A/N: Wuss' good, my peops!
Thanks to Legal-Assassin-006, musicchica10 and Gasp for your reviews. Everyone who put me on their Alerts/Favorites BIG FAT WET KISSES for you! THANK YOU ILY :D
Sorry this chapter is so late. Please don't hate me. Please review/rate/subscribe/favorite/whatever anyway!
FYI: Please pay careful attention to the details in this chapter. I introduce new concepts that may take 2-3 readings to understand (if I did my job, hopefully not). But Anyway, Let me know if you like the new concept. The concept is called the 1st Primordial Law of Psychological-Physics. I'll talk more about it in the A/N at the end of the story.
Disclaimer: I put the "Pshh!" In INCEPTION!
- RaifandRosefan
Chapter 8: The Sleepy Reunion
It's midmorning, Zelda, wearing a charcoal grey cashmere sweater and white floral skirt, sits in her apartment, waiting for her guests to arrive. She is restless. It's been a number of years since she's been part of a real job. Sure, she's done the odd spy job for a friend, but nothing so serious as a full blown inception. She was determined to do the best she could and to be the best host she's ever been.
There's a knock at the door.
Zelda rises from her seat, eager to greet the person on the other side of her door.
"Are you here to deliver the groceries I ordered?" She waits for the answer.
When the Backup Point was established, the team agreed upon a number of coded exchanges - sort of like a two person password. This would keep the team members from opening the door for enemies in disguise, and warn them if a stranger was waiting on the inside. Any slight deviation from the script and the jig was up.
Out of breath from practically carrying Eames up the stairs, Yusuf answers. "Yes," he gasps.
"But the cake is still in the truck."
With a smile, Zelda swings her door wide open.
"Blimey!"
The woman blanches at the sight before her. Yusuf is about ready to collapse under Eames' weight. And the forger looks half dead under all his bruises. Zelda rushes to lift Eames, relieving Yusuf of his burden. He drops to the floor in fatigue.
"Hello, Zeze." Eames offers with a weak toothy smile. The elder woman plops Eames onto the couch. Yusuf runs to the kitchen where he fills a glass with tap water. He gulps the water as quickly as possible. Zelda moves to close her apartment door.
Glass refilled, Yusuf traipses into the living room. Eames rests on the couch, Zelda sitting next to him. She looks at the battered forger.
"Yusuf, what the hell happened to Mo-Eames?"
"Isn't it obvious?" he says lazily, plopping down into a chair, "Someone beat the living shit out of him." Yusuf sips his water.
Zelda bristles, "I mean HOW did it happen? Where? Who would do such a bloody thing?"
Eames groans as he tries to sit up, his chest hurts where his ribs were broken. Metal braces have been screwed in place to help them heal. Dark bruises cover nearly half the forger's face. His left eye is still swollen. The shift in position makes the forger dizzy. He groans, looking up to the ceiling - revealing the stitches on his jaw.
"My word. What have they done to you, darling?" Zelda says sympathetically. She looks over at Yusuf. "What can I do?"
"Perhaps you could prop his feet up on a pillow?" Yusuf shrugs.
"Right." Zelda goes to her linen closet, she removes two pillows and a blanket. She returns to the living room where Eames continues to stare at the ceiling, groaning loudly - partly in pain, partly for his own amusement. After removing his shoes, Zelda props the forger's feet up on the coffee table where they are supported by a pillow. The second pillow rests behind the forger's head. Zelda tucks the blanket around the wounded man.
"Thank you, Zeze." Eames utters. Zelda smoothes the forger's hair.
"You're welcome, deary. Now rest." Eames nods, smiling. He nuzzles into Zelda's hand as she caresses his cheek and hair. He burrows into his sheet. In mere moments, the forger has fallen asleep, his wounds sapping what's left of his energy.
Zelda turns away from the forger, looking sharply at Yusuf who innocently sips the water in his glass. Grabbing her lighter and cigarette from the table, Zelda silently motions for Yusuf to follow her onto the terrace. As she nears the French doors, she grabs a knitted sweater resting on the back of a dinning chair.
She opens the door and steps out. Yusuf follows her. She closes the door behind them. Before a word can be said, Zelda has lit a cigarette and lodged it between her lips. She offers one to Yusuf, who smiles and politely nods his thanks.
After a few puffs, Zelda starts,
"Alright, now I want you to cut the bullshit and tell me why Eames is covered in cuts and bruises."
