Can You See the Color?

I wake with a jolt as my TV blares the jarring tone of the Emergency Alert System. Still half asleep, I get myself out of bed and trudge into the living room. It’s only four thirty in the morning.

The screen cycles through the same message over and over: THIS IS A NATIONAL ALERT. DO NOT LOOK AT VIRAL PHOTO IN CIRCULATION. EXPOSURE TO VISUALS MAY RESULT IN PHYSICAL HARM.

Viral photo? I don’t know what it’s talking about. Is something going around on social media?

Curiosity getting the better of me, I grab my phone off my bedside table and am about to open instagram, but my text and call notifications catch my eye first.

Graham: Bro did you see it?

Missed call from Dad.

Nick: Have you been on twitter? I want to look so bad.

Mom: Honey please don’t look at the photo. I know it’s tempting. Dad and I are scared.

Alyssa: Fam are u alright?

Missed call from Dad.

Jamie: Did you get the alert? I haven’t looked.

Avery: Are you awake? Call me.

Avery is my girlfriend. I should call her. But I still haven't even wrapped my head around what's going on.

I exit my messages and hover over the Instagram app, but something stops me from tapping. A nagging fear in the back of my mind. I turn to my internet browser instead. Type: “viral photo national alert” into the search bar.

A flood of articles populate.

All posted within minutes of each other.

All within the last hour.

Cryptic headlines.

VIRAL PHOTO: IS THIS THE END?

Can Looks kill?

AI Generated Image Linked to Deaths Across the Nation.

Dad calls me again. I swipe it away.

Can You See the Color?

New Colors End Brain Activity in Many.

Artificial Intelligence Generates New Color.

Another text from Avery comes in: Please call me when you’re awake. Don’t go online.

WARNING: Content May Be Disturbing to Some Viewers.

General Public Urged to Stay Offline After Viral Photo Leads to Instant Death for Many.

My throat tightens as my scrolling speed slows. Should I be online at all? Is this safe?

But is what safe?

What is this photo?

How could an image possibly kill?

The last link I allow myself to scroll over is for a website titled canyouseethecolor.com.

Like an idiot, I click the link. There is no photo on the homepage. Just a block of text in large font:

This website is a chat forum to discuss the image that AI generated on April 6th 2024. This site does not have the function to upload or share photos in any capacity, making it a safe space for discussion without running the risk of viewing harmful content.

My heart is racing now. My hand shakes as I tap the “Enter Chat” button.

Instantly, a stream of comments wash over my screen.

User3278: DONT LOOK AT THE PICTURE GUYS

User3257: Is this a joke?

User6832: My sister was convulsing on the floor after she saw.

User9763: im so scared

User5129: Its so beautiful you have to look

User6822: I can see the color

User3456: You have to see the color guys

User8825: This isn’t real

User1744 Y’all are crazy

User7629: How can new colors exist

User8240: YOU HAVE TO SEE ITTTT

User0209: Take the chance it's worth it trust me

User1082 I cried when I saw the color 

User1009: Cant shrimp see like 400 colors?

User5485: My dad is dead

User3674: I showed my dog to test it and he’s fine

User2333: Please dont look this is going to kill you

User5583 Your brain cant handle this morons

User0226: LOOK!!!

User5392: I heard blood was coming out of someone’s eyes

User3294: Just google the picture its cool

User2404: This is a gift from god

User7377: If a color kills you you be weak as hell

User1482: How many of you can see it im scared to look

Incoming call from Avery.

“Hello?” My voice is shaking.

“Oh my god, Jake I was worried you had looked.

“No. No, I just woke up a few minutes ago. I’ve been reading-“

“Stop reading.”

“I haven’t seen the picture.”

“I don’t care, you might come across it. Get off the internet.”

“Jesus, Ave, It’s okay. I’m on some chat site about it.”

“You know this thing is killing people.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’ve heard.” We’re both quiet for a moment. I feel like I can hear her heartbeat through the phone. “Why are people talking about colors?” I ask.

“Jake-”

“A bunch of people are saying they see the color. And that it’s this beautiful thing.”

“It’s not beautiful. It’s death.”

“Is it death for everyone?”

Silence again. I hear the birds starting to chirp outside. The hum of the fridge sounds louder than usual.

“You can’t look at it, Jake.” Her voice is insistent. Harsh. It waivers on my name.

“Are you not curious?” I ask her.

“Of course I’m curious, but it’s not worth it if it’s the last thing we ever get to be curious about.”

“What would a new color even look like? Like is it outside of the known rainbow?”

“Is that what people are saying? That it’s a new color?”

“I think so. The headlines were saying something about AI making a photo with a color that’s never been seen before.”

“That’s impossible. The amount of cones in our eyes- We’re only programmed to see a certain number of colors.”

“Maybe some of us are programmed to see more.”

“But more should already exist all around us that we can’t see. It’s one thing to be unable to see a color. It’s another to be able to make one.”

The curiosity is gnawing at me. “I want to see it,” I say, slowly.

“Jake, you might not be able to handle it.”

“But what if I can?”

“What if you die?”

I pull the phone away from my face and put her on speaker, returning to the chat room feed.

User3466: it’s unbelievable

User6271: This color is insane idk what everyone’s so worried about

User7138: #teamdidntdie

User3394: Dont look at the color

User3454: Get off the internet

User8861: This is my new favorite color

User1151: This is so dangerous guys

User0720: LOOK I DARE YOU

“Jake.”

I’m hovering over instagram again now.

“Jake, don’t be stupid.”

I tap the application.

It’s the first photo I see.

The effect is instant.

“Where did you go?” The fear in her voice pains me. I know I’m scaring her. But the visual euphoria that’s hitting me overpowers everything she’s saying.

“I can see the color,” I tell her.

It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

“You looked?” Her voice is small and still. “You’re… you’re okay?”

“It’s incredible.”

Those are the only two words I can manage. I can’t describe it. I don’t know how to put what I’m seeing, what I’m feeling, into words.

Tears well in my eyes.

My hand reaches up to wipe them.

My fingers come away red.

Red.

Blood.

“It’s incredible,” I repeat.

The blood is dripping down my cheeks. I’ve never been overcome with joy like this before.

I return to the chatroom, tap the message box, write: I can see the color. It’s incredible.

Send.

It’s beautiful. It’s beautiful. Then it’s all black.