Universal Language
Welcome to the world of Poisonous Mist! One day, Earth is suddenly covered in a mysterious Mist. As a result, billions of people die and the handful of survivors awakens with strange powers. As monsters start killing them, Anne-Line, a scientist, tries to make sense of what's happening and to prevent what's left of France from becoming a dystopian society. Come read about her struggle!
Introduction to the story | Anne-Line Decroix | Mist | Novel upcoming
Introduction to the story | Anne-Line Decroix | Mist | Novel upcoming
Table of Contents
Report: Universal language
Author: Anne-Line Decroix — Date: 90 days post-Mist — Confidentiality: Public
Objective
Explain the principles behind Universal Language and how to make it works.
Background
When the Mist came and killed more than 99% of the population, the identity of the survivors has been very random, leaving many tourists and immigrants isolated in places where nobody speaks their language. As the Mist has also lead to the failure of all modern technologies, the only solution until recently has been to try to find old fashion physical dictionaries in the right language. Thankfully, we have know discovered an alternative.
Explain the principles behind Universal Language and how to make it works.
Background
When the Mist came and killed more than 99% of the population, the identity of the survivors has been very random, leaving many tourists and immigrants isolated in places where nobody speaks their language. As the Mist has also lead to the failure of all modern technologies, the only solution until recently has been to try to find old fashion physical dictionaries in the right language. Thankfully, we have know discovered an alternative.
Mechanism
Principle: "Universal language" means using Mist alongside normal speaking in your own language to make yourself understood. It make use of the same ability Mist monsters have to sense our thoughts and to project dread in our mind, which is also how humans with Mist abilities can sometimes manipulate people's emotions.
How to use it: As you pronounce a word, you focus on an image or a feeling, while at the same time trying to push Mist out of you, like a water that should reach everyone around you. Thanks to this, when they hear the word you spoke, they also get the feeling or image in their mind, helping them understand your meaning.
How to get an answer: If your interlocutor does not speak universal language, they will understand you but you will still have troubles understand them. Thankfully, with Mist present in the environment, all humans emit natural but faint "thought waves" as part of our brain processes. Therefore, what you can do is focus on the natural waves emitted by your interlocutor to try to visualise what they mean—something incredibly difficult for us humans to do but is technically doable.
Conversations: You need to prepare in advance what association you are going to send with each word, so that you can speak with minimal pause between each. Even so, it's practically impossible to form full sentences in universal language, and so to have a real conversation, at least at our current level of proficiency.
Impacts
Who can speak it? Not everyone can use Mist in such a way. It requires to have been exposed to higher levels of Mist and to have a lot of mental discipline and a good understanding of languages. Having good mental visualisation skills and being creative also help.
Communication: Universal language has been a lifesaver for basic communication with tourists and immigrants. In the military, even when a group can speak a common language, it is also much more effective to shout a warning in universal language, as they cannot be misunderstand. We are also trial universal language to see if it helps people learn French more easily to ensure that we help those who do not speak French yet learn it.
Understanding Mist monsters: Universal language has helped us understand better how Mist monsters can communicate via what appears to be a hive mind, and how they can guess our thoughts and anticipate our actions. By learning how to control our thought wave emissions, we can also learn to become "invisible" to them, an essential skill to be able to fight back against them.
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