Yusuf removes his cigarette, "It's from an extraction. Eames, Ariadne, and Arthur were hired for an extraction that needs to be done before we can even start Ariadne's inception. The men who hired them sent a few men after Eames while he was in Mombasa to get me. Apparently, the boss isn't seeing results fast enough."
"Shit," Zelda blows smoke.
"Yeah," Yusuf nods. He takes another drag on his cigarette. "I don't know how they expect this to work. Eames is barely in any condition to share the dream."
"They have to make it work. That girl is going to die if they don't." Zelda leans against the banister. She looks out over the rooftops of her neighborhood. The day is cloudy - no sun - but there is no threat of rain. Yusuf turns to have a look as well. The nearby park is full of mothers with children riding brightly colored tricycles. The sound of childish laughter wafts its way up to the dreamers. They smoke in silence. Zelda looks down at the sidewalk in front of her building. A familiar looking man carrying a gift basket wearing a blue baseball cap, with honey colored hair and the most basic shoes a man could ever wear - the shoes! How could she forget those ancient Keds? If not wearing dress shoes, the man was perpetually wearing Keds. Zelda turns to Yusuf, cigarette in mouth,
"Dom's here."
Yusuf looks down at the sidewalk nine stories below. Dom opens the building's front door. Both Yusuf and Zelda head for the terrace doors. Yusuf holds the door open for Zelda who enters. Yusuf steps in, closing the door behind him. Zelda crosses the dining area. She goes through the living room, heading toward the kitchen. Yusuf takes a seat in the living room in a chair next to Eames, who is snoring lightly.
"Oh, pardon my horrible manners, Yusuf. I was so surprised by Eames, I forgot to ask: would you like some tea?"
"Yes, thank you." Yusuf nestles into his chair. He flicks ashes off is his cigarette into the glass ashtray on the table. He nestles back into the chair. The doorbell rings.
"Would you get that, Yusuf?" Zelda yells from the kitchen, "Before Eames wakes up."
Reluctantly, Yusuf rises from his chair and walks over to the door.
"Are you here to deliver the groceries I ordered?" Yusuf asks.
"Yes," Dom answers, "But the cake is still in the truck." Yusuf opens the door.
Dom, on the other side of the door, carries a monstrously large gift basket with chocolates, cigars, and fruit - for Zelda, of course.
Dom, all sunshine and smiles, starts, "Hey-!"
"Shhh!" Yusuf covers Dom's mouth placing a finger over his own lips for emphasis. Yusuf points to the sleeping forger. Dom's shocked expression relaxes. Yusuf lowers his hand. In a quieter voice, Dom starts,
"I see Arthur wasn't kidding."
Yusuf shakes his head, "No. They laid into him pretty good."
"Jeeze." Dom takes a moment to survey the apartment. As old and classy as ever. Remembering his gift basket, he picks it up off the floor. "Oh, uh, this is for Zelda."
Zelda appears from around the corner. "Dom!" She exclaims softly, holding out her arms to hug the extractor she's known going on fourteen years.
"Zeze!" He smiles. They embrace. He kisses her cheek and places the basket in her hands. She smiles looking at its contents.
"Cuban cigars! Chocolate? You really do know how to spoil an old lady, don't you?" Zelda places the basket on her large mahogany dining table. "We'll figure out what to do with the fruits later. Perhaps a smoothie will do nicely?" Zelda moves like a whirlwind. So happy to see her old friend. "Would you care for some tea, Dom? I got it recently in Shanghai. It's practically orgasmic!"
Dom laughs, "Sure, Zeze. Thank you." He and Yusuf take a seat in the living room. Zelda appears with a plate of cookies. She walks over to her gift basket and removes a large bar of chocolate, which she breaks into smaller pieces. The tray of cookies and chocolate go onto the coffee table. "Here, while the water's boiling, have a snack." Yusuf and Dom each grab a cookie.
As he settles into his seat, Dom looks at the sleeping forger. Mm. m-m-m. He shakes his head.
"Oh, it's so good to see you, darling!" Zelda gushes, "I thought - with you retiring and all - that I'd never get to see you again. How are the children? How is Miles? Does he still teach at the university?"
"The children are wonderful, Zee."
"I bet they were glad to have their father back," she smiles. "Do bring them to Paris sometime so I can see them!"
"I will, Zee. And I'll be going back to them, when we finish this mission. And of course Miles is still teaching. I can't imagine him ever doing anything else." Zelda laughs. The kettle whistles.
