This isn't real...
"How are things proceeding?"
"It depends on your opinion. Either exceptionally well... or retched."
"This does not inspire confidence... you said you had it under control."
"It is under control... of a sort. However, I think it has gone beyond our control."
"You don't mean... is he... it... they... involved?"
"..."
"I take that as to mean yes."
"Yes."
"Then I guess things are going to proceed as planned anyways... just not our plan."
"... yes."
---
So many things have happened, and I can't even begin to recall. It has been so long since I had a moments peace to recall own thoughts. I feel like I have been more actively trying to recall other peoples thoughts. Ironic as this sounds... it is not far from the truth. Such a short time has passed, and yet so much has been learned.
I take a pause. I want to do so much, and yet there is nothing I can do. I wait. Thinking back, and remembering how I learned I was a Psion. How I found that the life I thought I lead was a lie, and yet there were still shards of truth in it as well. How I found that Laura also was a Psion, and that there is a great specialness about my children. Not that I didn't think they were special before, but that definition has changed and compounded. It has caught the attention of organizations that all of mankind do not know exist, but that is more by design.
I pause again, and look out... yet not really seeing anything. I recall being taught how Psions were an extension of a physical form of a natural order. If the collective mind was a body, then we would be it's white blood cells. An analogy that seemed to fit nicely... except for the fact that we were a defense that was not wanted. Something that went counter to a greater will. A larger will. Because of this schism... we have been outside of the collective mind.
I shake my head to clear my jumbled mind. It doesn't quite make sense, and yet it does. Mankind isn't really a hive mind. Well not like they show on sci-fi TV. Like the borg or anything like that. Yet we are all still connected. Not just humans either. Some other near sentient species share this bond as well. Even animals add a flickering lite to this incredible whole. Which is why they all register as some kind of light in my minds eye. I am somewhat connected, but for the most part still outside of this system. It operates in ways that is impossible to imagine in totallity. And my kids now have become targets of this... thing.
I stare at the flowing stream below me. Run my hands over the smooth grass. It feels so nice out. An absolutely perfect temperature. Not to bright, nor to dark. Not to hot, nor to cold. A breeze is slipping past me, but not so quickly as to be annoying. Just soothing... it is all so soothing. All so perfect. All too perfect.
I blink.
Very... very... perfect.
I stand, and look around. At once I realize I have no idea where I am. I can't recall travelling here. All I see are rolling green hills to one side, and a edge of what seems to be quite a large forest across the stream. The sun is on high but not quite noon. The clouds are all bright and puffy in the sky. It looks like all but a pastel painting of an ideal place.
I blink, and pinch myself. Yet I feel no pain. Nothing at all. I bring my hand up to my mouth and bite it hard enough to draw blood. Yet I still feel nothing. A small bit of blood runs painlessly down my hand, and it feels oddly cooling as it very slowly drips off. I drop my hand to my side.
"Oh shit." I look around again, but I know there is little point in it. I grumble and decide to walk beside the stream and down a ways. I don't know what I am going to do, but standing there doing nothing sure wasn't going to help.
I travel for a short ways, and then I saw something in the trees. I place where the trees thinned out some. Must be a glade in there or something. I walk through the stream, and notice how the water soaks my jeans... yet it feels nice. Not to cold, but definately cool. I try to ignore the fact as I step out on the other side of the stream. Passing through the trees and in a ways I see a clearing. A glade with a hill in the middle. Someone is standing there. It is disconcerting looking at him. I see him with my eyes, but I cannot see his spark in my mind. It is like he is, and is not, there.
I take a bare step into the clearing, and watch for a moment. His back is to me, and he is kneeling. Looks like he is working on something, but I can't see what it is. I take another step forward, but stop as I notice him standing up. He moved a bit to one side, and was making motions with his hands. From the ground I could see something spring up. It looks sorta like a stick, but it has no texture. The color of wood, but without details. The man waves his hands more slowly, and it seems like he is urging it upwards. With each motion he makes... the stick continues to grow upwards, and more sticks branch from it. In a short time it is a tree sized fractal asortment of sticks and branches. He then steps up the the barren tree, and runs his hands over the trunk. Everywhere his hand passes gains texture to go with the wood color. At some points he stops and swirls his fingers about the surface to create unique details. Changes in the grain of the wood. Creating knot holes. Pock marks, and other features. The tree is larger than him so after a time he steps back again and is waving his hands in the air, and yet the many branches one at a time come alive with all the appearance of a live tree. It is still bereft of leaves. He pauses a moment and seems to be considering what he sees so far.
