Could Margaret Atwood’s Dystopias Actually Happen?

“Yes, absolutely. One of the things people … were working on in 2001 when I was actually halfway through Oryx and Crake, is the ability to create diseases. We can do that now. … People thought when I wrote Oryx and Crake that I made all this stuff up. I actually hadn’t. Year of the Flood? Granted I stretch it a bit, but these things are quite doable.”