Twisted: The Twisted Universe takes place in a future world which contains special individuals who are known as ‘twisted’, each one having undergone a unique ‘twist’ usually during their teenage years.

50 years earlier a Canadian explorer named John Kinkaide was in Antarctica and became infected with a new virus which became known as the Antarctic Flu or the Kinkaide Virus after its first victim. The virus spread over North America killing 60% of the people infected by it. Over 2 million people died from infections before the vaccine was found and the virus was stopped.

The people who survived the virus were subtly changed by it though showed no symptoms of this change. However, their children and grandchildren did. The descendents of the survivors had become linked to a previously unknown quantum field and could sometimes tap into it. The first time this happened to them, usually during their adolescence, these strange quantum energies would change them in surprising and unpredictable ways. They could be completely transformed...body, mind, and soul in someone or something else. Their very lives were twisted into a new shape, so that's what they became known as...twisted.

These transformations are frequently triggered by a specific event, usually something emotional or experienced for the first time. Scientists think that this is because the part of the brain that takes in new experiences might be linked to the part that influences the quantum field. Most of the time the specific twist a person goes through is related to what they were doing or what was going on around them at the time though not always.

As an example, a boy dressing as a woman for a costume party might suddenly undergo his twist and physically turn into a woman. He might also find his personality changing to match what kind of woman he was dressed as or gaining compulsions to behave in a certain way.

The actual process of undergoing a twist usually seems to be as though static electricity forms around the person while pressure builds within. Then they often feel as though they are struck by lightning while their bodies and minds undergo drastic changes. Many times the twist may be subtle or not even include a physical or mental component. Unconsciousness often follows. There is also often physical damage to things surrounding the person undergoing the twist such as charring or being shocked.

Many twisted gain a ‘trick’ or two which is a special ability which comes from tapping into the quantum field and are often related to their specific twist. These tricks are like magic or super powers though the twisted are careful to refer to them as tricks rather than powers in order to discourage normals from feeling threatened by them.

Many normals are prejudiced and hostile towards twisted often due to fear over their tricks, the drastic changes which sometimes occur in their personalities, and the compulsions which some may have. Because of this a large group of twisted and their families formed the town of Spiral where being twisted is accepted and often considered normal. There is a very high population of twisted in Spiral but there are also a lot of normals who have grown up around the twisted.

Story Examples: Twisted, Twisted Pink, Hair and Now.