Variation

a determination of a future state of affairs

Prediction explores the effort to learn the course of one's destiny. Destiny is the path to a particular fate or through a series of fates. Fates are experiences or conditions one must encounter along the way as one's destiny directs one's course. The nature of destiny is such that no matter how much a character is aware of the nature and location of an undesirable fate, nothing he can do is enough to pull him off the path. However, if one could know the future course, one could prepare for each eventuality in order to minimize or maximize its effect.

syn. foresight, foreseeing, anticipation, envisioning one's future, prophecy, forecast, foretell, prognosticate