Despite all scientific evidence to the contrary, there are a large number of people out there who believe that the folks at CERN, using its Large Hadron Collider, have inadvertently caused our own universe to be destroyed, shunting us into a parallel universe in the process.
While the concept of infinite parallel universes isn't exactly novel—most people have seen a Marvel movie, or watched an episode of Rick & Morty—the theory that we are now living in one that isn't ours is perhaps less well-known.
One proponent of this theory is Max Laughlin, a thirteen-year-old boy who uses the Mandela Effect (a phenomenon where people have memories of events that conflict with the general consensus, or established documentation) to support his claims that we have all somehow phase-shifted into The Darkest Timeline. Watch Max explain his thoughts on this on TikTok user @malloryright's video.
While this no doubt causes sci-fi writers to salivate at the narrative possibilities, it is worth reiterating that there is nothing to give this theory any credence. Perhaps more frightening is the reality that so many people would rather believe a child drawing on a napkin, saying the sky has fallen down, over the possibility that things might just be going so badly here on Planet Earth because of late-stage capitalism. Just a theory.