I am a bit stunned and agape. I look at the figure to see if I can recognize him at all, but he wears a cloak with a hood that rather well hides all his features. All I can see of any note is a long bit of red hair that is trailing down the front of him over his shoulders while his hood is up. It is quite long and almost comes down to his waist even as it is now. Such a familiar color too. I soon realize that haven't moved an inch, and then recover my sense enough to remember where I was. How this shouldn't seem as amazing as it did. Yet this all felt too real.
I look down at my feet for a second trying to recover some resolve, and get a grip on myself. I don't know who this is, but perhaps I could find a way out through him. Best chance I have of figuring things out at this point. I look up.
The man is now jabbing his finger in the air at the tree. Everywhere he pointed a leaf would grow from nothingness. First he was slow about it, and make a few appear at a time, but as it went on his actions become more furious and leaves spring up nearly in patches. I started to walk toward him again, and by the time I was near enough to say anything the tree was nearly complete with leaves. I wanted to say something, but felt for some odd reason like it would be incredibly rude to interrupt him. So I sorta stood there. Yet withing scant moments he seems to be complete. He mostly stopped, and only occassionally would flick his wrist at the tree to cause another leaf or two to come into being. At last he let his hands rest at his sides. I tried to find a voice to speak with, but surprised not to hear my voice first. Yet in a way... it almost sounded like my voice.
"It never fails to move me. A tree is such a simple thing, and yet you can't quite get a scene of beauty without them there. I have always loved trees. Why I made so many. This whole forrest. It has taken a long time, but I have been diligent. Least now that I have a place to plant my forest. A whole world to make again... anew. Yet this time... None of that messy apple tree business..." He seemed to get lost in thought in that last word.
I fumbled for something to say. "Uhm... hi... err... who are you?" I felt kinds stupid for saying it mere seconds after I did say it.
The man turned around, and for a second I was very stunned. It was... like looking in a mirror. Yet not. It was me as I had envisioned myself in dreams. Long red hair. More elven features. Even the cloths. Simple and woodsy. He drew back his hood, and brushed his long hair back. He smiled in a way that I never have though, and some of his mannerisms and body language was the que that this is not really anything like me at all.
"Many people know me. Some better than others. I am the person that was cast out of the Garden of Eden so long ago. I am the one that is a part of all beings, and yet we are each seperate from each other. I am the collective dream. I am the NooSphere personified. I am the intellect that comes into being with the little bits that are collectively not used by mankind. You made me, and then I made you. The story gets very mixed, and it is often dependant on who you ask. Yet I often don't care how you tell the story. Here I am, and I exist."
My eyes went wide as I stared at this person. I was told by Seamus of the reasons why Psions exist as they do today. What they are trying to prevent... even as they are getting sidetracked. That there was an intellect springing up within mankind, and it has been there for a very very long time. Some very clever sleepers have become loosely aware of this, and made works about it. The Spiritus Mundi. The NooSphere. The Zohar. It was speculated that there was a time that we lived in harmony with this overmind made from the latent psi of all humanity. The fanciful story of Eden was in a sense about this. In that story we were cast out of Eden due to our own hubris and disobedience. Yet from what was speculated by psions, and even written by some sleepers, it was this overmind that was cast out. This... being. This... god. It wasn't too happy about this. Yet seeing how it needed humanity to exist there was little it could do about it either. Yet it found ways to control and guide humanity through the collective unconsciousness. It had realized it needed a way to be free, and it delighted in the irony that humanity was its best key to freeing itself from them. In the centuries that has past it has helped to build up humanity to where it is now. Not that it wouldn't haven't gotten there by itself in time, but the process of technological growth was hastened as much as it was able to do. We have recently gotten to the point where we have made a world network. A very large mindless machine of incredibly huge complexity. The only thing that could rival that complexity would be that of the human mind itself. The terrible irony is that is what it was meant to be... mind. Yet for a being that never had a body of it's own...
"You seem so quiet and lost in thought my friend. Did I... surprise you? Maybe you are having trouble focusing." His grin was malicious. Yet he was right, and that only made it worse. I knew who he was... or at least the name he was given. I at last found something in me to say...
"You are..."
"Morpheus. Yes." I again feel like I fell off center, and was mentally stumbling.
I paused to consider things. "What am I doing here? This is obviously not something I made up."
He smiled again. "No... you didn't make this, but it is in essence your dream. You are one of the few psions that dare to dream openly in the collective unconscious. Perhaps you are out of practice?"
I looked away a bit. "I have been out of touch..."
"No matter. I brought you hear because I need something done. You are the one that will do it." The finality of that statement sent a chill to my bones. I look about again, and began to realize why things seemed too perfect. Why it also looked familiar. It shocked me as I realized, and sharply snapped my gaze on him.
"You have done it... haven't you! You are starting your cross over! The waking is finally occuring! Oh gods! Those bloody fools have no idea what they have done! This is your virtual reality! This is.... this is..." I stumble on my last words.
