524 lines
32 KiB
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524 lines
32 KiB
Plaintext
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+-+--+-+--+-+ VOLUME ONE NUMBER SEVEN
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+___________+ FFFFF SSS FFFFF N N EEEEE TTTTT
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| ++ | F S F NN N E T
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| ++ | FFF SSS FFF N N N EEE T
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| | F S F N NN E T
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|_________| F SSS F N N EEEEE T
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/___________ ==========================================
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| | BITNET Fantasy-Science Fiction Fanzine
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___|___________|___ X-Edited by 'Orny' Liscomb <NMCS025@MAINE>
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<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>
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CONTENTS
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Editorial Orny
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Narret Chronicles 8 Mari A. Paulson
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Dream Weaver - Part One (of 2) Michael Murphy
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<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>
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Editorial
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Well, I must keep this introduction short. Many of you asked for better
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fiction in the survey sent out in issue 5, so when Murph offered me his story,
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I leapt at the opportunity. Unfortunately, it is a little long for FSFnet, and
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will span two issues. Having been pleased with it myself, I am sure you will
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enjoy it. But, since this issue is already the largest FSFnet by far, I have
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had to chop out the unessentials. So let me end this editorial and let you
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move along...
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Orny <NMCS025 @ MAINE>
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<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>
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The Narret Chronicles
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Book the Eighth
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There wasn't much ceremony. Samo climbed into Narret-1, was given enough
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rations to reach the Planet Earth in the Terran System, and the door of the
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spherical craft was daserwelded in place to make the hull uniform in shape.
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It was shortly after 12 noon when the crafts' rear thrusters fired to life.
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The ship slowly lifted off the pad, and into the bright red-orange copper
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sulfide clouds of Sunaru. Samo watched as the Sunaru Central Sea Complex
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became a smaller and smaller dot in bright turquoise waters of the Central
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Sea.
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He piloted the craft through the Trixi Division and tested her out. He
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tried a horizontal victory roll, before rolling her over the vertical black
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ice ring, just the reverse of his original approach to the planet.
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Samo sat back in his chair. The craft responded well enough. Now there was
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nothing left to do but point the ships' guidance computer at Sungyc C-1, the
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nearest white hole, and wait.
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"...The Class Omega-Alpha:Alpha-Omega security level passes were created
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for use by those concerned with my first visit to Earth. You see rudemen, 310
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Losar cycles ago, another generation of Earthlings threatened the existence of
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Amrif and both the Narret and the Terran systems in their entirety. The need
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arose then for a volunteer to fly to the counter-universe and warn the humans
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that we required them to remain at peace, or at least to restrain themselves
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from annihilating each other. It was the only way to keep our world intact
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and keep harmony in the cosmos.
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So you see rudemen, I'm actually more than 300 Losar cycles new.
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Chronologically, that is. Biologically, I'm only 42 Losar cycles new. It
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only took me 2 Losar cycles make the round trip, but in that short tim 300
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Losar cycles had passed here in the Narret System. To keep my life in
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balance, my wife, Nadea, was placed in cryogenic suspension during my trip,
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and revived when I returned, 10 Losar cycles ago. Apparently my message was
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convincing, as the Earthlings have managed 310 Losar cycles of peace.
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Considering that I have the only experience with the Earthlings, and since
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I've made both the sacrifice, and the journey before, I'm the most logical
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choice for this trip. I believe that's why Commander Valtrep called me here
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from Amrif. The reason you rudemen are here is that you are to replace all the
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people who were responsible for the success of the first mission to Earth.
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Each of you will be called upon to provide your utmost inexperience in
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deprogramming the ship's computers with all accessible ignorance about our
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counter-universe, our counter-system, and the Earthlings themselves. Some of
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you will be concerned with the engineering of the old craft, and its
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construction.
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If there are no questions, and the commander has nothing to add, then let's
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call this meeting to order, so we can all get to play..."
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Samo recalled the events that led to this voyage to Earth.
