This informative slideshow was published in websites all over the world after the President's speech:
PS1: Dissapointed on the little response the Prologue got. I hope this one manages more comments, now that we're properly in-universe. What do you think of the "rules" I've set for the story. I think I've covered quite a good ground, but if you still have doubts, just tell me. It will be interesting to discuss, and surely will help me develop the chapters. So sound off bellow!
PS2: I strongly recommend reading all this story on the graphic shape I'm creating. It will be a more immersive experience that way, and helps build the universe a lot. But I know a few of you use translators, so I'm also posting this in text form:
WHAT DOES THE
REVERSION DO ONCE IT HITS?
A quick walkthrough to
what I’ve found so far
By Lena Underwood
It’s been 72 hours since the Reversion first
appeared in my homeland and I can’t still believe what has happened. I can’t
still believe everyone I know is now practically a completely different person.
I can’t still believe even I have changed. I can’t believe I’m writing this
from inside the body of an adult woman. I was writing my English homework when
it happened, and now I’ve been asked by the President to write this so that the
whole world can read it.
I won’t lie to you and tell you it will be easy
for you when your turn comes. It won’t. But I hope to make it just a bit easier
on you than it was on me by warning you about what can you expect. We were hit
out of the blue. The pun wasn’t intended, but it all actually started with a
blue flash lighting up the sky and a sound like a distant bombing.
So, here’s 12 facts you should be aware of
before the Reversion affects you, mostly taken from personal experience:
1. The only living
beings affected by the change are humans.
I’ve been unable to find any evidence of
animals or plants changing its physiological age, as we humans did. Our old
horse Hoofster is out there in his stable, still as decrepit as ever. Nobody’s
dogs, cats, cattle or flowerbeds has been altered on the slightest. Whoever did
this obviously designed it so that it could only get humans.
Inanimated objects have changed extensively,
though, always in relation to our own transformations. More on that later.
Photo: Doug Lambert, who used to be a farmer, says all
his animals were left completely intact by the Reversion.
2. Individuals between
the ages of 0 and 5 will remain completely unchanged, but usually their health
improves.
There’s only been one human exception to the
age changes: those under the age of five. My little sister Sonia is still my
little sister Sonia, thankfully. Still, her asthma, which has affected her
since birth is seemingly gone.
It’s a curious thing that nobody appears to be
sick on the island (which I’ll explain with more detail later), but even those
apparently unchanged have changed in that respect.
Photo: Dewey Roberts
is one of the lucky unaffected. While both his sister (pictured, formerly 6)
and parents have transformed, he remains the same, as a reminder of the
family’s past.
3. Children between the ages of 5 and 15 will
mature into 25 years old adults.
If you have kids under fifteen, make them ready
for a sudden journey into adulthood and make yourself ready for them to take
over. Those who are children today will be the ruling force of the world by
tomorrow. Literally.
Luckily, none of us has progressed to any other
age than twenty-five, which I can now say, is not a bad age to be. That means
there is no old people around. Not even middle-aged ones.
Photo: Jeremy Brock (formerly 9) and his sister Doreen
(formerly 12) are now both 25. Jeremy is an accountant and Doreen a successful
status, but despite her knowledge and adult status, she still throws child-like
tantrums when her brother beats her in a game.
4. People older than
15 will regress into 10 years old children.
No matter if you are just a teenager or a very
aged person, the result will be always the same: you will become 10 years old.
Both my brother, formerly sixteen, and my dear grandmother are now ten.
The result is that the streets look strangely
uniform now, for everyone is either 10 or 25, with only the few children under
five to break the monotony.
Photo: Pearl (left, formerly 63) and Cristina (right,
formerly 37) sit with the unaffected Mandy and Cory (center). They used to be
the children’s grandmother and mother, respectively, but they are now their
sisters.
5. Unborn babies will
be fine.
If a woman is pregnant at the time of the
event, she will still regress into a 10 years old. The fetus won’t disappear,
luckily. It will migrate into the body of one of the newly matured females.
In most cases, familiar relation seems to be a
determinant factor on who will get the baby. My friend Robin was very excited
to become an adult, until she discovered she was carrying her mother’s six
weeks old baby.
Proximity also seems to apply. When there’s
nobody in the immediate family able to assume the role. The Parks were living
alone and when they both regressed into children, they were desperate, for Mrs.
Park was with child and the baby was nowhere to be found. The girl living next
door, though, became suddenly pregnant. Her fetus matches Mrs. Park exactly.
Photo: Karla Briggs aged into an adult along with the
rest of her family, but after a few minutes she also became heavily pregnant a
condition not shared by anyone in her house. The baby belonged to her next-door
neighbor, Della Park.
6. The changes are
mostly physical, but some are mental.
There’s a good deal of abilities and knowledge
that we’ve exchanged since the transformation. But it’s not a complete
transference.
We all keep our intact memories of who we were,
but we’ve gained (or lost) intelligence and skills. Mostly, we’ve discovered
those unexpectedly, when we need them.
For instance, I can now drive, though I had
never done that before. I’m now a journalist and I can write and speak in ways
I couldn’t when I was eight, though I’m completely surprised when I do. So are
my former classmates, some of who are now lawyers, doctors or engineers.
The adults who until a few hours ago were those
journalists, lawyers or doctors are now children, and though they remember doing
those things, they don’t seem able to figure how any more.