"Let me go get that." Zelda exits. Dom turns to Yusuf,
"When are Ari and Arthur getting here?"
"Soon. They're on their way."
Downstairs, Arthur holds the door open for Ariadne. She steps in quietly. Arthur follows, closing the door behind him. The point man is on the phone with his employer.
"-that was unnecessary! I had it under control-yes!," Arthur listens, "I told you we needed more time. Our mark is savvy. He'll notice us tracking him!" Arthur's eyes widen on his otherwise stoic face, "I told you that last week!" The point man curses silently at the man on the other end. "Alright-yeah-uh-huh that doesn't give you the right to beat the shit outta one of my men! We need him. He almost DIED!... No! You don't beat the fucking forger!... He goes under with us! He's the fucking forger!... Next time tell your men to use some sense, or this job is over, with or without your results... No, sir. It's a promise... Listen. List-en-to-me. I can't. Go into. A subject's mind. With a fucked up forger! Your goons just cost you money. No, I can't get another one!... Because he's the best! That's why. If you want the job done at all, you'll call off your dogs... Because they can't get their head outta their asses long enough to think about what they're doing!... Yeah. Three more days... Thanks a lot. Talk soon." Arthur ends the call. "Jeezus! The man's an idiot!"
Ariadne looks at Arthur. They share a glance. The tiniest of smiles twinkles behind his eyes. Ariadne sighs, reaching for the banister. Eighteen flights of stairs to go. Ariadne looks up at the miles of curving banister above her. This place needs an elevator. Ariadne bounds up the first flight.
Inside the apartment, the doorbell rings. Dom and Yusuf look up as Zelda heads for the door.
With the pass code being used twice in one day, Zelda uses an alternate.
"Who knocks at the gate?" She asks.
"A party guest with popcorn," Arthur answers.
Zelda turns to Dom and Yusuf, "They're here." She smiles, opening the door. Dom looks from the woman to his well dressed friend.
Ariadne steps through the door, followed by Arthur. Zelda greets her newest guests with a joyous hug.
"Please, please. Sit down. Make yourselves at home." Ariadne and Arthur enter the living room.
"Yusuf!" Ariadne embraces the chemist, "thank you for coming!"
"Of course, Ariadne" the chemist sing-songs.
Dom and Arthur exchange a brotherly hug. Their first in a very long time. After everyone has been greeted - all except Eames who remains asleep on the couch - they settle into their seats in the living room. Zelda brings out a tray of teacups followed by a teapot. Arthur, Ariadne, and Eames rest on the couch. Zelda, Dom, and Yusuf sit in chairs. At the center, a coffee table offers cookies, chocolate, and cigarettes. Zelda's three C's.
Placing his teacup on the table, Dom looks at Arthur, "So, Yusuf tells me you've got another job at the moment." Cobb nods to Eames, "And by the looks of our forger, that job needs to be completed before we can figure out who's behind the Council's attacks on Ariadne."
"Right." Arthur answers curtly. He hates when Dom nutshells. "I secured three more days. That's barely enough time, but we've gotta make it work."
As Arthur, Dom, Zelda, and Yusuf plan, Ariadne looks at the forger laying next to her on the couch. His face is almost unrecognizable with the swelling and bruises. A knot grows in her stomach. A storm brews within Ariadne's mind.
Can he even see? She asks herself, His eyes are so swollen.
Ariadne... Ariadne, A foreign voice from within calls to her.
This is your fault.
You're the reason he's hurt.
Ariadne.
These things always happen to you.
Fuck! I'm the one with the council on my ass, yet he's the one getting beat up. This is all my fault.
Yes. It's your fault, Ari. You did this.
I did this.
But it was an accident. I wouldn't wish this on him.
You did this, Ari.
Ariadne.
Ariadne. You did this.
No! I didn't mean to!
Accept it. Everyone you know will get hurt.
Ariadne.
... Everyone I know gets hurt...
Ari...
"Ari? Ariadne. A-ri-ad-ne." Arthur, Zelda, Dom and Yusuf look at the architect, worried. She appears lost in a horrific daydream. She holds her teacup and saucer with white knuckles. The point man nudges Ariadne.
"Ari?"
"Huh-what? Oh. Sorry, my mind ran away from me." The architect shakes the thoughts from her head. I need to get more sleep. Pronto!
"We could tell," Dom responds.
"Anything I could help you with, darling?" Zelda offers.
"No, sorry," the architect answers, eager to change the subject.