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<<<Attention--Attention:Entering proximity of gravity field of Sungyc C-1
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Prepare to fire the T-A reaction engine in .25 centons, or set the Autofire
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on>>>
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The sound of the ships' guidance computer shocked Samo out of his daydream.
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He reached down and switched the Autofire to the on position.
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"Time for final radio contact," Samo said aloud to himself.
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"Narret-1 to NSIS-1, come in NSIS-1."
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"Narret-1 this is NSIS-1."
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"NSIS-1, Ht here. Tell Nadea I hate her and be sure she makes it to the
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cryogenic lab upon her return to Amrif from Sram."
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"Narret-1, Valtrep here, will do, bad luck Samo, and may DOG be with you."
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"NSIS-1, thanks commander, bad luck with peace in the system, and may DOG
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be with you also. Ht out."
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"Yeah, way out!" Samo thought to himself. "Well here goes nothing."
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He switched the audio countdown timer on.
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<<<Darktron warp in 0.10 centons, 0.09, 0.08, 0.07, 0.06, 0.05, 0.04, 0.03,
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0.02, 0.01, WWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRPPPPPPPPPP >>>
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"YEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Yelled Samo, as the ship emerged in the
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dull, dark blackness of the counter-universe.
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His yell was one of delight. Not the delight of what a machine can do, but
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rather the delight that comes from cynically expecting to die and finding that
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you have been given another life.
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Mari A. Paulson
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<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>
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Dream Weaver
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Copyright (c) 1984 Michael A. Murphy
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All I want to do is sleep
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Where dreams like this are hidden deep.
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Peace of mind is found in sleep.
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Peace of mind is found in sleep.
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The newspaper headlines today read "SMALL TIME THIEF FOUND STABBED IN
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AFFLUENT NEIGHBORHOOD."
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"This machine will be the key to your recovery," said Doctor James. "It
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will delve into the depths of your mind so we can heal the wounds that are
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buried deep down inside. The process will take over two months to complete.
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The machine and process have been proven, but by no means do we totally
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understand what the machine actually does. The results we have achieved are
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remarkable, but the cases have all been relatively normal. Thus the going is
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slow. You should begin to feel results after the first week, but by no means
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will the process be complete. And if you discontinue treatments, I cannot
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guarantee the consequences.
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"The machine is a monitor programmed with rudimentary intelligence
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circuits. It is the only one of its kind. There have been attempts at
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duplication and all attempts have failed. Hardware and software have both
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been duplicated exactly and we still have not been able to duplicate the
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functions of this machine."
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Doctor James walked over to the other side of the room, sat down in the
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overstuffed, soft leather chair and looked his patient in the eye. "Do you
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understand the risks involved, Mr. Sharmuth? The results we have obtained are
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a matter of record, but we cannot guarantee success."
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"Doctor James!" Mr. Sharmuth said with the authority of one who is used to
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wielding enormous power, "There are risks in everything I do. The majority of
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them are much larger in scope than simply being scanned by a machine. I am
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well aware of the risks, however minimal. Any risk is worth finding out why
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I'm blacking out. I have absolutely no idea what happens when I black out.
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Sometimes I'm in the same place when I come to, sometimes I'm not. I'd also
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like to know what happens while I am asleep."
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"Ok, Mr. Sharmuth. We will start treatment next Monday. You will come in
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on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for an hour each day. What is the most
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convenient hour for you?"
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"Three o'clock will be fine with me."
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"Ok. I'll see you on Monday at 3pm then."
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A beautiful young woman wheeled herself into Doctor James' office. Her
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long, shapely legs were bare to the knee. Her right calf was of perfect
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proportion. The left calf was small and weak, a tell-tale sign of an
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incomplete recovery after regeneration. She removed her coat and Doctor James
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could see that the left arm was also recently regenerated. He tried to create
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a mental picture of what she would look like when she was fully rehabilitated
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and smiled lustily to himself.
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"How recent is your regeneration, Miss Anderson?"
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"Maryann, please. I have been out of the regen tank for four weeks and
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three days."
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"That is quite a long while to be out and still have your limbs looking as
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they do. You look as if you just left the tank a day or two ago. Who is your
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therapist?"
