Chapter 5

The following is an excerpt taken from the final work of Theodore Grananquist. Mr. Grananquist was a writer for the New York Times in the heat of the ‘Great Decline’ and became well known for the research he conducted during the event. The chapters that follow were taken from his first and only book, published posthumously, The Theory of Three and the Consequences of Perceptionism.
It is important to note that the usage of the word published is, in this context, not a comprehensive verb. After the ‘Great Decline’ Mr. Grananquist sequestered himself in the headquarters of the New York Times and took to reading back issues in order to compile a complete record of what occurred in the final days of the United States of America. Through the period of a few months Mr. Grananquist completed the book and ‘published’ a single copy of it on a newspaper press in the basement of the headquarter building. The publication date is not known, but is projected to be in January of 2095.
The work was discovered on his person after he was found, dead of starvation, on the third floor of the Macy’s Relief Center on February 21st, 2095. The writing was attributed to him upon the discovery of chapter letters, an organization tendency of his in opposition to the mainstream number system. After being identified, the manuscript was taken to the New York Public Library and catalogued. This book was the only surviving record of the events surrounding the ‘Great Decline’.

Chapter B

The Birth and Growth of the Perceptionist Movement

Perceptionism was born into to the world by Grigor Slartislovokon, a thirty-two year old janitor residing in Bangor, Maine. Over the course of two years he wrote and, in November of 2025, published a book entitled Me and My Eyes. In this book Mr. Slartislovokon laid down his basic framework of Perceptionism in a series of narratives about a Jewish immigrant named Samuel and his relationships with the inhabitants of a small town in Iowa. Unable to ever see the fruits of his effort, Mr. Slartislovokon died of complications with cancer in December of 2025. A review of Me and My Eyes appeared in the New York Times in April of 2026. It was, in the time of its conception, described as pretentious and under-researched. The book was regarded a financial and literary failure.
However, over the period of the next forty years the book drew a small following and became an underground classic. Its success was due to frequent word-of-mouth recommendations and copies began to appear on local coffee house tables around the world. The independent music scene of the time began to reflect Perceptionist principles in lyric and style. In 2050 the rock/techno band The Littlest Culkin released the album Samuel; dedicating the album to, among several producers and childhood friends, Grigor Slartislovokon. The album was well-received and the song “What Matters to Me” became the anthem of Perceptionists worldwide. In this way Perceptionism began its underground movement in society.
After conquering the counter-culture society Perceptionism took its cue to advance to the mainstream. Celebrities began to endorse Perceptionism as their way of life(1) and several popular artists and actors began to express Perceptionist values in their work. The movements purpose was thought to be captured best in October of 2072 with the release of a film by Vandersee Renald entitled Acceptance of Sight. In the film the main character is a Perceptionist by the name of Byron who is rejected by his community for his beliefs, but is ultimately accepted and eventually celebrated after he saves a blind girl from her abusive father.

(1) The actor Peter Lanterp showed his dedication to the Perceptionist lifestyle in 2064 when he disappeared from the public limelight entirely. Information at the time indicated that he fully believed he was the only intelligent person still alive on the planet. He would not agree to meet with anyone due to what he called their ‘inability to comprehend my choices.’ He lived in virtual isolation for the remainder of his life and it was reported by those close to him that he was developing a new language. In 2070 he died and his work was released to the public. It appeared to consist mostly of gibberish with slight Latin roots and the masses soon lost interest. There were several scientists who claimed to have transcribed the Lanterp code, but none showed substantial enough evidence to merit any further research into the subject.

