Oneirophrenia

Chapter 6: Whatever Happens, Happens

Empty. That's the word that you would use to describe your vaguely familiar surroundings if given only one word. You feel like you are floating but come to think of it, you can't really feel anything, nor can you hear or see or taste or smell. But that all changes very quickly because you wake up and remember everything.

***

It's late one night and you are scrolling through your phone when you see an ad for "SuperNova" a testing facility not too far from your house. The ad says that if you come in and let them run some tests you could get a 50-dollar Visa gift card and who could say no to a 50-dollar gift card? you do a bit of research on the place and there isn't much of interest, it just seems as though it is a normal laboratory. You sign up on the website, book your appointment, and wait for the day to arrive.

That day is today

"Ember, Jamie, and Y/N please head to room 107," the front desk lady at SuperNova Labs says pointing to a hallway on your left. 

The first person to get up is the person who you assume to be Jamie, he's wearing overalls with a fuzzy dinosaur keychain attached to it and has dark skin and fluffy dark brown hair. He also wears circular glasses and brown work shoes. The second person to get up, Ember, has bright orange hair, freckles and is wearing a beanie with multiple pins that were attached to it haphazardly. She also wears baggy ripped jeans and a band t-shirt under a big hoodie. 

As the three of you walk down the hallway Jamie tries to make conversation "So... why are you two here?" he says quietly "I came here to make money, not friends" Ember says glaring down at Jamie as she walks to room 107 and opens the door.

Inside the room is a man with frizzy brown hair in a lab coat working at an unimaginable messy desk. On the desk is a monitor that displays some sort of conversational program with a name at the top of the program "ELIZA." The only other thing inside this room besides the man and his desk is 3 oddly comfy-looking beds. 

As soon as Ember opens the door the man spins around quickly in his chair, stands up, and reaches his hand out "Hello there! You must be the three who answered my ad! You can call me Dr. Kai!" you shake his hand and say "Hello Dr. Kai." Ember chimes in to say "heya Dr.idontcareenoughtorememberyourname! what exactly are we doing here?" 

Dr. Kai looks to Ember and says "Great question! me and some of my coworkers are working on a device that will let people control their own dreams! this could be used for plenty of things such as army training, studying for tests, personal enjoyment... anything really! and the best part? it would have no impact on the real world! I mean you would be able to remember these experiences and benefit from them and you would be able to do whatever with no repercussions only benefits! If we could get this to fully function properly the possibilities are truly endless" he says making big hand motions as he smiles like a baby that just tasted sugar for the first time 

"So you could basically make your own world in your dreams and do whatever you want?" Ember says vaguely interested "would you know that you're dreaming?" Jamie asks. 

Dr. Kai looks at him and says "Well we don't quite know yet and that's why you all are here! You three will be the first testers of this new program! all you three have to do is head over to those three beds, pick one, and then I'll hook you all up to the machine and then we can get started" he says as he turns to his computer setup, minimizes the strange chat program and starts fidgeting with the setting of something 

"Are you sure this is... well. safe?" Jamie says in a worried tone "Yeah I think so I mean we haven't done any real proper tests but in theory, it should work!" Dr. Kai says not paying much attention to Jamie. "Ah okay, so you don't know if it's safe that's... great," Jamie says sitting on the left bed bouncing his leg nervously. Ember sits down on the right bed and says "I just want to get this over with and get my 50 dollars" as she lies down on the bed. 

You lie down on the bed in the middle and wait for whatever happens next.

Whatever happens next however is blurry in your mind. You vaguely remember that "Dr. Kai" uses patches to hook you, Jamie, and Ember up to some odd machine but after that?

Nothing.

Nothing until the flash of light and the wheel of colors and the letters game and the creature and the murder and the apology and the foggy playground and the lava and the bright mountain 

and the cabin and the realization.

It all felt so real... It all felt so real until you realized what was going on. It all felt so real.... until you woke up