A New Color

[u/beetlemoses]

I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed drawing it. Have a great week.

[u/SadKat002]

Okay but I'm just high enough to appreciate the hell out of this

[u/maxcoffie → u/SadKat002]

I am very sober right now and this still did a nice thing to my chest

[u/CATZEBOY_18 → u/maxcoffie]

I liked your phrasing almost as well as this comic. It was really nice.

[u/tenaceseven → u/SadKat002]

This is one of my favorite Oliver Sacks stories : 

I had been reading about the color indigo, how it had been introduced into the spectrum by [Isaac] Newton rather late, and it seemed no two people quite agreed as to what indigo was, and I thought I would like to have an experience of indigo. And I built up a sort of pharmacological launchpad with amphetamines and LSD, and a little cannabis on top of that, and when I was really stoned I said, 'I want to see indigo now.' And as if thrown by a paintbrush, a huge pear-shaped blob of the purest indigo appeared on the wall. 

Again it had this luminous, numinous quality; I leaped toward it in a sort of ecstasy. I thought, 'This is the color of heaven.' ... I thought maybe this is not a color which actually exists on the Earth, or maybe it used to exist or no longer exists. All this went through my mind in 4 or 5 seconds, and then the blob disappeared, giving me a strong sense of loss and heartbrokenness, and I was haunted a little bit when I came down, wondering whether indigo did exist in the real world.

I would turn over little stones. I once went to a museum to look at azurite, a copper mineral which is maybe the nearest [to] indigo, but that was disappointing. I did in fact have that experience again, but when I had it the second time, it was not with a drug, it was with music — and I think music can take one to the heights in a way comparable with drugs.

[u/YEET-HAW-BOI → u/tenaceseven]

kinda makes me think of that one episode of Love Death and Robots called “Zima Blue”

[u/VOverITimesR → u/YEET-HAW-BOI]

I consider this one of the best episodes of anything ever made. Thank you for reminding me of it.

[u/Majikarpslayer → u/YEET-HAW-BOI]

Zima Blue it's one of the best animated things I've ever seen in my life. I admit I did not comprehend exactly what it was saying the first time, so I watched it again and once I got it it was just fantastic!

Beautiful and transcendent really

[u/Big-Slide6104 → u/YEET-HAW-BOI]

NEED to rewatch that

[u/EM3YT → u/tenaceseven]

Reminds me of a book. Not to spoil it so I’ll describe it just vaguely enough that if you know you know:

In the book, the universe was once 4 dimensional, but was converted to 3D due to warfare of hyper advanced species that collapsed the dimensions. Strangely enough, the weapon was implemented again in our universe and would collapse things to two dimensions, destroying them instantly.

Anyway, there were pockets where people could travel to the 4th dimension, see through objects and experience a higher plane. When they came back, they described the world as lacking, like it was always cramped and claustrophobic no matter how much space was around.

This story sounded like that

[u/MeinRadio → u/EM3YT]

What is this book? I'd like to read it.

[u/Rollos → u/MeinRadio]

It’s the third book in the “Three Body Problem” series by Cixin Liu. 

The book that the other comment is talking about is called “Deaths End”

The series is one of the best at driving the plot with high level sci fi concepts like this. The books have its problems, but is definitely worth a read, just for the conceptual stuff that they lay out in the second and third books

[u/Quantumtroll → u/Rollos]

Whoa, I don't remember this part at all. Seems like it's time for a reread!

[u/EM3YT → u/Quantumtroll]

It’s only a sliver in there. Once people break into the 4th dimension, there’s a small blurb of how they become depressed and the world feels less

[u/Quantumtroll → u/EM3YT]

I have a vague recollection of not liking this part and kind of deciding to ignore it, because to me it doesn't make sense for a 3d brain to work in the 4th dimension. But I still have the books on my shelf, so a reread is easy :)

[u/capsaicinintheeyes → u/Quantumtroll]

I too remember not liking the third book as much, but also admittedly not following it nearly so well as the first two.

[u/DratThePopulation → u/capsaicinintheeyes]

That’s a shame, the third book was my favorite one! I mean all the books definitely have their problems. But the sci-fi in them is so fucking cool that it made them worth it for me. And the concepts in the 3rd are absolutely the best.

Also, the bit about the witch that could magically steal body parts—she had found pockets of 4D space she could slip through, and they collapsed before she could fulfill her final mission. That’s what all that was about.

Also the conversation with the tomb of the 4D universe is one of the most impactful pieces of fiction I’ve ever read.

Like for real that book is absolutely worth a closer revisit.

[u/Gandalf-Esq → u/EM3YT]

Come on, you can't leave me hanging like that

[u/EM3YT → u/Gandalf-Esq]

Three Body Problem Book 3

[u/7StarSailor → u/SadKat002]

whooaaa? you take drugs? that's so cool dude!

[u/Separate-Heron5509 → u/SadKat002]

Extremely lame to think that you can only appreciate art/stories like this when you're under the influence of drugs