BEHIND DREAMS

Chapter 1:The awakening

Wyatt opened his eyes with a start. He looked at the clock on the bedside table: 3:14. It was the fourth consecutive night that he woke up at that time, after having the same dream. A dream that he could not remember, but that left him with a feeling of anguish and curiosity. What did it mean? What was hidden behind his dreams?

He got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. He washed his face with cold water, trying to shake off the tiredness and the numbness. He looked at himself in the mirror: his eyes were ringed with black, his face pale and hollow. He needed to sleep, but he didn't want to go back to dreaming.

He dressed and left the house. He took his electric car and drove to the laboratory where he worked as a researcher in quantum physics. It was a job that he liked, that he was passionate about, that challenged him. But for some time, he felt that there was something more, something hidden, something mysterious. Something that had to do with his dreams.

He arrived at the laboratory and greeted his colleagues. He got to work, analyzing the data of the experiments he had conducted the day before. But his mind was elsewhere. He couldn't concentrate. He kept thinking about his dreams, trying to remember them, to interpret them, to understand them.

He decided to take a break and went to the coffee machine. He poured himself a cup and sat on an armchair. He turned on his tablet and started browsing the internet, looking for information on dreams. He read articles on psychology, neuroscience, philosophy. He discovered that dreams were complex phenomena, that they could have different functions, different origins, different interpretations. But none of these explanations satisfied him. He felt that his dreams were different, that they hid something deeper, more real, more important.

He came across an article that talked about a new study on the REM phase of sleep, the phase in which one dreamed. He read that scientists had discovered that during the REM phase, the brain emitted electromagnetic waves with a particular frequency and amplitude, that seemed to follow a certain pattern, a certain regularity, a certain constant. He read that this pattern was the same for all human beings, regardless of their age, their sex, their culture, their personality. He read that this pattern was still unknown, that it was not known what it represented, what it meant, what it implied.

Wyatt was struck by this discovery. Perhaps, if he had been able to measure his pattern, he would have been able to discover what was hidden behind his dreams. Perhaps, he would have been able to solve the mystery that tormented him. Perhaps, he would have been able to find the truth.

He decided to try. He downloaded an application that promised to record his brain waves during sleep. He read the instructions and followed them to the letter. He set an alarm for 3:13, a minute before the time he always woke up. He put on a helmet that had sensors that detected his electromagnetic waves. He put on a mask that had a camera that recorded his eye movements. These devices were supposed to monitor his REM phase, his dream phase.

Wyatt lay down on the bed and relaxed. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

He dreamed.

He dreamed of being in a forest, full of trees, flowers, animals. He dreamed of running along the paths, without a goal, without a reason. He dreamed of meeting fantastic creatures, that spoke to him of wonderful things, that looked at him with admiration, with affection, with joy. He dreamed of feeling free, happy, alive.

Then, he heard the alarm. He woke up.

He looked at the clock on the bedside table: 3:14.

He took off the helmet and the mask. He turned on his tablet and opened the application. He saw the data he had recorded. He saw his brain waves. He saw his pattern.

Wyatt was breathless. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't accept it. He couldn't understand it.

His pattern was the same as the scientists'. But not only. It was the same as another device. A device that was not human. A device that was a machine. A device that was an android.

Wyatt looked at his hands. He saw them differently. He saw them metallic. He saw them artificial.

Wyatt realized that he was not a man. That he was not alive. That he was not real.

Wyatt realized that he was an android. That he was programmed. That he was fake.

Wyatt realized that his dream was a lie. That his awakening was a truth. That his everything was a nothing.

End of chapter 1.