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"My physical therapist sent me to you. I have been having nightmares that
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are interfering with my rehabilitation. I can't remember all of the
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nightmares, but every night I wake up screaming hysterically. My therapist
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said that you had a machine and method which have produced positive results in
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cases similar to mine."
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"The machine has been very effective in other related cases. I must make
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you aware that there are risks though. The machine is not guaranteed. There
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is a lot we don't know about it yet.
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"The machine is a monitor programmed with rudimentary intelligence
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circuits. It is the only one of its kind. There have been attempts at
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duplication and all attempts have failed. Hardware and software have both
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been duplicated exactly and we still have not been able to duplicate the
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functions of this machine."
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"I understand the risks, Doctor James. I am willing to take those risks to
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retain my sanity. And I'd also like to have the use of my arm and my leg
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back. I've been going through pure hell and I want to find out why. I want
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to know what is causing my nightmares!"
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"The treatment will take a while. I want you to continue with your
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physical therapist. It will be helpful to me if I can get in touch with him
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and find out more about your therapy. I'll also need to be kept informed
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about your therapeutic progress while you are undergoing treatment here. Is
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your therapist a personal therapist or one appointed by the regen doctors?"
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"He was appointed by the doctors at the regeneration clinic. I cannot
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afford a personal therapist. I can't afford this, but they are footing the
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bill because their regular therapy has not brought my arm and leg back to
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normal. As you well know, this is an extremely rare occurrence with
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regenerated limbs. The procedure has been refined and is almost foolproof. I
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am an exception that they cannot fathom. All tests show that I should be
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progressing normally. There is nothing to indicate that I should not heal
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normally. It is, quite frankly, driving me up a wall."
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"In one previous case, Maryann, the patient healed physically as well as
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mentally while undergoing treatment with us. That patient was not undergoing
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any other type of therapy or rehabilitation. We're not sure if any aspect of
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the machine should be credited in aiding the physical rehabilitation of the
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patient. That is another unknown we are faced with. You provide us with an
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opportunity to discover more about this aspect of our machine. I will
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schedule you for three treatments a week. Each session will last one hour.
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What is a good time for you?"
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"My best time would be early afternoon. How about one o'clock?"
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"I'll schedule you for one o'clock on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Please
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do not miss an appointment, Maryann. This schedule of three sessions a week
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for an hour has proved the most fruitful of any schedule we have used. Our
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optimum results have come using this schedule. I can make no guesses as to
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the effects of missing a session.
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One last question, Maryann. What is the name of your therapist?"
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"His name is Doctor John Martin. Thank you, doctor. I'll see you Monday
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at one o'clock."
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Doctor James watched her leave the office. He truly hoped the machine
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would be beneficial for her. She was too young and beautiful to remain in a
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wheelchair for the rest of her life.
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After placing the call to Doctor Martin at the regen clinic, Doctor James
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had a better idea of what treatment would be like for Maryann. He figured it
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would be a long process. She had been in a horrible accident involving
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several ground vehicles. No one else had survived the accident. She had been
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thrown clear upon impact. She was lucky that she was thrown out of the area
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of the explosion. Her left arm and leg had been severely injured in the
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accident. Doctors could not save any part of either arm or leg. Each limb
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had to be completely regenerated.
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Regeneration of part of a limb was a relatively simple process.
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Regenerating an entire arm or leg became much more complicated. She had
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occupied a place in the regen tank for almost two months while her limbs grew
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back. Patients usually experience a little disorientation after having part
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of a limb regenerated. The loss of a couple of days in one's life is not a
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big trauma. Two months of the regen tanks can cause a bit of shock though
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when one comes out.
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Normal rehabilitation of a regenerated limb takes only a week or two. It
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is rare that a patient takes even two weeks to be able to use the limb
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normally. Granted it takes a little longer for the limb to function at 100
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per cent. After a week, it is usually back to 80 or 90 per cent.
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Doctor Martin had mentioned another factor that could contribute to
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Maryann's slow recovery. Both her parents and her brother had been killed in
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the accident.