"Okay," Dom starts, "Who's gonna wake up Eames?"
No one volunteers. A minute passes.
"Fine. I'll do it." Zelda relents, exasperated. She walks over to the forger. "Eames, dear," she shakes him lightly. "Eames, honey, wake up. Everyone's here. Give us ten minutes. Then, you can go back to sleep, love."
Eames groans as he meets consciousness. In a few blinks, the forger is awake - groggy - but awake, "Hey..." he begins. "It's a party. Dom. It's good to see you, mate."
"It's good to see you too, Eames. You look like hell."
"You should see the other guy." They chuckle lightly. It was a dry joke, but any joke coming from the forger is a welcome one. "Now, what do you kamikazes have planned?"
"Arthur's gotten us three days more days to finish the job. You're going to sit this one out. We'll need you for the inception, and you need your rest. Besides, no one wants a tour through your mind with all those painkillers coursing through your system."
"Works for me," Eames enthuses as he nestles further into his blanket.
"And as your replacement, Zelda and I are going in. Yusuf is gonna tailor compounds to support our entry."
"Oh, Zeze you're going back into the field! That's good. A seer will definitely be useful," Eames comments, lazily. Zelda gathers the empty teapot and heads toward the kitchen.
"I'll be back with some more tea. Try not to miss me while I'm gone."
Ariadne gets up from her seat. She follows Zelda into the kitchen. Arthur watches the architect leave. Cobb playfully nudges the distracted point man, shaking him from his daydream. The extractor rests his shoeless feet on the coffee table. Yusuf lights another cigarette.
In the kitchen Ariadne stands at the sink, next to Zelda. Zelda is focused, cutting sandwiches for her houseguests. The grey haired woman smiles upon noticing Ariadne. "And how are you getting along? You look positively knackered."
"I am. I haven't slept a wink since leaving here the other day."
"Was it all that wild sex with our point man?" A mischievous grin lights Zelda's face, "I could see that being a hindrance."
Ariadne laughs. This woman has no shame! "Zelda! You have no shame." She shakes her head.
Using her dishrag, Zelda smacks Ariadne on the rump. "You should really consider it, darling. I think he fancies you - don't tell him I said that. It couldn't hurt to give it a try. And something tells me he's very capable... if you know what I mean." She winks at the young woman.
"Zelda!" Ariadne scoffs lightly at the woman's forwardness. It's probably been a long time since she's talked shop with someone who didn't have testicles and a prostate.
"But something tells me you're not here to discuss matters of the flesh." Zelda slices a sandwich into four.
Ariadne takes this as her cue to speak, "Back in the room you said you were a... Seer. What's a seer?"
Zelda looks at the young woman. "Nobody told you what a Seer was. What the hell were you all doing during inception?"
"Trying to keep the mission afloat." Arthur answers, as he rounds the corner to enter the kitchen. Oh no, Ariadne worries, I hope he didn't hear our conversation. Arthur stands on the other side of Zelda, all relaxed and unaware. No, probably not.
Turning to Ariadne to answer the still unanswered question, Zelda states, "A seer can see what's going to happen in a dream, before it happens." She smiles a dangerous smile.
Her interest sparked, Ariadne leans in on the granite countertop, "How?"
The elder woman, states simply, "It's all based on Primordial Law."
"What's that?"
"You don't know what primordial law is."
"No," Ariadne answers, unashamed.
"You came up under Dom Cobb and he didn't teach you about primordial law?" The woman cuts a sideways glance at Arthur, "That man must've really been slipping." Arthur shrugs. Turning back to Ariadne, she continues. "Primordial law is one of the founding principles of dream share. It's the first law of Psychological-Physics. Most scientists would tell you it's a theory, but those scientists have also never heard of dream sharing."
"So, what does primordial law say?"
Realizing the level of Ariadne's ignorance, Zelda turns her back to lean on the kitchen counter. Arthur and Ariadne follow suit, turning their heads to listen to the older dreamer's knowledgeable words.
"Okay, let me start at the beginning...
"You know how you get moments of déjà vu, where you swear you already saw, heard, said, or did something? Well those moments are said to come from our Universal Beginning. All of existence had, at one time, been connected. Our spirits, the past, the present, all of us, everything we know - including time - existed in this primordial soup.
"Before life as we knew it existed, before the current state of physical existence could separate humans from time, we were not bound by physics. We were not bound by the laws of time that limit us to the present. We could see the past. Our spirits could move fluidly through time. We saw what was and what was to be. And because we were not bound by physics or by human infirmity, because we were limitless spirits, we could understand and remember all that we, and the rest of those who would come into existence, had done and will do.
