A Boy Who Wanted

Joshua was in his late teen years, and he had already been extremely successful. It all started when he was twelve, and when he discovered in himself a passion to perform on the stage. Just perform pop music, nothing sophisticated, just the stuff most teenagers love, even though the music itself was not the one that would have been remembered twenty years later. He was happy and proud of himself, and perhaps a bit self-indulgent, but never arrogant. He gave shows all around, and recently just got his first contract for a tour abroad. He could not be more satisfied. He loved the image he created, and the public loved it too. And he really enjoyed watching the videos from his shows, full of sound, light, sparkle and dazzle - a fairy tale world that he created, and for so many people this world was an inspiration to escape from daily routines.

One day, while browsing the internet, he came across an interesting piece of software. The software was advertised as "revealing the truth abut you". Joshua read the full description, and realised that it allowed to process a video in a way that it would remove any cues that make one subjectively assess what one sees; instead, one would see oneself "as one really is".  He thought it might be great, as it could help him with the stage image.

So he downloaded a trial version. It was enough to process a 2-minute video. And he did load one of his recent concerts. A red warning appeared on the screen: "Are you sure you want to proceed? You may not like what you will see in a moment. Yes/No". He clicked 'yes'.

The screen went black for a few seconds, and then he saw two pictures, next to each other. On the left side, he was seeing the 'normal' video. And on the right side he saw a fat, short kid, with an ugly face, horrible haircut, attempting to sing and dance in a way that was just pathetic. His mouth opened wide, and he did not say a word until the video finished.

He never went on the stage again. He works in one of the places in town, doing  a days job, which is not too stimulating or enjoyable, but brings him enough money to support his family.

What has happened to Joshua?

The answer will come tomorrow. I still need to think about it.