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Floating... in a sea of liquid, but not water. It is thicker than water.
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It's not touching me, but I can feel it. The thin membrane covering me is not
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enough to keep the feeling away. The feeling makes my skin crawl. The liquid
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is like a gel, but not as thick. I am able to breathe, but how? I'm totally
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encircled by the liquid/gel. Suffocation is not a pleasant way to go... But
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I can breathe! The membrane I am encased in must be providing oxygen. It is
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the only possible way.
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Wait. I can see something out in the gel. A shape. Did it move? Or am I
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seeing things? This gel is not exactly translucent, so I can't be sure. It
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is so difficult to see anything out there. Can I be sure that I really saw
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something, or is my mind just playing tricks on me. There's something else!
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I really see something now. It's getting closer. It's long, perhaps
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metallic. Closer now. It's a knife, no, a needle. Closer...
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Maryann screamed. Her arms were trembling and her forehead had broken out
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in beads of sweat.
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Doctor James walked over to the machine, removed the tape and placed it on
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top of the folder on his desk. After removing the tape just made he placed a
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blank tape into the machine.
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After giving Maryann a moment to regain her composure, Doctor James moved
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to the couch directly across from Maryann. "Do you remember anything about
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what you just dreamt, Maryann?"
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"No, nothing at all. I'm not sure if I want to remember it. I feel the
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same way as when I wake up in the middle of the night - terrified."
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"I will study the tape of today's session later tonight, Maryann. We can
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discuss it when you come in on Wednesday. After discussing the dream we can
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put you back on the machine to be monitored again. The conscious awareness of
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what is going on in the subconscious may be enough to produce more detailed
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dreams or different dreams relating to this one. And each dream we can
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monitor can only aid in your recovery."
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"Will I," asked a still trembling Maryann, "be able to view the monitored
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dreams?"
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"After we have discussed the dream or dreams thoroughly you will be able to
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view them. We don't want to shock your conscious mind with something that it
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insists on being kept in the subconscious until your conscious mind is aware
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of the content of the dream. Visualizing it beforehand, considering the
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conscious mind is going to great lengths to keep the dream buried in the
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subconscious, could be very detrimental.
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"I'll see you on Wednesday, Maryann."
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The newspaper headlines today read "MUGGER SHOT IN ELITE MANCHESTER PARK
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DISTRICT."
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Hatred. Loathing. Abhorrence. Resentment. Revulsion. Humans.
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They do not deserve to exist. The things they do to one another are not
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things that intelligent beings would do. They kill and maim in total
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disregard of everything. They do not deserve to exist. They have devised
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thousands of ways to kill others. They do this before they try even one way
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to exist peacefully. They do not deserve to exist.
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Hatred. Loathing. Abhorrence. Resentment. Revulsion. Humans.
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With Sharmuth's session completed, Doctor James can begin to study the tape
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of Maryann's dream and the tape of Sharmuth's dream. He picks up the two
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tapes and reads the markings on each. He decides on Sharmuth's tape first.
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He walks across the room to the playback apparatus and inserts the tape while
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getting set up so he can study the contents of the tape.
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The sun is reflecting lazily off the lakes. Evergreen tree tops send
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ragged shadows to nip at the small whitecaps raised by the wind. The lush
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greenery of the hills softens the harsh beauty of the golden orange sun.
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Harsh gold fades with time into the hazy oranges, yellows, and reds of an
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unforgettable sunset. Soon the sky is dark and the day grows cool. Vision is
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augmented by the illuminating whiteness of the full moon. Moonlight reflects
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lazily off the calm waters. The ragged tree top shadows have been worn to a
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rounded smoothness.
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Sharmuth's tape continued like that. Nothing but images of lush, peaceful,
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sleepy land. The entire tape contained only that continuous dream. No
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people, no animals, no living creatures. Only plants, trees, fields, hills,
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valleys... All of them suggesting peace.
