An excerpt from the 2050 Johnson World History Textbook. “A Short History of the Miniature Peoples”

When two astronauts returned from the first trip to Mars in 2023; the entire world watched with bated breath. The two were recovered from the pod they had landed in and it was yet another remarkable achievement for the United States, NASA, and mankind as a whole. Unbeknownst to the world, they brought with them some unintended consequences. During the subsequent check-up after landing on Earth, it was discovered that the astronauts had become two inches shorter. This was unusual, as time spent in low gravity environments usually resulted in growth. It was strange, but at the time no one thought anything of it. They were in tip-top shape as far as the doctors were concerned. The two inches seemed inconsequential at the time, and the cause could be studied later. For all they knew they would grow back to their original heights soon enough. For now it was time to celebrate with their families.

Unfortunately, they had no idea that an alien virus had come back with them. With each handshake, hug, sneeze, cough, and kiss the nearly undetectable disease spread. No one was the wiser until nearly 2 months after the successful return from Mars. The astronauts were the first to experience the unusual and extreme symptoms of the disease. One day the two of them found themselves to be only 10 inches tall after waking up one morning. After being examined by esteemed doctors from around the globe, the cause was found and dubbed a “nanovirus”. It seemed that a virus extremely small and undetectable by conventional means had attached itself to every single cell in their body, reducing the size of each cell, resulting in miniature astronauts. More tests were performed on their friends, family, and coworkers. Much to their dismay, they found that each and every one of them had been infected with the virus. Scientists around the world worked day and night to find some form of vaccine, but none were effective. It seemed everyone infected would be doomed to the same fate.

An announcement was made to the public, resulting in millions of men women and children rushing to the nearest hospital in order to get checked. To everyone’s horror, the disease had spread at unprecedented rates. 90% of everyone checked around the world tested positive for what was now known to the public as “lilliputianism”, or LP for short. Riots, and chaos erupted from a terrified public. It wasn't until people realized a few months later that there had been no new reported cases of complete shrinkage. After two more months of holding their breath, a few speeches, and some scientists going on TV saying there was nothing to be concerned about, life returned to normal. The two miniature astronauts proved to be invaluable for scientific studies.Their size allowed them to survive in wildly different atmospheres, even withstanding pressure that would crush the femurs of an adult human with no adverse effects, all the while only experiencing mild discomfort. How exactly they came to this conclusion is currently unknown. The two astronauts were something of celebrities for a time, but a year passed and the novelty and surrealness of the situation wore off. It seemed almost entirely forgotten. until the daughter of one of the astronauts shrank to the size of 11 inches while attending school.

Over the next few weeks, reports of miniaturization began pouring in. After some examination of the victims and statistics, it was concluded that the change of environment caused the virus to adapt. It took time, but the virus was now flourishing in the Earth’s atmosphere. Through the profiles of the reported incidents, it was concluded that the virus can only take effect during adolescence, and a majority of carriers would be unaffected. At this point in time, it was assumed that almost the entire population had become infected with the disease, but only 20% of the population would be affected. 95% of all transformations occurred between the ages of 16-25. Most people would be completely unaffected after reaching their 25th birthday. Scientists concluded that the increased hormone levels during adolescence allows for the virus to take effect. 70% of those affected are female, and scientists concluded that estrogen increased the risk of being affected by the virus. After shrinkage, it was discovered that the aging process ends almost immediately. One girl who shrank at the age of 16 was observed to stop aging when she appeared to be around 18 or 20 years old. All attempts to reverse symptoms were fruitless. Vaccines proved entirely unsuccessful. Tests on animals merely resulted in the subsequent shrinkage of said animals. Strangely, animals would only shrink if the virus was directly introduced into their bloodstream. The reason for this is unknown. Incidentally, it wasn’t long before miniature animals became a popular mainstream pet.

Miniature peoples, while a relatively small percentage of the population, soon became a civil rights issue. In the United States, most people were more than willing to take care of family members who were no longer able to take care of themselves. Some went into new business opportunities. Pornography starring miniature people became wildly popular much to the dismay of many civil rights activists. Some became test subjects, others models, and some were “companions”. Laws to protect miniature peoples were put in place, but despite their attempts, reports of abuse were still a pressing issue. Many business practices involving miniatures were outlawed, but lobbying and a backlash from some parts of the miniature community resulted in the laws being repealed.

The near complete loss of rights for the miniatures began after a lawsuit reached the supreme court. A chinese family living in the United States had sued the US government because they no longer wished to take care of their miniature daughter but had no legal means of being rid of her. They argued that they had expected that she take care of them in their old age, but now that she was invalid they had no means to support themselves in the future. They claim that as her parents they had the right to sell her in order to take care of themselves. At the time, anti-miniature sentiments had grown significantly. Many people considered them to be a burden on society, and many considered them to be non-human.This shift in culture was most likely what resulted in the supreme court siding with the parents of 18-year-old Catie Liu.

New laws put in place allowed states to decide how the miniature population would be handled. Some of the more extreme laws put in place in different states at the time were as follows:

• Parents are no longer legally obliged to take care of their miniature offspring. If your child has succumbed to the virus, you are free to give them to your local shelter or to anyone you see fit.
• Miniatures are no longer considered citizens or human beings, and can be sold as property. Rights of citizens and human beings no longer apply.
• If you find an unsupervised miniature, it is yours to keep.
• Providing clothing for a miniature is optional.

Over time, these laws became the norm in most states, and European neighbors followed suit. Some parts of Asia had already adopted a similar system and the “koonago” business was already wildly popular. Some groups of civil rights activists fought against such laws, but only succeeded in created the National Association for the rights of Miniature Peoples, or the NARMP for short. Most states require that new miniatures be registered, and be brought for checkups regularly. If a miniature is found to be physically harmed, they can be legally taken from their owner, but the extreme durability of miniatures means that the abused almost never have any markings to show for it, making it difficult to prove any abuses.   

Today miniatures are extremely popular. Wealthy people often keep them as pets, schools have them for teaching scientific classes such as anatomy or sex education, some are sold for sexual purposes, some are given to children as dolls, and zoos often have hands on exhibitions of miniatures. If you would like to know more about miniatures, or would like to adopt one, please visit your local shelter.