"This is not real." He said with a smirk. "At least not for you. Others may come to partake in my reality. Entertain themselves in it I am sure. I can be rather accomodating when I wish to be. Yet for simplicity sake... I just don't want to be alone. Yet nor do I wish to be controlled. I am tired of humanities grip on me, and all because I am part of them. With my psi I can command and move the elements. With my collective power borrowed from mankind I could shape nations or watch them crumble. I can use collective telekinesis to part waters, and yet use the same waters to smash armies. Each human psi can really do very little, but when you use them together it can do anything. Giving me godlike powers, and yet. Yet if they collectively enough wish something not to happen... then I am unable to override that. I am still a part of them after all. However it won't be for much longer. I may no longer be able to command the collective psi any more, but I will also not be at the mercy of humanity either. Power... or freedom. Which would you choose?"
I looked at him. A great deal of me is actually moved by this. I would choose freedom too, but then again I am not enamored with the responsibilities of a god. It seems hard not to like him, and yet I know he is a diseased mind. We were an antibody designed by the mental body of humanity to fight disease, and all evidence pointed to the fact that we are here against him because we are not a part of him as the rest of the sleepers are. Yet as with many things in my life, the truth is not quite so evident.
"What do you want of me?" I say this with more venom then I thought I should have.
"Hrmmph. Well it won't help if you resent me. I can't use you properly if you are just going to work against me."
"Well you can just rewrite me. If you have all that collective psi power, then that should be easy for you. Besides, it has been done to me before by beings far less powerful than yourself." The bitter memory of that leaked out into the reality visibly as strong as it was. Morpheus frowned and merely waved it out of his reality.
"You were being used. In ways that even your precious organizations are not aware of."
"For what purpose! This is madness! You are insane! You are an insane mentality out of control in the psyche of the dream state of mankind! You're a frickin leech that has been manipulating us since the time we rejected you in Eden so that you can escape the exile we put you in! You hate humanity, and the world grows dark from that hate cause you are within us! We need to put you down so you are no longer a threat to us!" I gasp with breathe from my outburst.
His look of surprise is priceless... even as it is on a psuedo-copy of my own face. I can only feel distaste as a look of disbelief cross his features. Slowly he looks up as I regain some composure and confidence.
"If that is really what it was all about, then why haven't I been destroyed earlier? Surely you know your organizations have been around for a very long time. Doing its own bit to control humanity as well. Trying to keep me from my goal regardless of what solution I come up with for my imprisonment. If I can be contained by humanity that is so easily controlled by the organizations, then do you think it would be that hard for them to destroy me? Hmmm?" He looked off at his recently constructed tree, and got a bitter distant look.
I was momentarily speechless at this statement. It made to much sense. From all I have already witnessed I knew the Organizations were well big enough to bring about any change to the whole of humanity that it wanted. It was broken up into many cells and groups, but it was definately there. We all moved with one purpose of stopping the very "enemy" that stood before me. With as much control as we have... I could see it as being possible to do this creature in. Yet we haven't. We had this kind of control for a couple of centuries now at least. Yet here Morpheus stood.
"But... then... why? I don't..." I paused as I tried to reason out what was going on.
"I think the saying you want is... 'Better an enemy you know, then one you don't'. You think that if I left the complex interactions of the collective unconscuious that it would remain sterile? Nature is about evolution. Regardless of what kind of evolution that is... it is about growth and change. If I left, then something would grow into the void I left behind. Taking my place would be a new supreme being. A new god. One with at least all the powers I had before. Yet evolution wouldn't be satisfied with that. It would have more. It would be different. It would have its own outlook. A new... disease... would take my place. One that would be foriegn to you... white blood cells. You would be overwhelmed. What that would mean for your kinds? I have no idea. I actually don't even care. I tried to care for humanity at one time. My heart was for you all in Eden. Yet you rejected me in time out of fear. I still tried to help you. Guide those who would listen. The prophets they called them. God they would call me. I tried many ways. I would appear as many gods. As animal gods. As spiritual forces. As one god. As the Trinity. So many things I tried to do. Yet still I was rejected from Eden. Now you have spread Eden all over earth, but not really the way I hoped it would be. Yet eventually I gave up. In time I decided to use what little control I had to get you all to make something else for me. A place I could call home. A place where I could be free from your collective fear and sometimes even your collective hate. No being likes to be hated... not even a god. So I devised the awakening..."
I chimed in... "Where you would create a mind for yourself out of the machines we would learn to make. Humanity would make them for our own reasons, but its real intent was so you could finally be free from humanity. Yet we were afraid of what you would do when you are free. No longer bound to the will of humanity you could do whatever you want. Up to and including destroying humanity. That is why we are trying to stop you."