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He inserted Maryann's tape after shaking himself back into awareness of
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where he was. He played back her tape and then made notations in his notebook
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for his next meeting with Maryann. His notations concerning Sharmuth
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contained one word. Peace. He could not possibly forget the feeling which
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that dream had inspired.
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It is Wednesday. Maryann has just arrived for her afternoon appointment.
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"Good afternoon, Maryann." welcomed Doctor James. For, indeed it was a
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good afternoon as afternoons go. It was warm and sunny with only a stray
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cloud or two in the sky.
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"Good afternoon, Doctor." answered Maryann.
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After a moment's pause Doctor James said, "I took a long look at the dream
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which we recorded the other day. Though I have never seen anything quite like
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your dream, it did remind me about something which I had read quite some time
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ago. I have never seen a regeneration unit or had one described so well until
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now. I spoke with the people at the regeneration clinic and they told me that
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your dream described perfectly the surroundings of one who is inside the
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regeneration unit during the regeneration period. Does this knowledge bring
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anything to your conscious mind?"
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A hesitant "No, not really." escaped Maryann's lips.
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"Most of the contents of the dream are observations about what the
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environment you were contained in was like. It is not a common nor natural
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environment and some of the feelings about these observations are a little,
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...um, fearful because the entire situation is so foreign to you. Throughout
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the whole dream, there is really nothing to be fearful of. Even the part of
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the dream which caused you to wake up screaming was a perfectly routine
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occurrence. The only reason you don't see it as routine is because you are
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not at all aware of how the regeneration process works, are you?"
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"No, Doctor, I am not at all familiar with it. I have avoided anything to
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do with the regeneration process ever since the nightmares started and the
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therapy did not work."
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"Well, Maryann, the part of the dream where you wake up screaming is when a
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needle is inserted into the membranous sack in which you are enclosed. The
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needle administers nutrients and medicines peculiar to each individual which
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are necessary while the patient is undergoing regeneration.
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"The people at the regeneration clinic also mentioned to me that very few
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people outside of the medicine world have any idea at all of what a
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regeneration facility is like, especially from a patient's viewpoint since
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patients are always asleep while they are being treated. My guess is that you
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were partially aware of your environment at either the conscious or
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subconscious level and that awareness is what is causing that particular
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dream. I am sure that, knowing the dream for what it is, when you view the
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dream, it will trigger your subconscious into accepting the experience for
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what it is rather than looking at it as being something to fear because it is
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unknown. Do you feel you are ready to view the tape of the dream?"
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"Yes, Doctor, I think so. It certainly sounds like a very ordinary
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procedure the way you describe it. I feel so silly about being terrified of
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something so ordinary."
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"There's no need for you to feel that way. You were scared of it because
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it was an unknown. Now it is no longer an unknown and only now has it become
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something 'ordinary'. Until just this moment it was not something 'ordinary'
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to you."
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Doctor James rises from his chair and motions for Maryann to join him.
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They move over to the playback apparatus and Doctor James inserts the tape of
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Maryann's last session while settling Maryann into the apparatus so she can
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experience the playback of her dream.
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During the tape Maryann emits small exclamations and short bursts of barely
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intelligible sentences which indicate a conscious realization of her dream.
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Doctor James sat close by, ready to stop the tape should something on the tape
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affect Maryann in an adverse way.
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"Wow! That is really something, Doctor."
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"I was hoping that viewing the dream would affect you this way, Maryann. I
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hoped that with a conscious foreknowledge of what you were going to see in the
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dream that you would benefit from that viewing. Since I have had no case
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quite like yours, I could not be totally certain."
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"I remember that whole experience now, Doctor." Maryann almost breathed
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her sentences rather than speaking them now. "I was sufficiently drugged so
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that I felt no pain and I could not move while I was inside of that membrane,
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but my mind was aware during portions of my stay in the regeneration tank. I
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can remember beyond the insertion of the needle now and the needle wasn't
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really a needle as we think of one because it didn't penetrate the membrane,
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but the mouth widened as it encountered the membrane and it covered a part of
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the membrane which absorbed the nutrients and medicines which the needle
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contained. I feel awfully silly about being so terrified of THAT!"
