DISTORTION

By Mars Joil

I have recently taken it upon myself to study the phenomenon taught to us as children by our parents and/or grandparents; colours. We have all been told by our parents that there was a time when the world had this thing called ‘colours’ which made it look lively. Now, I am not so gullible as to believe such blatant lies, but recent events have made me question my beliefs.

I’ve been looking through pictures my grandmother has shown me that “used to be colourful but no longer seem to hold that truth,” according to her. Her eyes might be deceiving her; she is at a very tender age now, but that doesn’t explain how every old-aged person seems to remember this. Is it just another Mandela effect? Or, is it something more real than we had hoped for?

I have been going to different nursing homes and even asking the elderly with whom I am acquainted. So far, I have gathered that it’s people around the age of 60 or older that remember ‘colours.’ People below this age range seem to agree with the youth and adults of today that these ‘colours’ that the elderly seem to talk about are non-existent.

I need to address the elephant in the room, which is, what are they referring to? I can’t grasp this unique concept since if the world has lost its colours, what are we seeing right now? Are we even seeing in colour? I just can’t wrap my mind around it.

14-03-2095, Wizipeg

Today, I decided to travel to Wizipeg to talk with someone significant and widely controversial, Mx. Quinn A. Stevenson (Xe/Xem). Xe has appeared on well-known talk shows such as ‘Tea with Tyler’ or ‘Brave takes,’ where xe has tried to explain the ‘colours’ phenomenon with xyr own theories.

Mx. Stevenson believes the world wasn’t always the way we see it now; Xe will elaborate more on it in the audio transcription I am about to show you.

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Transcription detail:

Date: 13-03-2095

Input sound file: Standard

Transcription results:

Rogers: Hello, Mx. Stevenson. I believe this is the first time we are talking. I would like to start by saying that I am not someone who has been super into this matter. Still, I would like to understand this phenomenon and why we should even be concerned about this matter.

Stevenson: Well, I suppose it might seem like a trivial matter to someone that hasn’t seen colours their whole life, but to someone like my father—who was an artist—colours were everything. When he lost his ability to ‘see,’ he couldn’t deal with the amount of grief that he felt, it was like losing an old pal. He ended his life around the time I was just 9.

Rogers: Hmm…I apologize for prying into the matter.

Stevenson: No, it’s alright. It’s been a long time; I no longer see it as an event that affects me to a great extent. This conversation matters to all the elderly we have let down over the years, refusing to believe them due to old age. In only a few years, all the people that had hoped to see colours one day will be gone. I don’t want to live in a dull world; I want to see what my father so dearly cherished and loved about our universe.

Rogers: That sounds quite beautiful, to be honest. I would like to know about the theories you’ve come up with, especially the one you wrote about in your book, ‘Soda can: A fizzled outlook.’ My husband introduced it to me back when we were in college, but let me just say that it made the young me want to live in the world you described.

Stevenson: Why I am flattered! I am glad to know that my story reached someone and gave them a chance to see a different world. My theory—the one in the book—is about how it’s not that the world has lost its colours; It’s that we can’t see them anymore. We have lost the ability to see colours.

Rogers: So, kind of like a form of colour blindness that affects every human being...?

Stevenson: Not kind of, exactly like that. I believe every human in this world, right as we speak, is experiencing Achromatopsia; It’s a form of colour blindness in which we can only see shades of black and white.

Rogers: (Quiet chuckle) It’s kind of hard to believe… How could that be? And, if this is true, why has it only become a phenomenon after such a long time?

Stevenson: I have many theories on that. The first one is that it might have something to do with the wars that took place aeons ago. This could be a side effect of the nuclear bombs they used, becoming more and more visible as time passes.

Rogers: It seems a little… Strange, but I can ‘see’ that happening (Chuckle).

Stevenson: (Clears throat) Second, it could be just that humans are evolving into a species that can no longer distinguish between colours and can only see shades.

Rogers: Ah! I actually wanted to discuss this. This theory implies that our bodies adapt to a specific change in our world that might be causing us harm.

Stevenson: Good thinking, Mr Rogers! That is precisely what I believe in. This theory seems more plausible since humans constantly evolve, so this isn’t as crazy as it sounds. I reckon it’s because of how much our species has evolved regarding technology. I would like to ask you a simple question, Mr Rogers. How many people have you seen over the years with prescription glasses?

Rogers: Well, that’s simple, I... (Pause) Um… my grandmother had glasses, but she is well beyond 70 now… It can’t be…

Stevenson: (Smiling) We have evolved far past the need for corrective lenses. We can look at a monitor for hours without taking a break; we can even see well at night or on a foggy day. We developed Achromatopsia as a symptom of evolution, not a side effect. We can see better now, but it’s at the expense of colours.

Rogers: That… that blew my mind (surprised chuckle) … Now, there’s a question that I was excited to know the answer to when we started, but now I am pretty scared…

Stevenson: It can’t be that bad. Ask away.

Rogers: (Gulps) When do we stop evolving? We grew to this point, but how do we turn back? How do we know the problem has reached its peak if we can’t see it or aren’t even aware? For all we know, there could be a day when all humans are blind…

Stevenson: (Stunned) I never thought of that… One thing I know for sure is that, whatever the problem was causing us harm, it has stopped for now. Humans can’t see colours anymore, so they probably won’t have to deal with the damage that the colours will cause them. As for the future… I don’t think our generation thinks that the problem is big enough for it to be something that should be dealt with.

Rogers: Well, that was my last question! Thank you for accompanying me on this journey to figuring out why we can’t see colours anymore. I hope this helped some people open up their minds to different ideas; it sure did that for me.

Stevenson: Thank you for having me, Mr Rogers. It was undoubtedly one of the most interesting talks I’ve had.

End of transcription.

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I posted the article and my findings on WorldResearchForTheSoul.org, a website run by my company. The report was ridiculed by thousands of critics and was used as material by some stand-up comedians. Everyone took a piss out of it for years.

It hurt and was definitely an experience I won’t forget, but the strange part is that I can’t seem to care enough about it. My superiors scolded me for posting such a ‘useless and absurd’ article while my neighbours whispered about how insane I was around my neighbourhood.

Despite all of this, I can’t seem to care enough about this event. I know what I did was crazy, but if you were in my shoes, you would’ve done the same too. The day that my husband held my hand as he took his last breath was the same day, I saw the green in his eyes smiling back at me.

My articles were seen as absurd and became the laughing stock of the world until, in 2108, the reports of children losing their eyesight started coming in. That day, I laughed at the world as the sky became red and distorted, indicating that the colours were no longer the same.

The End

By Mars Joil