Perceptionist artwork began to flood into museums; the most popular of which was the piece entitled True Perceptionism by former acrobat-turned-artist Andrea Trenco. The piece consisted of a cheval mirror held to the wall by a nail. Viewers were encouraged to look into the mirror, but were warned to prepare themselves for sizeable amounts of truth. The Perceptionist movement had now fixed itself into multiple social subcultures and had developed a substantial following.
Perceptionist colonies began to sprout around the globe and several governments began to consider the movement a threat to their national security. Groups like the Golden Acolytes and The Region began to organize communities based around their unique Perceptionist ideals(2). The first active Perceptionist threat was recognized in the United States on July 27th, 2084 when Francis Pontamao of Prescott, Minnesota arrived on the front steps of the White House and began to shoot her way to the Oval Office. Ms. Pontamao was subdued halfway to her goal, but not before she killed thirty-five federal employees. After many hours of interrogation it was revealed that Ms. Pontamao was a devout Perceptionist who firmly believed that she was the leader of the United States of America. Ms. Pontamao was not classifiable as insane as she had a firm grip on her true identity and also recognized that the current president, Arthur Gondon(3), had been elected in November of that year for his second term. It was discovered instead that, in line with Perceptionist belief, having perceived that she was the President of the United States Ms. Pontamao believed it to be a reality. She wrote several letters to the White House prior to her actions on July 27th in which she declared her authority, but was never recognized as a significant threat. After several months of being ignored Ms. Pontamao declared war on what she saw as the false government of the United States and carried out her one-woman assault on the White House. Ms. Pontamao was sentenced to death and was executed on July 26th, 2086. She maintained to her death that she was the true President of the United States of America, even accusing the guards who escorted her to the death chamber of treason. Her last words were, “I only wanted to make things better, but no one would listen.”

(2) See Chapter D: Perceptionist Cultures for a more in-depth discussion of these organizations.

(3) It is interesting to note that President Gondon’s platform in the presidential race prior to the assault on the White House had been operating on a moderate Perceptionist influence. His campaign slogan “I am America” hinted of Perceptionistic values and though there were minor speculations that President Gondon was a practicing Perceptionist the rumors were unsubstantiated. President Gondon consistently denied any involvement in Perceptionist activities.

Following the catastrophe in the United States several countries around the world began to make pre-emptive strikes against the Perceptionist movement. In August of 2085 France, Spain, and Italy declared that any citizens found with Perceptionist materials or practicing Perceptionist rituals would be imprisoned for no less than five years. In several other countries similar anti-Perceptionist laws were created with the intention of squelching any Perceptionist plots. At the same time the United States entered a McCarthy-ist period by creating a council whose sole purpose was to root out Perceptionism by exposing its major leaders. The world was on the brink of the last intellectual war.
The first official declaration of war against Perceptionism occurred on January 1st, 2090. On December 24th, 2089 India declared that it would harbor Perceptionists seeking asylum from intellectual persecution. In quick response, the United States, Great Britain, and the newly formed Republic of South America declared war on India at the start of the New Year. India sent a written response to the governments of each of these countries stating simply, “We perceive that there is no reason for war, and, thus, there is no war.”
The day following India’s statement the United States and Britain, with financial backing from the Republic of South America, launched the largest air attack in recorded history. On January 26th, 2090, ten days after the bombing in India had ceased, the leaders of the United States, Great Britain, and the Republic of South America held a joint press conference to address the growing concerns of the global community. The following is a transcription of the speech made by the President of the United States, Trent Falonton, at that event:

Citizens of the world, the decision to exercise military force against the nation of India was not one reached without a great deal of prior consideration and deliberation. However, it is the belief of these governments that the world cannot continue to suffer the consequences of Perceptionism. The action taken against India is a warning to those countries who would consider allying themselves with the Perceptionist movement. We do not apologize for our actions and promise a similar response to any other country that continues to encourage or allow the practice of Perceptionism within their borders. We do hope that India will be the last battleground and we urge the Perceptionists of the world to consider the consequences of their actions. God bless America.

In the days following the press conference Great Britain and the Republic of South America withdrew their support from the war on Perceptionism. The battlefield for Perceptionism was left to occur on United States soil.
Perceptionism had suffered a seemingly tremendous blow in the Indian conflict, but it had not yet flexed its true power in the arena of world affairs. It is important to note that information about world politics and events becomes less accessible and reliable at this point in history. The following chapters are pieced together with the minimal amount of information available to the author.