Dreamscape

July, 1984

Chapter 1: Tests

The ambient temperature in the lab was always kept at a comfortable seventy degrees Fahrenheit.

Alex Gardner sat in the corner of the room, in front of a small coffee table, across from Dr. Paul Novotny and his assistant Dr. Jane DeVries. In the other larger corner section of the room were two very comfortable chairs that doubled as beds, next to each other connected by wiring, monitors and bisected by a large control console. The last two corners were a small changing room and a small bathroom.

The walls were painted white, dark blue industrial-grade carpet, the walls had a dark gray border along the floor and the ceiling. All of the furniture, except for the common area sofas and chairs, were stainless steel including the trays, the cabinets and desks.

Dr. Novotny set a tape recorder on the table and hit the play/record buttons at the same time. Both he and Dr. DeVries also had notepads to jot down notes.

Dr. Novotny was a tall older gentleman. Deep set wrinkles around the eyes divulged that he liked to laugh and smile a lot despite his usual dour demeanor. His hair was utterly white and his eyes were gray as a stormy sky. He was a serious man, dedicated to his work, excited by prospects and energized by discovery.

Dr. Jane DeVries was young, very pretty with permed hair and a lovely figure. Blonde and blue-eyed, she was also dedicated to her work, always being interested in nuance science. She stared at Alex, eagerly awaiting his oral report as though he was going to announce the cure for cancer.

Alex Garner wore a smirk on his handsome face, like a cat that swallowed the canary. He had sandy brown hair, blue eyes and a two day overgrowth on his face. He was smug because he was confident that the latest experiment was a success.

Dr. Novotny said, "So, Mr. Alex Gardner, how did the lucid dream go?"

Alex Gardner wasn't a specialist, particularly intelligent nor was he a doctor. His contribution to the experiments within dreams was that he was a psychic who could focus his mind and pick up surface thoughts of other people. During the initial trials, he showed the second highest promise of being able to successfully and intentionally enter a lucid state while in REM sleep. His electroencephalography (EEG) results showed increased beta-1 bands, much higher and more frequently than the other subjects.

"It went very well," Alex said.

Dr. Novotny asked, "Did you follow the daily instructions?"

Alex nodded, "Yeah, I found a place in the dream to practice playing the saxophone."

"Approximately how long were you able to practice?" Dr. DeVries asked.

"An hour at least."

"Do you ever practice playing the saxophone while you're awake?" Dr. Novotny asked.

Alex shook his head, "No. We agreed that I would handle a saxophone while I'm awake so that I could become familiarized with it enough to picture it accurately while dreaming."

Dr. DeVries asked, "And are you able to picture the instrument accurately within your dreams?"

Alex nodded, smirk still on his face, "Yes."

"Do you personally own a saxophone?" Dr. Novotny asked.

"No."

The older man nodded his approval, "Have you ever had any prior training or classes on playing the saxophone?"

"No."

"How do you handle a saxophone daily if you don't own one in reality?" Dr. Novotny asked.

Alex said, "I have access to one within this facility. I familiarize myself with it under strict surveillance for at least an hour everyday."

"Strict surveillance?" Dr. DeVries wanted clarification. Their questions were merely a formality to establish and reinforce the experiment. Both Doctors already knew the answers to the questions they were asking so far.

Alex patiently answered the redundant questions, "There's a member of the team in the room with me the entire time. He makes sure that I just memorize details of the saxophone but don't play it."

"Is it your claim that over the past few months you have learned to play the saxophone solely by practicing it while lucid dreaming?" Dr DeVries asked.

"Yes."

Dr. Novotny smiled, "If we were to ask you to play us a song on the saxophone, could you do it?"

The smirk faltered, "Yes, although I'm not sure how it would sound in reality. I only know how it sounds within my dreams."

Dr. Novotny reached down and plucked the instrument from the table and handed Alex the saxophone, "We would like to hear what you've learned so far by practicing within your lucid dreams."

Alex sighed, "Okay but again, I have no idea how this is going to sound. Don't say I didn't warn you." He slipped the neck strap on, positioned his hands and placed the mouthpiece between his lips. After a few seconds, a deep haunting rumble came out. Through a series of haunting and melancholy notes, Alex was indeed playing the saxophone at a novice level. It was an eerie and dark melody but unmistakably good.

When he finished, Dr. DeVries started to applause but then stopped when Dr. Novotny shot her a look of disapproval, "Very good Alex," Dr. Novotny smiled at him, "Very good indeed."

