The Time That Color Lost: An Oral History

Recovered excerpt from The Time That Color Lost: An Oral History

By Grace Cass and Sean Diller

A note from the authors: 

When Outside Color Elimination, or OCE as we now all call it, was announced, Grace had been covering local politics in Texas with a bent on the federal administration’s impact on small towns. Sean, a reporter covering science for The Boston Globe, was visiting family on Nantucket.

We had met at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism years before, and stayed in touch to commiserate over “journalism life” and share our experiences covering vastly different beats. 

We knew that with the announcement of OCE, we had to track this monumental change and capture everything we could, not really knowing what would come of it. We interviewed people in our respective towns, and stayed in touch with them over time. The idea of an oral history didn’t come to us until about two years after OCE’s inception, when The Big Turn had just begun. 

The tradition of oral history is one of our greatest assets in capturing moments of history, both big and small. Being able to tell the story of how OCE affected people across the country is an honor; working on this book felt like creating a balm for our world-weary hearts and minds. Thank you for reading.

CHAPTER 1: March 1, 2040

At 1:30 p.m Eastern Time, all electronics with a screen got an alert:

Federal Administration Alert. President will make an announcement impacting all United States citizens at 2 p.m. Eastern. Visit pres.gov or turn on your TV to watch - all scheduled programming will be interrupted for this announcement. 

Mauve Sullivan (25, Nantucket, photographer): I was editing photos from an engagement session I’d shot earlier in the week at Brant Point. Thursdays are always my editing days. When I heard my phone buzz and saw the alert, I rolled my eyes because we got those announcements like once a week.

Dr. Niall McGwin (44, Montana, former color research scientist): I was sitting on my porch in Three Forks, Montana. It was a crisp day, and I remember I had worn a lightweight shirt, so was feeling chilly, but my dog Buckets came and settled next to me, sharing some of her warmth. Then the alert buzzed my phone, and I knew what this particular announcement was going to be. I just remember the chills starting up again. And the sky. It was going to rain later in the day, and the clouds before a storm are my favorite. This rolling view of light, white clouds mixed with moody, nearly black ones, fluffing up to take up the whole width of the darkening blue sky. The honey-colored wheat blowing like crazy to my left, my hens clucking up their own little storm in my barn on the right. Freshly painted bright red. Sounds like a movie, I know. But I had to soak in the view for as long as I could.

Mayor David Stan (56, mayor, Tilmon, Texas): Yep, I was sitting in my office with a constituent, discussing the intricacies of shed building permits - the life of Mayor in a small town! Anyway we were going over the necessary paperwork when both of our phones buzzed away. Well, my phone wasn’t on silent - I tell ya that alert horn never ceases to scare the daylights out of me. As a member of local government, I take these announcements very seriously. I need to know what’s going to happen to my community. So I finished up the conversation and turned on my little office TV so I wouldn’t miss it. My intern, Toddy, came and joined me. It was routine at this point, with all of the news coming from the administration.

Pen Danger (“old enough,” Defy The Rulers chapter head, Chicago): I was reading a report written by the Minneapolis chapter head of DTR [Defy the Rulers]. There were 70 total chapters across the country, I think, at that point. But as I was saying, each DTR chapter published a quarterly report with submissions from members sharing their resistance efforts. DTR started in 2031 as a small group. I was actually a founding member. Real proud of that. Then we slowly grew across the country as the federal administration got more and more out of control. Anyway, I was reading a chapter in the Minneapolis report about how they were putting DTR stickers on every federal “security” camera lining their downtown streets. Small acts cause annoyance and disruption. Never let them forget we exist, never stop fighting. 

Dr. McGwin: Even though I knew what the announcement was going to be, I had to watch. I had to hear them explain themselves.

Mauve: Yeah, okay, so, I kind of hate-watched those announcements, texting with my friends the whole time. So I turned the feed on my laptop, texted my friends to start our theories/guesses on what could possibly be so important. The time before this one, I think the announcement was that each state was meant to choose a new state flag that the administration had to approve. So, some announcements were a bit less serious than others, you know? 

Mayor David: This announcement… phew. Shocked doesn’t even describe it. Terror, fright - those might be more appropriate. Toddy and I just sat in silence. Since we were a community of 117 people at the time, and most people were probably doing the same thing as us, it felt like we were living in a ghost town all of a sudden. No cars rushing by, no music playing from the bar down the street. Silence. Disbelief that things had gotten this bad.

Mauve: I felt like I had left my body. No color outside? I couldn’t even fathom how. 