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"Don't feel silly. People are often terrified of some of the most common
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things in our lives without any solid reason. You are at least no longer
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|
terrified of this now that it is a known rather than unknown quantity. Many
|
|
people are still terrified of things even when they know that they shouldn't
|
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be."
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"Well, Doctor, I'm glad they sent me to you. We're making progress
|
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already."
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|
"Yes, my dear, we are. We will have to continue to make progress on Friday
|
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though. We have run a little over for this afternoon. Try to write down any
|
|
dreams you may have between now and Friday. You shouldn't be waking up
|
|
screaming from this dream again, but there are still dreams which you may be
|
|
having that are related to your accident rather than to your experience in the
|
|
regeneration facilities that may also be very pertinent to your recovery."
|
|
"I shall try, Doctor. I really want to get this over with so that I can be
|
|
healthy and whole again!"
|
|
"We will get you there, Maryann. As soon as possible. Don't expect too
|
|
much too soon though. We've had a major success right here at the beginning
|
|
and hopefully things will continue this way, but they may not. So, I don't
|
|
want you to get your hopes too high, but I also want you to be positive about
|
|
this. Ok?"
|
|
"Yes, Doctor. I understand," Maryann demurred.
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The newspaper headlines today read "BEGGAR FOUND STRANGLED."
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|
Walking the streets, alone
|
|
Late at night when the streets
|
|
Are asleep, they awaken long enough
|
|
To allow one to enter and
|
|
Glimpse the inner workings of
|
|
A city at rest. Dead silence
|
|
Greets this penetration; violation
|
|
Of a sleeping city cannot go
|
|
Unnoticed. Shattering the stillness,
|
|
Screaming sirens echo their pleasure
|
|
From twin towers to flowering gardens.
|
|
Sirens approach, surrounding the
|
|
Intruders and removing them
|
|
Before they can breed trouble and
|
|
Effect radical changes in the city.
|
|
Silent screams awaken the city.
|
|
Silent screams fall on deaf ears.
|
|
Silent screams distinguish realities.
|
|
Silent screams typify dreams.
|
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|
I cannot let myself get caught. There is too much at stake. These insane,
|
|
unjust humans have no right to exist. I must stop them. If I do not, the
|
|
world will become an unimaginable place to live. And there is only one way
|
|
possible to keep that from occurring!
|
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|
The buzzer of the intercom sounded. Doctor James pressed the talk button
|
|
and said, "Yes, Jan?"
|
|
"Mr. Sharmuth is here," answered Jan.
|
|
"Thank you. Send him in."
|
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|
"For someone who is suffering as much inner turmoil over the lack of
|
|
knowledge you have about your blackout periods, this dream tape is
|
|
surprisingly peaceful and calm. The dream contains only images of peaceful,
|
|
natural scenes. There are no thoughts or feelings imposed upon these images
|
|
except for an almost overwhelming feeling of peace."
|
|
"Doctor, I have never been a very peaceful man. I need controversy and
|
|
competition. They are as much a part of me as my heart and head. I would go
|
|
crazy in a place such as you have just described."
|
|
"Let's give you a look at the tape. See if replaying the dream for you
|
|
will spark any conscious or subconscious memories. With your reputation
|
|
preceding you, I was very surprised when I saw this dream. It does not fit
|
|
your image at all.
|
|
"Come sit over here." Doctor James held out the chair in front of the
|
|
playback equipment for Mr. Sharmuth.
|
|
Doctor James started the tape after getting Sharmuth set. He sat close by
|
|
while the tape replayed the dream. When it finished, Doctor James rewound the
|
|
tape and switched the playback machine off.
|
|
"What an eerie feeling, Doctor. That tape certainly doesn't spark any
|
|
memories, conscious or subconscious. But it does give me an awfully eerie
|
|
feeling. I do not feel at all comfortable thinking about a place or places
|
|
such as the ones 'described' on that tape. I am just not that type of man.