"What would you describe as the most difficult part of lucid dreaming?" Dr. DeVries wanted to know. From this point, the two Doctors would begin the real questions, the formalities dropped.

Alex thought about it, "Well, being able to become conscious within the dream is challenging. As you know, I have failed to do so numerous times. But after I'm lucid dreaming, the hardest part is not acting out. There's so much freedom that it has taken a lot of willpower over the last few months to get to the saxophone room and practice instead of exploring the dream world."

"Describe as best you can, what the difference is between a normal dream and a lucid one," Dr. Novotny said.

Alex spoke slowly to be as articulate as possible, "Normal dreams are out of focus, like looking through a faintly fogged up window. You can tell what you're looking at in the dream overall but there are very little details unless you focus on something like a person's face or something close by. Those focused areas are sharp but the vast surroundings are always blurry and not detailed. A lucid dream is completely different. You can see everything clearly, colors, horizons and textures. You can even see your surroundings from several points of view that are impossible in reality."

"Please elaborate," Dr. DeVries said. She was swiftly taking notes.

"In one dream, I was in a car parked on a lonely mountain road at night. I decided to move the car but instead of starting the engine, suddenly I was out of the car, looking down on it like I was a giant or something. I picked the car up and flew it around the lonely dark valley in my hand like a kid does with a toy airplane. When I realized I was close to waking up, I needed to put the car back where it was. So I looked for the tire tracks and lined them up setting the car down perfectly in its correct place. Then I became aware that I was too big to fit inside the car so I started shrinking myself down to the right size. My angle of vision changed as I shrunk, the car got bigger, the ground got closer and my surroundings were leveling out because I wasn't giant sized anymore. Before I could climb back into the vehicle, I woke up."

"That's amazing," Dr. Novotny told him, "Are there any other differences from normal dreams and lucid ones?"

Alex explained, "Normal dreams constantly shift. There's no sense of movement, your attention is drawn to a place and you're there. You want to talk to someone and you're suddenly next to them. There's no perception of travel, no concept of time, no sense of environment, weather, or temperature. Its either daytime or night. Nothing in between. Lucid dreams are different than that. You have a divine sense of awareness, great details on your perceptions. You are aware of all the things normally ignored in normal dreams."

"Excellent," The older man said.

"Where would you explore first within the lucid dream?" Dr. DeVries asked him.

Alex thought about it for a few moments, "I think I would try to find your house, Jane. Maybe take you on a romantic horseback ride around the moonlit countryside," He was smiling at her.

Dr. DeVries blushed.

"All right, Alex. That's enough." Dr. Novotny said.

Alex was still smiling, "Sorry."

"What if I told you," Dr. Novotny said in a conspiratorial tone, "that by using your psychic gift of detecting surface thoughts, it might be possible for you to enter another person's dream?"

Alex laughed.

Both Doctors watched him closely.

Alex stopped laughing. His smile vanished, "You're being serious?"

"Absolutely."

Alex folded his arms across his chest, "Bullshit."

Dr. Novotny leaned towards the coffee table, "No. No bullshit, Alex. I'm quite serious."

"How?"

"The entire reason you are here, is to see if we can link a lucid dreamer into another person's dream. I believe with the right amount of focus, you could not only enter the dream, but also interact with the dreamer and manipulate the dream as if it were your own."

"Bullshit."

Dr. DeVries said, "We've already run preliminary tests. So far, the lucid dreamer can enter the dream but can't manipulate it. The last few attempts, the lucid dreamer couldn't even find the the other person within the dream. But the link between the two dreamers has been made. The link has already been established."

Alex smirked again, "I say we test the theory right here and now. Dr. DeVries, lay down in one of those chairs, fall asleep and I'll try to enter-"

"Dammit, Alex! Be serious for once!" Dr. Novotny scolded. He leaned forward and switched off the tape recorder.

"I am being serious."

"Like hell."

Dr. DeVries said, "We've already had this conversation, Alex. We're professionals. All this flirting is unacceptable."

"Sorry but I can't stop being me," Alex said.

Dr. Novotny removed his glasses and cleaned them, "Starting tomorrow night, you will have full reign over your lucid dreams, Alex. No assignments, no tests. I want you to explore, try out new things, try and fully control your lucid dreams."

"So I can finally do whatever the hell I want within my dreams?"

Dr. Novotny nodded, "No holds barred. No restrictions."

"This is going to be so much fun," Alex said.