Pen: The announcement started like they all do. President stood in front of two flag poles, one with the United States flag and one with the Acceptance Act flag. Behind that is just a plain black wall. It always looked like a green screen backdrop situation and he always gave serious used car salesman vibes. I’ve watched the recording enough times that I can recite the opening verbatim: “Today, I keep my promise to the American people that I made 10 years ago. I’m talking about groundbreaking technology that will make us even more productive, more powerful. People, I am talking about Outside Color Elimination. No more color outside. We’re reducing outside distractions.” They said that the change would take place on June 11, to commemorate the 611 fallen federal soldiers from the Defier Battle of 2037.

Mayor David: Outside Color Elimination. No more “blue skies smiling at me,” no more “yellow brick road,” no “red sky at night, sailor’s delight.” These people were off their rockers. 

Mauve: It’s like they thought our economy would go through the roof if fewer people were visiting Red Rocks or hiking the Smoky Mountains. Or watching pretty sunrises. 

Dr. McGwin: I guess I should clearly state why I’m included in these interviews, yeah? I’m the one who discovered how to make OCE a reality. I am the reason we no longer see colors outside. I used to work for a research company called Midland Research Facility in Boston. I was a color research scientist. Which, it sounds like I was looking at crayons all day or something. But really I studied how colors work in all environments, and how different species interpret colors. And one aspect of my studies was learning how to change the levels of color saturation on various materials. Through this work, I discovered that a certain mixture of chemicals could simply remove color saturation in its entirety. 

Mauve: I studied color theory in my art program at RISD. I know how saturation works, I know the impact of color on one’s psychology, I know that this must have taken a long time to figure out. Had the administration been planning this for decades?

Dr. McGwin: I honestly did not know how this work would be utilized, I just knew it was a breakthrough in color research. And that Outside Color Elimination, or OCE, is purely an American phenomenon. In simple terms, a chemical compound is sprayed into the air by drones at certain locations throughout the country - including Alaska, Hawaii and remote islands considered part of United States territory. This compound removes the elements and atoms that make up color as the human eye interprets it. It is a truly remarkable scientific feat. 

Pen: Of course, we rioted immediately.

——————

President’s announcement focused on how OCE was going to be an advancement for the country and a chance to take our “competitive spirit” to a new level. President did state that colors would remain while indoors; in order to see a blue sky or a field of pink tulips, one would simply need to be indoors, viewing through a window. Preferably outside of working hours or during allotted break times. 

Immediately, people reacted… strongly. The Color Riots lasted from March 1 through early June. Buckets of paint splattered onto federal buildings and on federal officials themselves, on the rare occasions they were outside in public. Sidewalks, cars, signs, benches - any surface possible was covered in spray paint. Bright, color-filled murals went up across the country, on skyscrapers and houses. There were many deaths and imprisonments and violence at obscene levels, most often perpetrated by federal soldiers.

National parks had an influx of visitors; everyone wanted to get their final glimpse of color in the wild. The wealthiest citizens started buying up beach front property, in order to build homes with massive floor to ceiling windows, so they could enjoy sunsets from their bedrooms.

CHAPTER 2: June 11, 2040

The day OCE began. The time of inception was scheduled for 2 p.m. Eastern. 

Mauve: The sky was this gorgeous blue that day. Like I know this is an odd comparison, but I remember thinking that it was Cookie Monster Blue. These wispy white clouds fanned across the sky and of course Nantucket is full of beautiful flowers that time of year. Buttery yellow daffodils filled every shop entrance and restaurant window flower box. Deep purple lupines could be found dotting mid-island fields, and of course there were my favorite, blue hydrangeas, not yet in peak bloom but still dominating so many home fronts. It’s like they couldn’t have picked a more perfect day to destroy. 

Pen: In Chicago, we were in the middle of an early summer heat wave. That gross, humid air that just makes everything cling to you. A lot of DTR members chose to stay inside, as a form of protest. They figured that by not giving OCE any attention, they were resisting the oppression from our natural outdoor rights being stripped away from us. I wanted to be that strong, but man… there was no way I was missing what could be my last chance to see the bright blue of a summer sky colliding with the greenish blue of the lake, or the delicate pink feathers on the flamingos at Lincoln Park Zoo. People were clambering to find the perfect spot all along the lakefront. It felt like the 4th of July. Which, I am not a fan of our mayor, but she actually planned a massive fireworks display for 30 minutes before OCE began. I’m so grateful she gave us that moment to appreciate a joyful display of color, surrounded by others outside. One last sense of community standing in awe together.

