Description In 2053, bees have disappeared and humanity stands on the brink of extinction. Can we change that future? Bernard Werber, the mythic bestselling author, returns with his latest novel, The Prophecy of the Bees, published by Yeollin Books. The story follows protagonist René Toledano, who, after glimpsing a future Earth in 2053 where bees have vanished and humanity faces extinction, travels across time in a desperate struggle to change what's to come. The future René visits, thirty years from now, is a shocking one: despite it being winter, global warming has grown so severe that temperatures exceed 43 degrees Celsius, and the world's population has swelled to 15 billion. On top of this, the disappearance of bees has caused food shortages, sparking riots everywhere. Humans wage a world war using even nuclear weapons to seize dwindling food resources. The future René reveals to his present-day self that the key to resolving this crisis lies in a book called The Prophecy of the Bees. Determined to find the prophecy that holds the clue to saving humanity, René seeks out his past lives. Remarkably, the past life most closely tied to the prophecy turns out to be a Crusader knight from a thousand years ago, marching to reclaim Jerusalem. Together with this past incarnation of himself, René is swept into a grand adventure entangled with the prophecy. Constantly moving between past, present, and future, René comes to realize that the power to save the future lies in this very moment—the present. This message resonates just as strongly with readers living in today's reality. Each of our own "presents" holds the power to shape a better future—even a future where bees disappear. Bees and Humans: A Shared Fate, and a New Path Glimpsed Through Bee Ecology In his previous novel Memory, René Toledano retraced the history of humankind and encountered his past lives to explore the question "Who am I?" This time, he turns his gaze to the future, asking instead, "How should we act?" Having examined the past through the microscopic lens of an individual life, Werber now explores, on the macroscopic scale of history, the path that "we"—humanity—should walk. In envisioning humanity's future, Werber uses "bees" as a keyword to unleash his scientific imagination. The mass disappearance of bees is indeed a real, worldwide phenomenon directly tied to human survival: 80 percent of the plants humans consume are flowering plants, and bees are responsible for 80 percent of the pollination of those flowering plants. The novel depicts a future in which, after bees vanish entirely, food shortages trigger a third world war. It suggests that countless beings on Earth, humanity included, may be far more intricately connected—to the point of life and death—than we realize. The novel warns that a future of near-total extinction, brought about by humanity's accumulated disregard for this truth, remains a real possibility before us. As readers follow René's adventure to prevent the worst possible future, they naturally absorb scientific knowledge about bees, and along the way are prompted to ask themselves: "To avoid extinction, how should we act?" The answer may be found in the bees themselves. A "Werber World" Beyond Expectation, Weaving Together Imagination, Knowledge, and Thrilling Adventure Alongside this "scientific imagination," another pillar drives the story forward: "historical reflection." Interwoven with René's adventure are chapters called "Mnemos," which serve as a kind of history book within the novel. It begins: "There are three reasons we are born. 1. To learn. 2. To experience. 3. To correct our mistakes." (p. 17) By the novel's end, readers realize that the emphasis falls on the third reason. If humanity were to correct the mistake that led to the bees' disappearance, what future would unfold? To answer this question, Werber recounts, in his own distinctive voice, the long history of tribes and nations that have alternately cooperated and clashed on their way to the present. The Prophecy of the Bees skillfully weaves historical fact together with a thrilling narrative, creating the sensation of peering into a parallel world where all of this is actually happening—a world where scientific and historical knowledge merge with boundless imagination, a world we might call the "Werber World."