The great outdoors
It was nine at night and we’d talked for two pleasant hours, sharing our stories. Rich and Tina were also graduates of universities. Tina had a degree in art and took courses in home design and also drama. Rich had his in architecture but he also played in a band and had taken courses in music. After we shared our rich past in university it dawned on me that the four of us were multi-talented in creative fields. I asked about their input into the dream world scenarios and they both admitted it was significant.
“This might be why we’re still around”, I told them. “The note said there were too many people supplying nothing useful. We’ve continued to provide creative ideas from our backgrounds. Maybe that’s why the administrators have kept us around. But it bothers me to no end that some of our units are empty and in others dead bodies. It’s as if some shift in plan occurred. When we look for clues tomorrow lets look for anything that can establish a timeline”.
Now the lights went out. I walked to the kitchen and bathroom and returned, to give us a little. Then Mary came up with the strangest request.
“I told Tina about the milder shock you gave her and me and if you two men don’t mind we’d like to sleep together tonight in the same bed. That way we can go together to our palace visits. We will reconnoitre hand in hand and look for any changes, anything we haven’t noticed before and give you a full report in the morning. You two are just going to sleep and will be fine on your own”.
This took me by surprise but it seemed logical.
“Yes Mary, that seems like an excellent idea. We need to know what’s going on in both worlds to make wise decisions. One thing I’d like to know, since there’s an obvious depopulation in our real world, is their a corresponding one in your pyramids, or are real dreamers just being replaced with algorithm avatars? With your combined cleverness try to find out. We’ll manage on our own, if it’s alright with you Rich, and wake you in the morning”.
The two set off to Tina’s unit, smiling and happy. Rich and I stayed up another few hours. The bottle of Scotch was open again and we were passing it back and forth, getting acquainted. He seemed like a decent fellow, in many ways like me and I hoped we’d become good friends. The fact that he let his spouse sleep with mine without a fuss showed that he had an open mind, like me.
As we passed the bottle back and forth I mentioned I was sorry I didn’t have glasses. This got us started on a long conversation, mostly musings, on what might be out there in the real world once we left this building. Some streetlights still came on, but I told him I hadn’t heard a single vehicle go by in all my waking moments. We both walked to the window to assess the situation. Across from us there was a row of what looked like former stores and businesses, all dark, and deathlike silence. Further down there were some two and three story buildings with a few dim lights in windows, but no activity. I mentioned they might just be photocells like ours.
But I did say that I remembered looking out my window two days ago, before I woke Mary up, and seeing objects in one of the windows across from us. It looked like a small hardware store. I made nothing of it at the time. I had other matters on my mind. But if this was the case there must be many shops full of all sorts of supplies.
“No use wondering” he said, “we might as well go out now and knock on the first door and see what’s inside”.
I admired his bravery, but cautioned him, “let’s put that off right now. I want to go over every inch of this building tomorrow and see what we might find. Besides, we shouldn’t leave the girls alone and we need to recoup our strength before we go out on sallies, maybe find some weapons too. I’m already worn out. I’ve been up all day. I hope you don’t mind leaving me. Take the bed next door. We’ve got a big day ahead. I think things are going to work out for all four of us”.
“Okay, I agree, I’ve got a lot to sleep on. Wake me up if you're up first, then we’ll go visit the girls. I want to learn how your contraption works. Good night”.
My open curtains made for a perfect alarm clock. The window must be facing East I thought. I showered, shaved and dressed. Rich woke up with a mild shake. When he was ready we proceeded to the other flat. It was easier with the two of us. I lifted my sleeping beauty out of Tina’s arms and with Rich’s help we carried her to the bathroom sink and set her on it. I held her in place while Rich wet her temples, placed the cap, unscrewed the bulb and gave her the ten second tingle. It worked its magic. We did the same with Tina.
I noticed that since I revived myself my appetite had returned with a vengeance. I asked Rich if he felt the same way. He admitted he was famished. While the girls bathed we checked all the food cubes in the empty units. But they all seemed to be synchronized and not about to spit out any meals till evening. We decided to venture out into the street in search of food.
Still I was cautious. I told Rich I felt uncomfortable going outside without some sort of weapon. “Do you have that knife with you” he asked.
“Ya but that’s not what I consider protection”.
“No I have a better idea”.
In each of the units there was a broom, in a long cupboard in the kitchen. He took my knife, broke off the bristles with his foot and sharpened the end of the four foot stick. Soon we had two and though they were primitive, they were better than nothing.
At the end of the hall was the door to the outer world. The instant we stepped out into the morning sunshine, what an exhilarating feeling. It overwhelmed me with a feeling of pure life. The sky was blue. The air was brisk and the mildest breeze caressed my face. But most stunning of all was the sunshine. I could feel it on my skin, bleaching and brightening everything around us. Our eyes were blinded for a minute and we both stood frozen. I know Rich was feeling the same sensations because he put his hand on my shoulder, maybe to steady himself.
“We’ve got to tell the girls”. He said. “I’m tingling all over. I’m alive again”.
