Saturday, May 23, 2026
40.2%doom
Elevated, tier 5 of 10.
The DRC Ebola outbreak has tripled in a week, hit 177 dead, and WHO has raised risk to 'very high' — all while aid cuts and community distrust are actively hamstringing the response. It's the third-largest outbreak ever recorded, which is the kind of superlative nobody asked for. Meanwhile, an experimental mRNA vaccine exists but isn't deployed, Russian satellites are stalking radar infrastructure in orbit, and Putin is threatening retaliation over Ukraine strikes — so today's doom is a genuinely uncomfortable multi-front situation.
The story behind it: Ebola outbreak now third largest recorded and "spreading rapidly".
59.8%dawn
Radiant, tier 6 of 10.
Against a backdrop of mine disasters, Ebola outbreaks, and Middle East tensions, humans still pointed the largest rocket ever built at the sky and lit the fuse — and it flew. Starship V3's successful test flight is a genuine milestone: NASA's own administrator confirmed it brings crewed lunar missions measurably closer to reality. When the world feels heavy, it helps to remember we are also, simultaneously, building the ships that will carry us to other worlds.
The story behind it: SpaceX launches its biggest, most beefed-up Starship yet on a test flight.
The days before
| Day | Doom | Dawn | Doom headline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, May 22 | 35.9% | 64.1% | ROBBING PETER TO COVER THE PERSIAN GULF |
| Thu, May 21 | 37.7% | 62.3% | THE MACHINE REWRITES MATHEMATICS |
| Wed, May 20 | 38.5% | 61.5% | IRAN THREATENS TO EXPORT THE WAR |
| Tue, May 19 | 40.7% | 59.3% | IRAN STRIKE POSTPONED, NOT CANCELLED |
| Mon, May 18 | 39.9% | 60.1% | SOMEONE SHOT AT A NUCLEAR PLANT. CASUALLY. |
| Sun, May 17 | 35.9% | 64.1% | EBOLA GETS THE OFFICIAL SCARY STAMP |
| Sat, May 16 | 36.0% | 64.0% | EBOLA CROSSES THE BORDER, BUNDIBUGYO EDITION |
| Fri, May 15 | 38.4% | 61.6% | HORMUZ HEATS UP: SHIPS DON'T COME BACK |
| Thu, May 14 | 36.1% | 63.9% | XI PUTS TAIWAN ON THE TABLE, SMILING |
| Wed, May 13 | 38.5% | 61.5% | PUTIN FIRES WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL MISSILE. FOR FUN. |
| Tue, May 12 | 40.2% | 59.8% | CEASEFIRE ON LIFE SUPPORT, WARPLANES ON STANDBY |
| Mon, May 11 | 40.1% | 59.9% | STRAIT STAYS SHUT AS BOTH SIDES DIG IN |
| Sun, May 10 | 36.3% | 63.7% | DEAD DICTATOR TRIGGERS END OF WORLD, AUTOMATICALLY |
| Sat, May 9 | 32.2% | 67.8% | WESTERN ALLIANCE SCRAMBLES TO PLUG DECADES-LONG HOLE |
How it works
Every morning a pipeline pulls a couple of hundred headlines from 16 news sources. Claude scores the day for doom three times without seeing past scores, takes the middle answer, and smooths it so a single loud headline can't swing the number on its own. Then it picks the day's best news for the dawn card, and each reading is painted as pixel art. Doom and dawn always add up to 100.
It's a thought experiment and a daily ritual, not a forecast.
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