Life with vivid colors had slowly vanished after everyone was infected with a virus. Some scientists had developed a biological agent to fight terrorists. But what he created would be the very thing that turned their world from Technicolor to grayscale.
The world did turn grayscale overnight. It happened gradually over a few decades. People started getting sick around the world with some new virus that seemed innocuous at first. Symptoms were similar to the common cold or the flu. Aching body, sneezing, coughing, sore throat, and fever. The virus was highly contagious and spread quickly through the schools, daycares, and businesses. Really, it spread like wildfire anywhere people gathered together – shopping centers, theme parks, movie theaters. It was like COVID all over again.
The US government essentially mandated that all citizens have their mouths covered when outside their homes. For weeks, US citizens were locked down in their homes and could only venture out for healthcare or if they were an essential employee. Eventually, countermeasures like wearing face coverings and avoiding unnecessary trips outside the home failed to contain the virus. It only took 6 weeks for most of the global population to be infected. There were no confirmed cases of immunity in any of the developed countries, similar to the US.
Once infected, individuals became carriers of the disease, and it lay dormant in their system. The incubation period was 5 to 7 days, but the length of the symptoms varied depending on the age, sex, and overall health of the individual. Sometimes it was just a couple of days, and for others, they could be sick for weeks. Children, those with pre-existing health issues, and the elderly were the hardest hit populations. Scientists and doctors alike could find no cure, and due to the speed at which the virus spread, they did not have time to create a vaccine before most of the world was infected.
The virus had a very minuscule fatality rate and was more prevalent among the young, elderly, and healthy individuals. It took several months before people began losing the ability to see colors. Suddenly going color blind impacted people differently. Some adapted quickly and had no complaints. Others, especially those involved in the visual arts, were devastated. Imagine trying to paint without colored vision or even taking family photographs for Christmas cards.
Within 30 years, the entire human population would be living in the absence of color. There was no living person with the ability to see color. It was as if colored vision never existed. The last 2 generations had never seen color. Never known the beautiful blues of the ocean or the hazy blues of the Smoky Mountains. No one had a favorite color anymore. Schools did not have school colors – every team, including professional teams, all used the same three grayscale colors of white, black, and gray.
Gardens became a thing of the past. Without color, many people stopped gardening and tending their flower gardens. The loss of their color made them less beautiful to many. The arts had dwindled at an alarming rate. Yes, classes could still be taught about lighting, orientation, shading, and numerous other characteristics, but most art was meant to be seen in color.
Grass was no longer green, and the sky was no longer bright blue. Phrases with color disappeared from the spoken language. No one was ever described as green with envy or green around the gills. Things did not happen once in a blue moon, and no one was ever caught red-handed. Young adults did not go out to paint the town red and there was no such thing as being tickled pink.
The absence of color impacted every facet of life. Manufacturers began only producing vehicles in grayscale. Women no longer went to a salon to get their hair colored. Nail salons quickly shuttered after the loss of color. Clothing options grew very narrow, and it made it difficult to express yourself with clothes.
Movies were still made, but had lost their appeal with the general population. There were fewer and fewer theatres remaining. The publishing industry saw a nosedive in those glossy fashion magazines and saw an increase in print newspapers. The internet was still there, but many of the online games were discontinued or difficult to play in the absence of color.
Parents no longer taught toddlers their colors and focused on shapes instead. Kids did not pick between the blue slushie and the red one. Cooking became more difficult in the new grayscale world. Determining the color of cooked meat became nearly impossible, so chefs and regular folks alike started using thermometers to check to make sure meats were cooked through.
Grocery shopping was a mundane and boring experience. Gone were the colorful advertisements and logos on the cereal boxes and snack packages. The packaging became utilitarian, using the same font on all grocery items. Images of the food inside the packaging stopped being displayed because people could pick the beans they needed from a grayscale photo of the beans.
The written word became more and more important in this colorless world. People lamented the ability their ancestors once possessed. As hard as scientists worked, no one had developed a cure for this color blindness affecting the global population. Tech startups had also been committed to finding a way to restore colored vision to the masses through innovations and advances in science.
Even the best tech products only painted the world in muted colors, as if seen through a dense fog. These products were cost-prohibitive to 90% of the global population. Maybe one day the average person could afford the tech to see colors once again. The wealthy were the only ones with the capacity to purchase these products, and the average family could not afford them.
The novelty of muted color vision products among the wealthy eventually started declining. What was the point in seeing muted colors if most people could not see them? Those experiences, while amazing for the individual, could not be shared with others. No, I don’t see that Mr. Smith’s grass is greener than Mr. Jones’ grass.
The world was still attempting to restore color vision to the masses, but things were not promising. The tech was too expensive, and it was not ethical to continue to offer the ability to the top 10%. Everyone grew more complacent with the grayscale world, losing hope of colored vision returning in their lifetimes.
A small, but dedicated group of research scientists from around the globe continued to pursue a way to restore colored sight. They studied the DNA of those born with color blindness against those who had acquired it after the virus. This failed to produce a breakthrough. Some scientists focused on the DNA of various animal species to see if it would provide any insight.
There was a trio of scientists from South America who strongly felt there may still be those living with colored sight out in some remote jungle or island. They fought for funding to go in search of these immune populations. It took decades, but eventually, the scientists finally located a primitive tribe on a remote island off the coast of Brazil.
The sudden appearance of outsiders speaking a foreign tongue frightened the tribal members. It took months to establish trust between the groups. This trust was primarily built upon the medical services the scientists provided to the tribe. The children of the tribe were too fascinated by the strange scientists to be afraid. It was only after trust had been established that the tribe allowed the scientists to collect blood and saliva samples.
These samples were sent to the closest operational research lab for study and comparison. It took less than a month to identify the major differences in the DNA of the tribe and the DNA from the rest of the global population. Unfortunately, it took years before the scientists could do anything meaningful with their findings.
Although still prohibited in most countries, the research institute was finally granted permission to genetically splice into a fetus with the undamaged gene for color sight. The entire world waited on pins and needles as the pregnancy progressed. The mother was under constant observation and knew her baby would be closely monitored throughout his life.
As luck would have it, a son was born with all 10 fingers and toes, perfectly healthy. As the baby grew into toddlerhood, intensive experiments and observations began in earnest. The boy, Forest, demonstrated an intellect superior to most in his age group and by age 2.5 had mastered two-way conversations.
The mother and son were soon transported back to the island with the tribe, who could still see color. The scientists needed their assistance to determine if the boy could see color. In a matter of days, the scientists held a global teleconference to share their breakthrough.
Women signed up in droves to be in the program to reintroduce colored vision to their children. Initially, not all women were permitted in the program due to a lack of resources. The system was simply overwhelmed. As the demand for the program grew, governments and international aid programs began to fund and supply the necessary equipment so all women who so desired could enter into a program. Within 2 generations, all but the oldest of the population could see color again.
“Look, Mommy, it’s cotton candy skies.”