Ancient Prophecies about What Kind of Losers We'll Be.

Greek mythology says that Zeus actually created four races of men before ours--first a golden race, which was perfect...then silver, which hadn't enough intelligence to keep from hurting one another.  The third race was brass, who were "terrible men, immensely strong, and such lovers of war and violence that they were completely destroyed by their own hands.  This, however, was all to the good, for they were followed by a splendid race of godlike heroes who fought glorious wars and went on great adventures which men have talked and sung of through all the ages since."

"The fifth race is that which is now upon the earth: the iron race.  They live in evil times and their nature too has much of evil, so that they never have rest from toil and sorrow.  As the generations pass, they grow worse; sons are always inferior to their fathers.  A time will come when they have grown so wicked that they will worship power; might will be right to them, and reverence for the good will cease
to be.  At last when no man is angry any more at wrongdoing or feels shame in the presence of the miserable, Zeus will destroy them too.  And yet even then something might be done, if only the common people would arise and put down rulers that oppress them."
      --all passages are from Edith Hamilton's "Mythology," which I have not read.

This reminds me quite a bit about a Hindu concept known as Dasha Avatar, or The Ten Incarnations of Vishnu. Let's see if I can just copy/paste some info about this instead of trying to find the book I have about it....A very pretty website, which I have not checked for validity, has a great deal of information about the subject which completely defies everything I ever learned about the subject, including mistranslating "dasha" to mean 22. instead of 10, as every Hindu child knows. Strangely, another place says that Kalki, the tenth incarnation which I want to talk about, has already been born. The site, which is entirely capitalized, seems to give his birth details, favorite sports and preferences for women. No doubt the email address of The World Ender Deity is also posted so you can send him fan mail.

Ah, now this here is more familiar territory for me.

Kalki Avatar

In KALKI Avatar, Lord Vishnu will incarnate himself as KALKI, the machine-man, who will come riding his white horse and with his blazing sword in his hands. This is supposed to be a future avatar of Lord Vishnu. At the end of Kali Yuga (present eon) He will punish all evil doers in this world, destroy this world and recreate a golden age again.

KALKI is the last of the avatars of Lord Vishnu.

As a side tangent, it's interesting to note that the idea of a man-machine deity existed in Hindu mythos approximately 3,000 years before William Gibson wrote Neuromancer.

Kali Yuga does not, as many Westerns believe, refer to the Goddess of Kali (just like Kali herself is not, as many Westerns believe, an evil deity). Rather, Kalyug / Kali Yuga is roughly translated as the Age of Speed (according to Indian myth the age we currently live in); the era (Yuga) when righteousness and virtue disappear; fear, distress, anger, hunger prevail and the rulers care only about their power and riches.

A Yuga, according to the same source, is divine or celestial measurement of time; 1 yuga = 3000 celestial years; 1 celestial year = 3600 human years; therefore 1 yuga = 10,800 human years. Before anyone asks, the current Yuga started well before the birth of George W Bush.