Call it society’s weirdest guilty pleasure, but lately it seems like there are more apocalyptic fantasies than those of the fairytale variety. From zombies to pandemics, tyrannical dictatorships to machine takeovers — and plenty of foreboding real world disasters to color in the cracks — there’s no shortage of dystopian futures to choose from. With Gary Shteyngart’s newest contribution to the genre, Super Sad True Love Story, out later this month, we got to thinking about the doomsday options we have to look forward to. So take control of humanity’s bleak horizon by figuring out which hellish future is best for you — because if there’s anything we’ve learned from dystopian literature, it’s that your preferences matter. Or, not.
What is the worst thing you’ve ever done?
A. Missed a day of work
B. If I told you that, I’d have to kill you
C. Asked a question
D. Used contraceptives
E. Stayed alive
Society should be governed by the rules of:
A. Communism
B. Anarchy
C. Tyranny
D. Mass weddings
E. Isolationism
You prefer getting the news from:
A. The next in command
B. I trust no one but myself (and sometimes not even myself)
C. Politically biased and/or government-censored periodicals
D. A pregnancy test
E. Anything beyond my own survival needs is irrelevant
What is your dream job?
A. Factory worker
B. Cowboy
C. What are dreams?
D. Baby-making machine
E. Wilderness expert
Rules are made to be:
A. Obeyed
B. Broken
C. Understood
D. Taught
E. There are no rules
What is the meaning of life?
A. Work
B. Havoc
C. Whatever I’m told it is
D. Making more life
E. There is no meaning
Which saying best summarizes your worldview:
A. Idle hands are the devil’s tools
B. Go West, young man
C. Ignorance is bliss
D. Go forth and multiply
E. The end is nigh
If you scored mostly A’s:
Individuality is an indulgence of the past. Man is a machine whose purpose is merely to work toward a greater good — or evil — unbeknownst to you. There is no such thing as free will, and pity the fool who makes the mistake of seeking it out. Embrace your irrelevance and expendability.
Recommended reading: Anthem (Ayn Rand), Neuromancer
(William Gibson), Player Piano
(Kurt Vonnegut), We
(Yevgeny Zamyatin)
If you scored mostly B’s:
Stability and safety are the stuff of legend. The world is akin to the anarchic frontiers of the Wild West — but now with androids, hyper-violence, space travel, black markets, and increasingly destructive technology to boot. Don’t be a hero; hermits live longer.
Recommended reading: A Clockwork Orange (Anthony Burgess), Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
(Philip K. Dick), Snow Crash
(Neal Stephenson)
If you scored mostly C’s:
You know only what you are told — and anything beyond that is irrelevant, baseless, or downright toxic to your sheltered mind. An all-powerful government or private organization controls all information and activities, which means disobedience is pretty much a signed death wish.
Recommended reading: Nineteen Eighty-Four (George Orwell), Fahrenheit 451
(Ray Bradbury), The Giver
(Lois Lowry)
If you scored mostly D’s:
Sex slaves, euthanization, genetic harvesting, baby vessels, and eugenics are all standard features of this progeny-dictated landscape. If you’re kept alive, don’t get comfortable — once a suitable offspring (or an entire brood of them) has been bred, you’re toast.
Recommended reading: The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood), Logan’s Run
(William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson), Brave New World
(Aldous Huxley)
If you scored mostly E’s:
There’s nothing left except you, a deadened wasteland, perhaps a few other roguish survivors, and a fatalistic shadow of impending extinction. Whether from cataclysmic warfare, natural disaster, supernatural apocalypse, or religious Armageddon, this would be the time to abandon all hope.
Recommended reading: A Canticle for Leibowitz (Walter M. Miller, Jr.), I Am Legend
(Richard Matheson), A Boy and His Dog
(Harlan Ellison), The Road
(Cormac McCarthy)





Comments (24)
The Road is my favorite book, so it’s a good thing I got mostly E’s.
a HYPERFUTURA is best for all……
You missed “The Electric Church” by Jeff Somers … probably an E.
[...] At long last, you can now take a quiz to determine which type of dystopian future is right for you. [...]
Whichever dystopia has Viggo Mortensen on the cover.
I have two As, two Cs, two Es, and a B. What shall i make of that?
[...] My admiration for Flavorwire continues to grow. Two articles you can’t miss are “10 Literary Ladies in Desperate Need of a Gay Friend” and “Which Dystopian Future is Right for You?“ [...]
“I have two As, two Cs, two Es, and a B. What shall i make of that?”
FroguetteMiNote,
I have two As, two Bs, two Es, and one C and have no idea what to make of that, either.
“I have two As, two Cs, two Es, and a B. What shall i make of that?”
“I have two As, two Bs, two Es, and one C and have no idea what to make of that, either.”
The one for C – since obviously you need to be told what to do.
Kazuo Ishiguro’s _Never Let Me Go_ and _The Unconsoled_ need to be on here somewhere, though the latter doesn’t seem to fit into any of the above categories.
What a ridiculous set of questions. None of the above would answer all of them. And someone thought all day to think of these and felt proud of their efforts… Jeez louise. I wasted a whole 4 minutes on this. And that includes this post.
[...] add a little bit of fun to your weekend, some pieces of literary fluff from Flavorwire: first up, a highly scientific quiz which will help you precisely determine which dystopian future is right for you, along with helpful [...]
File under A’s: Michel Houellebecq’s “The Possibility of an ISland”
I agree with the poster who needed a none of the above for many of the questions. That said, I love dystopian fiction and have read most of the recommended books/stories for all of the above. And I thought this was amusing.
What about Matched and The Hunger Games series? Can’t believe that your recommended reads are mainly older dystopias (not that they shouldn’t be recommended when the article starts off saying that there are more apocalytic fantasies these days than before. Strange…very strange.
[...] hell-on-earth or a hollow utopia. For those firmly ensconced in the “Mad Max” camp, this quiz should help you decide whether you want to stock up on gas and oil, or start boning up on your Ayn [...]
[...] In regards to Gary Shteyngart’s Super Sad True Love Story, Flavorwire asks, “Which dystopian future is right for you?“ [...]
Add the Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler.
[...] July 19, 2010 · Leave a Comment Flavorpill has created a quiz just for you! [...]
[...] wonder which dystopian novel is expresses who you are as a person — Player Piano, Snow Crash, The Handmaid’s Tale? [...]
How about all of the above? Choose Lucifers Hammer – Pournelle.
I was ALL B’s
If you have a problem with that, you can expect some ultraviolence!
[...] we can lighten things up a bit this week with the Dystopian Future Quiz that helps you choose just which unbearable Dystopian future is for you! Oh, I know it’s silly, but, what the heck, it’s Friday and you obviously don’t [...]
I had a range between B’s, D’s and C’s so I touch a little bit of every topic.
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