Mayor David: We were told that since most of our time was spent looking at screens, this was not really that big of a change. Our heads were already down, eyes cast away from the scenery around us and toward the feeds on our phones. The outside colors would still exist inside. So if I wanted to see the reds, oranges and pinks of a sunset, I would merely need to find an indoor space with a window to watch them. “You’ll hardly notice the change,” they had said. And honestly, there’s some unfortunate truth to that. We’d become an isolated country. The first pandemic in 2020 really kickstarted it, I think. The pandemic in 2036 just put us over the edge. But my god, that day, when OCE started, if we didn’t all mourn as a nation to see the world change in such a colossal way.

Dr. McGwin: I had quit my research job at Midland by then. There was no way I could keep working for a company that could just sell out in such a harmful way. So I was back in Three Forks. I’d been awake for nearly 24 hours by the time OCE started. I wouldn’t dare miss the last sunset or sunrise. I spent the morning and afternoon walking the fields with Buckets, smelling the Earth’s soil and searching for ladybugs while the sun warmed my skin. I know many people chose to be surrounded by others that day, but I couldn’t … the guilt I felt, still feel, for being the cause behind all of this. I needed solitude, the space to feel whatever I would inevitably feel when the color drained away.

Pen: We’d been fighting so much since the announcement. Relentless protesting, color bombing, strategy sessions, traveling to D.C. and Springfield. It was all so much in a few months. By the time June 11 rolled around, I felt drained and resigned. I strolled through the zoo on my own before walking to Oak Street Beach to meet with friends for the fireworks show. It was so weird to be enjoying a summer day doing all of these outdoor activities with this mourning hanging heavy over us. We watched the fireworks in silence. I couldn’t stop crying. Then it was suddenly 1 minute til OCE’s inception. And the dread just filled my stomach.

Mauve: It was so instant. I don’t know what I expected, but one moment I was on Madaket Beach, wearing an outrageous neon green outfit. All of my friends and I decided to wear ridiculous colors. And drinking a magenta cocktail, an “OCE Martini” from Millie’s, in a to-go cup. It’s like we’d made a day of it, and we were drowning in color. And then, we all flipped to grey. I felt dizzy at the sudden lack of color, like the loss of one of my senses threw me for a loop. It’s like my body was trying to reorient itself, grasping for what it knew was there. I rubbed my eyes out of habit, like maybe that would clear them enough to get the color back. 

Mayor David: The color simply disappeared. 

Pen: I was staring at this little boy’s shark-themed bathing suit when it happened - just shades of gray, everywhere. It was the most intense wave of grief I’ve ever felt. And my body tingled with that prickly feeling you get right before the big drop on a roller coaster. It’s like it was screaming, “this isn’t right!” And it wasn’t. It’s so wrong. I don’t care what anyone says, life hasn’t been quite right since that day. 

Dr. McGwin: I feel nauseous just remembering that moment. I’ve seen beautiful black and white photos before. And appreciated them. But living in them is surreal. I just couldn’t get my mind straight. I don’t know how else to describe it. I kept looking around me, trying to find a grounding sight, color anywhere. There was just nothing but gray.

Mayor David: My grandbaby, who was 3 at the time, started wailing. We were sitting in my daughter’s backyard, playing chase like it was any other day. She had her favorite orange blankey she dragged everywhere, it was filthy. And the moment it happened, she was dragging that thing along, running like a madwoman. Then she just stopped, fell, touched blankey, and sobbed. I felt that deep in my soul. 

——————

A note from the finder of this excerpt:

OCE started in 2040, and this book was released in 2044, after The Big Turn. 2044 was a year in which the tides had shifted away from the federal administration’s tyrannical policies, but America would never be the same country it was two decades before. The fact that this book was ever published is quite astonishing, given the regulations around published works. The fact that this book was banned, and every copy burned, was more expected. I came across these pages, ripped from the rest of the book, while scoping out an abandoned house.

I was pretty young at the time of OCE’s inception. To be brought back to that time, when it all began, was gut wrenching. We had no idea how OCE would change us. I envy the innocence of thinking we would just lose sight of color. We lost our natural connection to the world around us. We lost the desire to explore, our innate curiosity to see sights unseen. Other countries had long ago made it nearly impossible for Americans to live abroad - we were trapped by our own making. Moving around in a world of outside grays is constantly disorienting. Then to experience colors inside… it’s not the reprieve we all thought it would be back at the beginning. I ache with the thought of how the rest of the story goes for Mauve, Mayor David, Dr. McGwin, and Pen. Dare I leave a message of hope? I’m not sure. I hope whoever finds this next is living in a much different world.