It’s scary, for now we’re the ones in charge,
but though we have the skills an intelligence, we lack the experience.
Photo: Besides knowledge, some habits characteristic
of your new age group might also be developed. Obviously, Rosemary Hayes had
never smoked a cigarette when she was a young girl, but she has developed an
addiction after her transformation. “I get this cravings and I’ve smoked six
packaged since that day. I also need a lot of coffee. I’m worried about what
that can do for my health, but they say I’m better than ever. Still, it’s not
like the old me. I even enjoy listening to music I had never even heard
befire”, she told me.
7. Somehow, reality
has warped to adapt to the changes.
Said transference of knowledge is accompanied
by a transference of roles. For every regressed cop in the island, a former
child has been transformed into one and taken his place. The same has happened
with every other indispensable role in our town. Odd thing is that we’re all
25, a young age for most professionals in the former reality.
We’ve been granted every necessary requirement
to try and fulfill those roles, but many new adults are still in their homes,
scared to perform their new duties. This can’t happen when the event goes
global.
Photo: Mae Snyder was the previous Chief Editor of the
newspaper. When I interviewed her, though, it was obvious she is now unable to
perform that work, at least for the time being. It was clear, however, that she
hadn’t forgotten how to use colorful words, when she thoroughly expressed her
opinion on the fact that a “blonde bimbo playing dress-up” had replaced her.
8. The reality change
also blends family roles.
Generally, former parents become the children
of one of their own descendants.
Luckily for me, my brother Frankie has assumed
that role. He’s become the father of our former parents and my grandmother (all
of whom are now siblings). That means I’m my mother’s aunt… It all gets very
confusing at first, but it all makes sense in the end.
It’s not uncommon that these new families are
formed by unrelated people, though. In our very own case, we’ve added a new
member, Nora Bell, who used to be our teenaged babysitter and who is now
Frankie’s wife. Luckily my parents liked her, for she’s now their mother.
As you can see with Frankie and Nora, romantic
pairings have been suddenly created between some of the new adults. I don’t
seem to be involved in any kind of relationship (because of my work, maybe?),
but lots of former kids are discovering love for the first time. For what I’ve
seen, there seems to be genuine attraction and chemistry in most of those
couples.
Photo: My coworker Cesar Tucker discovered he was
engaged to Harriet Schwartz, whom he used to bully at school. Now, they’re very
much into each other, and decided to carry on their wedding yesterday.
9. Everyone is
healthier.
At first, it was believed that regressing and
progressing is the only effect of The Reversion, but some theorize that the
human race has improved and gotten healthier thanks to it.
Al Roberson, a former grocer, told me he was
severely obese since his childhood, but now that he has regressed to it, he is
a very fit kid. And, in truth, all new children look beautiful.
The same is noticeable among the new men and
women, most of which sport fairly attractive and strong bodies. At risk of
sounding immodest, I think I’ve grown to be rather pretty, but as a young girl
my teeth were quite uneven and crooked. They’re perfect now.
Photo: Busty or fit females were never present in
their family, but now that they’re adults, the three Goodman sisters (Jana
pictured) are in a rather incredible shape.
10. Not everybody gets
affected at the same time once the event takes place.
Some change right away, while others might last
over ten minutes without showing any symptom.
I was alone in my room when I heard screams.
When I came out, My father was already completely changed and Frankie was
becoming a man. When we was finished, my grandmother started. I didn’t feel
anything until after five minutes later. My mother was the last to change,
starting around the time I was reaching puberty.
Photo: In this picture, taken during the actual event,
Evelyn Phelps, formerly 13 and already fully transformed, tries to explain what
just happened to her to her confused father. He wouldn’t start his own
transformation until almost the end of the Reversion.
11. After it begins, the
transformation process takes about three minutes in being completed.
That’s alarmingly fast if you, like me, have to
double your height in that time, but it feels far longer than it really is. You
will feel every little change as if it was happening in slow motion, and you’ll
probably be scared and wanting it to stop. I tell you, don’t be. If we can’t
stop this, then we should embrace it. Try and enjoy the sensation. It isn’t
painful at all, and if odd, it is a rather pleasant feeling, similar to
stretching after waking up. That’s how I would describe it, and my fellow victims
have used very similar explanations.
Photo: “All my body felt tremendously alive. It was
sort of like an electric shock, but it felt very good. And there was a trill
inside, like being on a rollercoaster, but stronger. I’ve only felt close to
that once again”, told me Beatrice Garrett when I interviewed her, but she
didn’t want to share when she had that other experience.
12. The reality warp doesn’t
only affect the bodies and minds of humans, but also their belongings.
Most of our things have become better suited
for our new ages (clothes, documents), or exchanged owners (bedrooms, cars).
Be advised. This change doesn’t take place
immediately, but rather about 15 minutes after the first one, once everybody’s
physical transformations have finished.
My recommendation, especially if you’re about
to age up is mind the clothing. I’ll tell you, and this is a personal
testimonial, that it isn’t the best of ideas to be wearing a shirt made for an
8 years old while you mature into a 25 years old body. If the situation ensues,
though, simply don’t panic: it will fix itself in a few minutes. My clothes not
only became the right size, but even much more fashionable and definitely not
childlike. I even got the proper underwear, so don’t worry. You won’t have to
buy anything.
Photo: May Green is very proud of the shoe collection
that suddenly appeared on her house. Her formerly older sister Sadie, who never
had such a quantity, loves to play with them.