"All of this knowledge is retained in our subconscious, that part of humanity that is not bound by physics. That boundless part of us is known as Humanity's Universal Knowledge Source, or HUKS for short. Anyway, our retained knowledge is reflected in dreams. What a mark or his projections will do in a dream are all reactions to information gathered from the Universal Source."
Ariadne chimes in, "So you're saying that what we dream doesn't come from our conscious experiences, but from what we saw billions of years ago, when we were part of a big primordial soup?"
"Partially, yes." Zelda starts, "But what we experience day to day - the emotions we go through - they make our dreams much more vivid. They are what makes a dream terrifying or exciting. They are what provides the emotional connection to the dream. Having a dream based solely on knowledge from the Universal Source is like studying an event from a history book. No matter how often you study it, you will always be an outsider reading about something in the past, or a dreamer, watching a boring movie. But a dream based on both conscious existence and universal knowledge is like jumping into a time machine and experiencing the historical event for yourself. Your mind, will and emotions are plugged directly into the event. The stakes are real. The reward is real."
"So," the architect begins, "both our conscious experiences and our universal knowledge influence our dreams?"
"Yes," says the seer.
"But why do I rarely ever dream about the lives I saw during my primordial existence? Why are my dreams mostly about me or people I know directly?
"That's because of the tendency of our physical state to like things we can relate to. That's why we live in houses and frequent the same restaurants. We stick to what is familiar, what we know or like. That physical part of ourselves limits the scope of our dreams. But there are hiccups in the dream. There are times when we meet people we don't know, but most of us assume that those strangers represent us in the dream. However, those could very well be people whose spirits we identified with when we existed in our limitless state."
"Like a primordial friend!" Ariadne enthuses.
"Exactly! We had primordial friends that our subconscious remembers, and we project those friends into the dream because we can see a bit of ourselves in them. They are familiar."
"So, everything I knew about how we were created was wrong?"
"Not at all," Zelda insists, "This law has nothing to do with evolution or creationism or the big bang or whatever you believe. We are not a religion. We are a profession. Primordial Law only deals with creation's existence before Earth came to be. Not how we came to be. Primordial existence occurred before physical existence."
"And you believe this." Ariadne states, somewhat incredulous.
"Of course I do." Zelda insists, with a flip of her hand, "Most extractors do. I am surprised you were not told of this before!"
Ariadne throws a sideways glance at Arthur, who does his best to ignore it. "My mentors weren't exactly sharing philosophies with me over hot chocolate when I started. So, just to be clear, before we were humans... we were all spirits. And as spirits, we could move through time and see everything that was to come, for eternity?" She pauses to look at Zelda and Arthur, "That's pretty hard to believe."
Zelda sips her cup of tea, "Dear, you steal secrets from people's subconscious for a living... do we really need to start a debate over which is more unbelievable?"
"Good point."
"Yeah," Zelda finishes. With that she loads the refilled teapot and sandwich platter onto her silver tray. Arthur takes the tray for her, carrying it out to the living room, where the rest of the group lounges. Ariadne and Zelda follow. Ariadne pays special attention to the shape of Arthur's back and the strength of his hands. Arthur feels her gaze.
A/N: WARNING: TL:: DR HUKS is pronounced, Hoooks.
Anyway, I was watching Inception, and a thought occured to me.
Physics in the dream world is so malleable and so unlike the real world. And being that in the real world, there are Laws of Physics, why can't there be similar laws in the dream world. The only difference between them would be that, instead of laws existing to explain Earth's physics and why things behave as they do in reality, these laws would explain Dream Physics and why things behave as they do in dreams. And because things that occur in dreams occur in the mind - meaning they are psychological- these laws would be called Laws of Psychological Physics. The Physics of the dream, of the mind.
If you like the law, (or the new role "Seer,") let me know & feel free to reference them in your stories (You don't have to explain the whole thing. Just reference this story clearly, "Inception story: The Solution by RaifandRosefan," in your author's note. I will love you FOREVER!)
I hope you all paid attention to the details in this story. I will be building on some of the character's bits in later chapters.
Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please RATE and REVIEW! (It makes me happy. I am like that little puppy, shamelessly begging for attention. Please review )
I really hope you enjoyed. All the best to my most awesome readers (that is all of you - cause I see you all :D )
- Raif and Rose fan