Emotional Transparency
In 2030, a groundbreaking product was introduced to the market, changing the way people communicate forever. Called ‘EmoAura’, this contact lens-like device allowed its users to see the emotions of others as an ‘aura’ generated from their brainwaves and displayed around their heads.
A decade later, the widespread use of EmoAura has transformed communication into a more intuitive and direct experience. People no longer rely on words or facial expressions to understand each other’s emotions, leading to a richer and quicker exchange of feelings. From the love of a lover to the curiosity of a baby, to even the hidden prejudices and hatreds, EmoAura made them all visible.
This technology has created new challenges for society. People started to surround themselves only with those who shared similar patterns of emotions, leading to increased social fragmentation and a loss of idealism. With every emotion stored as big data, companies and governments saw it as an opportunity to manipulate the masses and sell products.
The world changes, but human nature remains the same. Let’s see what the world looks like with EmoAura.
Bohan Wang
He Zhai
Jiaqi Shi
Kazuhiro Naito
Maciek Worosilak
Min Woo Nam
Scenario 01: At a Campus
Making friends had never been my strong suit. In high school, I was content to spend my days lost in the pages of my comic books, content in my solitude. But now that I had moved to a new city for university, I was determined to make a change. That’s why I tried to attend the university’s welcome party, hoping to meet new people.
As I was searching for a seat, two guys with a joyful form of emotions were talking, so I decided to join their conversation. At first, they talked about their hobbies, so I shared my passion for comics. But when the conversation turned to their high school days, I started to feel uneasy. My school years were nothing to write home about, and I had nothing to share. While they were exchanging stories in their school days, their emotions took a joyful shape, while mine became darker. I reached for my comic book, hoping to shake off the emotion, but it was too late. They had noticed my discomfort, and their emotions turned to one of suspicion.
‘Oh, I’m just thinking about the work I have to do today. I should get going.’ Saying this, I got up from my seat. Of course, there was no work to be done. I left the party to shake off their suspicion. I knew I had to work on my emotional control if I ever hoped to make friends, but for now, I was content to have my comic book by my side.
Scenario 02: At Work
As the manager approached me, my heart sank. I had been looking forward to a break from work, but his presence meant more work was coming my way. ‘How’s it going lately?’ he asked. ‘I’m about to get a new job from a client and I’m thinking of putting you in charge. You’d better brace yourself.’
My workload had already been overwhelming, and I had been losing sleep. Then I noticed the message on the screen, indicating my negative feelings during working hours were increasing. I sighed. If my negative emotions exceeded 30% at the time of my regular interview, it would affect my promotion and my bonus would be cut. I reluctantly reached for the tranquillizers I had recently been prescribed.
A month later, the day of the regular interview arrived. I walked into the manager’s room, feeling anxious about the results. He spoke up as soon as we were seated. ‘Well, don’t be so alarmed. You’ll be fine,’ he reassured me. His emotions indicated that he was telling the truth. ‘According to this term’s emotion report, you spent 29% of your time in negative emotions.’ I breathed a sigh of relief. I had made it.
‘However, I’m going to need you to work a little harder,’ he added. ‘This is the job I told you about, starting today.’ I felt frustrated and overwhelmed. I had been working hard, and now they wanted me to work even harder. Before I could say anything, my boss spoke up again. ‘Oops, that’s 31% now. I’m afraid I’m going to have to cut your bonus this time.’ I felt a surge of anger, but I knew that I needed to manage my emotions better if I wanted to succeed in my job.
Scenario 03: At a Gallery
After some exhausting work, the quiet and peaceful atmosphere of the gallery had a calming effect on me. As I walked deeper into the gallery, I saw my red, stinging emotions turned blue and smooth, and I realised that I was relaxed. I wondered how long I had not felt this kind of calm emotion. Soon I stumbled upon a painting that captivated me. It was a large oil painting, towering over me with its nebula-like fluctuation with a gradation of dark red. I felt mesmerised by the hazy yet powerful appearance as if I could be lost in it forever. And then I realised my emotion had taken on an unusual colour and shape that I had never seen before.
Days passed, but I couldn’t shake off the feeling that the painting had left on me. I found myself walking back to the gallery after work, eager to see it again. As I approached the painting, I found someone standing in front of it. A little disappointed, I decided to look at it from behind. The one was a woman who appeared to be my age, on her way home from work, just like me. Then I suddenly realised that the colour and form of her emotion were identical to what I had when I first saw the painting. I couldn’t help but approach her.
As I spoke to her, her special emotion collapsed in a flash, changed to surprise and alarm, and then turned to joy. A little confused, I told her about that special emotion. Then she said, ‘Actually, I’ve been here several times, and the other day, I saw a man with the same colour and form of emotion as mine. I couldn’t dare to talk to him, though.’ I immediately noticed that she and I shared the same colour and shape of emotion, representing strong affection.
This is how I met my partner for life.
