Alexandria’s Genesis: Meet the Creator Behind the Fallacy

(UPDATE: 6 February 2012) I want to thank all of you for coming here for the past month and a half since I first posted this. In fact, 3,109 of you came to this blog on the 27th of January, of which 2,900 of you came solely because of this post, thus setting a new one-day record. I just hope all of you do decide to look around at the rest of my blog afterwards; I am more than just this post, after all. Thank you.

(UPDATE: 2 April 2012) As per the commentariat policy, posts that are over two weeks old — such as this very post — are closed to comments, mainly to prevent necro-commenting. If you are interested in contacting me for any reason regarding this post, all you have to do is click here. Thank you again.

* * * * * * * * *

Nearly 15 years ago (circa 1998), I was a huge fan of Daria, MTV’s favourite high school cynic. I had also discovered fan fiction then, and when I found some related to my favourite show, I wanted to leave my mark.

I just didn’t know my mark would be the size of a logic-bomb crater.

Last night, something I created under a pseudonym when I was 19 turned up on Tumblr, something that I made up as a silly back story for my two Daria-based Mary Sues (fan fiction characters who are “perfect” in every manner possible… and then some). This back story, in the 15 years since I first wrote it, had taken a life of its own.

The back story was about Alexandria’s Genesis, a posthuman/alien genetic mutation I created in order to make my Mary Sues more… special. Alas, AG had also evolved into “children of the violet ray” fodder, all to the point that some individuals legitimately believed that not only was it real, but that they actually had the condition. An individual by the name of Cognized took their time to explain why it wasn’t, an explanation that was re-blogged by SexGenderBody, which I then read. My reaction to AG’s evolution from weak plot device to New Age idiocy was of shock, being appalled, and the kind of bemused outrage that could only come from a travesty like this.

I then wrote a response, outing myself as the (wo)man behind the curtain… but I don’t think it’s enough.

The tl;dr version: Alexandria’s Genesis is not, was not, and will never be a real thing; it was a silly little back story for someone’s entertaining first draft.

The long version? Make the jump to see how this sausage was made…

The (Real) Origins of the “Genesis”

Let’s begin with the “genesis” story of AG: An English girl born before the Renaissance began in Sicily (circa 1330s) developed violet eyes from her original blue shortly after birth. Her parents believed Satan had cursed their child, but the local priest confirmed it to be a sign from God regarding a mythological “spirit people” who had first appeared in Ancient Egypt thousands of years earlier, only to vanish from history after migrating north.

The entirety of that opening is fiction based on a mix of speculative fiction and historical fact.

• Europe was still in the Middle Ages then. It was a period that laid the foundation for the witch trials during the Early Modern Period; Pope John XXII allowed for the prosecution of witchcraft as a form of heresy in 1320, for example. Blue eyes turning violet shortly after birth? Burn the heretic (and make it a plot device)!
• “Spirit people” and Ancient Egypt: I was a fan of Art Bell at that time. His guests included Egyptologists who believed that pyramids could predict the end of the world and were markers for alien ships. Ladies and gentlemen, the “spirit people” who turned up in Egypt some thousands of years before the events of 29 April 1329, in a “flash of light,” no less? Cylons.
• Alexandria Augstine, the Trope Namer/Codifier: Alliteration, baby; my Mary Sues were named Raven Duchovny and Rebecca Anderson.
• For bonus points, Raven was actually a male character who had a lot in common with Andrej Pejic. For you hipsters out there, I’m basically saying Raven was Andrej before Andrej was cool.
• The discovery of the gene in 1968: Seemed like another good plot device at the time. C’est la vie.

The (Utterly Batshit Insane) Characteristics of Alexandria’s Genesis

Here is where we enter transhuman/posthuman territory. Let’s break it down, shall we?

• Blue/grey eyes that change to violet within a year after birth: Your mileage may vary regarding changes in iris colour after birth. As for violet being an option: Only online or if you’re an albino, which leads to…
• Shimmering, almost metallic, pale skin resistant to the Sun: 1) Stephanie Meyer owes me money of the “sparkly emo vampire wuss” kind; 2) Only if you’re a skinjob.
• No facial or body hair other than what is there at birth (head hair, eyebrows and eyelashes): Meet the disorder known as Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (CAIS)/Testicular Feminization (TFM).
• Lack of periods in females: See above and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).
• Dark brown or black hair: I’m a brunette. That’s all I got; it has been 15 years, after all.
• Highly evolved immune systems that are resistant to every known disease: I would say only if you’re a skinjob, but not even machines are immune to viruses.
• Slowed aging: Skinjob or through a very low-calorie diet.
• Lifespan of 130 to 170 years: Wait about 20 years, barring a Singularity or WWIII.
• Perfect vision: Just something I threw in.
• Well-proportioned bodies: I was into astrology then. Really into it. I read that Taurus-born people were basically put together by Goldilocks so that everything was just right. Why not throw it in, too!
• Never overweight (partial lipodystrophy): Wishful thinking.
• Found only in females, mostly white: There must be some kind of way out of here…
• Children are carriers: … said the joker to the thief.
• Mutation remains active/increases in strength over generations: Nanotechnology, baby. No; just something I made up off the top of my head, again.
• Lack of waste production: RoboCop, though he did produce “baby food” from his back if I understand correctly; he did eat, right?
• Dominance of mutation in biracial children: Idiocy deluxe re: unintentional racism. This also means that some New Age fanatics might be racist themselves if they believe AG is real. I’m just guessing, though.

Why Did Alexandria’s Genesis Go Viral?

AG was overall a silly plot device that also comes off as unintentionally misogynistic and racist, but somehow escaped the confines of a Daria fan fiction site into the wild open plains of The Internet. I can’t explain how this happened, or who first thought this was a real thing, but the elephant in the room has a question: Why is the only known document regarding a posthuman/alien genetic mutation posted on a fan fiction website? If I wanted to post this as a “real” document for New Agers to swallow hook-line-sinker, I would have I just created some lame Geocities website and been done with it.

Maybe you know?

Anyway, there you have it: Alexandria’s Genesis is simply a bad mashup of Daria, Art Bell, Twilight, witchcraft and Cylon skinjobs adopted by New Agers and others who should know better, but don’t and won’t. Thank you, Internet. Thank you, Tumblr.

PS – If you want to know who the person behind Alexander Lamar Eldritch — the pseudonym I used then — is, then meet the editor! I’m an independent fashion blogger who focuses on music and style. How are you?

Photo credits: Cameron Miquelon (upper image), Roger Wollstadt (middle image) and Xlibber (lower image).

Tagged as: Alexander Lamar Eldritch, Alexandria's Genesis, children of the violet rays, Daria, deconstruction, Diadra's Genesis, disassociation, dismantling, distancing, fan fiction, hoaxes, indigo children, Mary Sue, memetic mutation, myths, New Age, Outpost Daria, posthumanism, pseudoscience, purple eyes, speculative fiction, transhumanism, urban legends, violet eyes