Apocalypse Panel: The Most Important Element

Oh, hello there. It's been a while, hasn't it? The end of the school year, followed by two weeks of being sick in bed sort of derailed blogging for a while. But I am back! With another question for the Apocalypse Panel. This month's question is:

What is the most important element in an apocalyptic story?

I could talk about important elements of story all day, but they would apply to any story, not just an apocalyptic one. So, I'm going to throw out what I think is at the heart of apocalypse fiction.

Hope.

I think at their heart, apocalyptic stories are stories of hope. No matter what the universe dishes out, we can overcome. We will survive. That to me is the truly essential element for writing about the apocalypse.

What do you think?

Be sure to check out the responses of the other panelists.