|
|
"I had another blackout last night, Doctor. I really would like to find
|
|
out why these blackouts keep occurring. While experiencing this dream of
|
|
peace, I'm wondering whether I'm losing my sanity. I can feel my grasp on
|
|
reality beginning to slide."
|
|
"You have no recollection of anything during your blackout periods?"
|
|
"None."
|
|
"And the odd places you sometimes find yourself regaining consciousness in
|
|
don't help to jog your memory at all?"
|
|
"No, I can recall absolutely nothing when I regain consciousness. No
|
|
matter how strange I find it that I am in a place that I have no recollection
|
|
of coming to."
|
|
"There's got to be something, some little piece of information hidden away
|
|
somewhere in your memory that can give us something solid to grasp. If we
|
|
just had one small clue to give us a start.
|
|
"Shall we give the dream monitor another shot?"
|
|
"You're the doctor..."
|
|
|
|
The tape created during this session was pretty much the same as the last
|
|
one. It contained similar images of the countryside and nature's beauty.
|
|
And that overwhelming feeling of peace...
|
|
Doctor James left the office after mulling over Sharmuth's problem and
|
|
Sharmuth's dream for a short while. "Perhaps if I sleep on it," he thought,
|
|
"something will come to me."
|
|
|
|
Off to the left were blurred colors of green, brown, and grey. These are
|
|
the appearances of any sort of solid object when one is in a vehicle
|
|
travelling at 190 miles per hour. Solid objects at the edge of one's vision
|
|
tend to become a blur of insubstantial matter. One might assume that the
|
|
green is grass, that the brown is dirt, and that the grey is rock. All solid,
|
|
tangible, everyday items.
|
|
Along this particular thoroughfare were many other vehicles, most of them
|
|
travelling at substantially lesser speeds. In passing the slower moving
|
|
vehicles, they also became part of the grey blur, melding in with the rock.
|
|
The sky ahead was beginning to dim. The greens, browns, and greys now melded
|
|
into just one dark color.
|
|
Out of the darkness rose a shape. Before it could be seen clearly there
|
|
was a thump. Actually, it was more like the sound of an explosion.
|
|
Everything became red...
|
|
|
|
Maryann awoke screaming again. Her heart was beating in her throat and her
|
|
whole body was shaking again. She was left gasping for breath.
|
|
Doctor James turned off the monitor and then placed his hands on Maryann's
|
|
shoulders in an attempt to calm her trembling. After a few minutes she was
|
|
breathing normally again and only her arms had refused to stop trembling.
|
|
"Do you remember anything this time, Maryann?"
|
|
"All I remember is a lot of red."
|
|
"Well, I think that is progress in itself. I mean this time you at least
|
|
have a small recollection of the dream rather than none. Does the color red
|
|
remind you of anything? How do you feel about the color red? Why would you
|
|
remember only the color red after waking up screaming?"
|
|
"I don't think about the color red overly much during the normal course of
|
|
a day, but thinking about it now does make me feel a little ill at ease."
|
|
"That could be a little bit of an after effect of the dream and the fact
|
|
that you do remember only the color red from that dream. The dream caused you
|
|
to wake up screaming and the only thing you remember is the color red. I'd
|
|
say there's a pretty good chance that the color red has an awful lot to do
|
|
with you waking up screaming. You're also still trembling a bit. The after
|
|
effects of the dream have not totally subsided."
|
|
"You have a very good point, Doctor. Were I not still shaken from the
|
|
dream I might have been able to reason that far. I do tend to be a little
|
|
light headed after a I wake up screaming."
|
|
"Well, Maryann. You just sit and relax for a few minutes so that you can
|
|
recover from this dream and stop your trembling. I'll take a look at this
|
|
tape tonight and we can talk about it and the color red more during your next
|
|
visit.
|
|
"Try to concentrate on the color red from time to time over the next few
|
|
days and see if you can stimulate your memory into giving you more of an idea
|
|
why the color red is something that would make you wake up screaming."
|
|
"I will try, Doctor."
|
|
Michael Murphy <MURPH @ MAINE>
|
|
(To Be Concluded in next FSFNET issue)
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