, look again. This isn't a history lesson about the RMS Titanic—it's the plot of a fictional novella titled Futility, written by a former sailor named Morgan Robertson. The most unnerving part? Robertson published his book in 1898.
That's nearly a decade before the Titanic was even a blueprint, and eleven years before a single piece of its steel keel was laid in Belfast.
If this isn't a case of incredible coincidence, then surely it's a glimpse into the future.
The Titan vs. the Titanic
| Feature | The Fiction: Titan (1898) | The Reality: Titanic (1912) |
|---|---|---|
| Key Timeline | Published 9 years before Titanic was conceived. | Construction began 11 years after the book. |
| Month of Voyage | April | April |
| Location of Disaster | North Atlantic Ocean | North Atlantic Ocean |
| Cause of Sinking | Struck an iceberg | Struck an iceberg |
| Description | "Unsinkable" luxury liner | "Unsinkable" luxury liner |
| Length | 800 feet | 882.5 feet |
| Propellers | Triple screw | Triple screw |
| Passenger Capacity | 3,000 people | 3,000 people |
| The Lifeboat Crisis | Only 24 boats on board | Only 20 boats on board |
Quotes from Futility say it all. Remember, Robertson wrote these headline-worthy lines 14 years before the Titanic launched.
"She was the largest craft afloat and the greatest of the works of men... She was considered unsinkable—indestructible."
Robertson describes the exact cause of the disaster:
"Seventy-five feet above the sea was the bridge... localizing the cold, damp air that always surrounds an iceberg... 'In the track of the ice, Mr. Smith,' said the Captain."
And the fatal mistake that caused thousands of people to drown.
"She carried as few as would satisfy the laws... she carried twenty-four lifeboats... which could, in a smooth sea, hold perhaps five hundred people."
Where were the remaining 2500 souls to go?
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| Der Untergang der Titanic (Image courtesy of Titanic Sinking, engraving by Willy Stöwer/Public Domain) |
Was Morgan Robertson a Seer?
So, how do we explain a literary prediction that got the ship's name, size, month, speed, location, and lifeboat shortage right more than a decade before the facts existed?
Was Morgan Robertson a genuine clairvoyant who peered through the mists of time?
Robertson himself was the first to admit he was not. Following the disaster in 1912, the author was besieged by journalists and spiritualists demanding to know how he did it. His response was simple: "I know what I'm writing about, that's all. I’m just a writer who knows the sea."
We can say that Robertson was a highly observant former sailor with a gift for engineering math and a certain cynicism regarding corporate greed. He looked at the shipbuilding trends of the late 1890s and realized companies were building vessels bigger and faster to win the lucrative transatlantic trade. At the same time, he knew British maritime safety laws were outdated, basing lifeboat capacity on a ship's weight rather than passenger count.
In this way, we could say he calculated the future.
But... still a synchronicity of correlations seems to exist. A meaningful coincidence? If only the executives at White Star Line had read Robertson's novella before they began work on the Titanic.
If only....
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About Kim Falconer
The Amassia Series
Kim Falconer, also writing as AK Wilder, has released Crown of Bones, a YA Epic Fantasy with Curse of Shadows as book 2 in the series.
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| Quantum Enchantment |
Throw the bones on the AKWilder.com site. See you there!
