In 1898, Morgan Robertson published a novel called The Wreck of the Titan. In his book, a massive ocean liner, called the Titan, sinks when it hits an iceberg in the North Atlantic in April.
The ship was called “the greatest of the works of men.” “Unsinkable – indestructible, she carried as few boats as would satisfy the law.” If the lifeboats were launched, they would only hold 500 of the 2,000 passengers.
Robertson describes in detail the grand accomplishment of the Titan and the opulence of the accommodations. “Two brass bands, two orchestras, and a theatrical company entertained the passengers,” says Robertson in his book. “The same professional standard applied to the personnel of the engine-room [as the officers], and the steward’s department was equal to that of a first-class hotel.”
Similarities between the Titan and the Titanic are astounding. Both ships are over 800’ long and could go 25-30 knots.
Robertson describes the confidence the crew has concerning its resilience to icebergs… “in case of an end-on collision with an iceberg…her bows would be crushed in but a few feet…and at most three compartments would be flooded – which would not matter with six more to spare.”
The Titanic sank in April 1912. One has to wonder what Morgan Robertson saw so clearly 14 years earlier? Was he actually trying to predict a sea disaster?
I don’t think so. More likely, he was seeing the haughtiness of man, his worship of science, his disregard for God, and described a possible hypothetical event that could result.
I wonder if today we can see the future with the same kind of awareness, or are we blind to what kinds of disaster may lay ahead?