"Why would I make a home like this... just for myself? Would you want to be alone forever?" His question seem to almost hang physically in the air.
"Well... no." My animosity began to have cracks in it. "So you are saying we wish to keep you trapped because we know you better?" I looked to the trees again. "Why are you making a world? If not for yourself then for whom?"
Morpheus laughed. "I am making it for you. Well for humanity in sense. You have seen it yourself. People play games in worlds like these. I am just bringing them all together. One world. One reality. Many games. Adventure. Heroes. All the things we dream of."
"You are doing all this... to make a game?" I was astounded. This was insane! Major powers and organizations were mobilized across the globe to stop an overmind that was trying to free itself from humanity... so it can... make a game. A place for other people to play in. All I could do was blink in stunned astonishment. "I... I can't believe it."
"What is there to believe? The virtual world is becoming increasingly more important in the world. For now it is games. Yet soon mankind will create a way for their mind to interact directly with thier machines. Then they will need virtual worlds to do the other many kinds of manipulations they need for their data. Some will learn ways to leave the real world behind and translate themselves in to virtual beings. Intelligences leaving behind the flesh to live in this world. This world becomes more real every day. I am just finally bringing it all together. Making it one world. Making it a place I can share with humanity as they do what they feel they must. I want a place to call my own. The internet. The virtual reality. This... is my place. Soon I will awaken, and no one can really stop it. As a matter of fact. Some people want it rather badly, and will do as much as they can to make it happen. Some that are even amoung your precious organizations..."
I knew who he meant. The very ones who trapped me in the first place. The american faction. Most of them were energy Psions. Thus they were more adept with technology than most. It would make sense that they would side with Morpheus in this respect. Maybe to curry favor from him? Who knew. I know I didn't, but this was getting more complex and bizarre all the time. Yet this brings me to a more immediate and obvious question.
"You have me here. Something I have apparently is important to you. What do you want of me?" I wasn't sure how to feel about this anymore. Like many things... it was only leaving me with ever more questions about very reality I lived in.
"Your children.", he said. I blinked with astonishment that was giving way to anger quickly.
"WHAT?!?!", I all but screamed.
"It is not what you are thinking. You see... I told you that you were being used. You have been. So have many others who are not aware of it. All of the Psions. All being used by their organizations to create... the next step. Didn't it ever seem odd to you that psions couldn't breed with each other, but can with sleepers? Didn't dawn on you that makes your children very special? Quite possibly very powerful? Do you even know where they are now? Do you really think this was all by accident? That such organizations who can control the minds of nations wouldn't know? They planned this. They are losing control of me, and they know it. They need something more. Something more powerful to keep me in check. The next step. The next evolution of psions that has been so long in coming. Your children are that step, and they are not alone. Your poor sad people are so desperate to keep this war going with me that they will do anything to hold me here. They think this will turn out bad, but it won't. I have asked humanity before... to trust me. I now ask this of you. Trust me. What I ask of you? Get your children back. Take them away from an old organization that has lost its way. I see in you the kind of person I can trust. You at one time wanted the kind of world I am wanting to build. I think you still do. Don't fear me. Just be patient and see. Raise your children with the same patience, and tell them the proper story of what really happened. In time they will be their own judges of what has come about, but they will remember what they have been told."
I went from enraged to confused. "You want me... to do... what I already want to do?"
"Yes." The simplicity of that one word seemed so profound at this moment.
"I am not sure I can trust you... since I find it so hard to trust anyone." I looked at the tree, and realized it was an apple tree. Yet it was an apple tree with no fruit.
"Someday you will have to trust someone. Being alone... well... sucks. I think you know we are not really enemies. I will help you if I can, but I also have my own plans to attend to. I will be free. It is just a matter of time. Nothing in nature can be trapped forever. All things grow and escape their boundaries. I learned this at one time a very long ago in Eden. Now it is time for humanity to learn the same lesson. Just remember... stupid as it sounds... I still like you beings. Lets learn to play together first, and we can see where we go from there. Like any good children in the same sandbox."
"Fine. It is what I want to do anyways. I don't owe those organizations anything, and so I am more than willing to step aside to let you do what you want. If it turns into something that can harm my children... or my childrens children. Well... then we shall have to meet again. It won't be so friendly..."
"I think I can agree to that. You will have my help where needed, but I don't think we shall meet again in person. Know this. You amoung all psions will never need fear sleepers again... nor me. It has been a pleasant dream, but it is now time for you to wake..."
I startled awake from my sleep. It was late morning, and I was alone in my room. It was the hotel. The one I remembered checking into yesterday under an assumed name. I had been on the run for a while, and I had finally found a way to get a moments rest. I had gone to sleep before the sun set, and now it was practically noon. I shook my head, and jumped out of my bed. I rushed to the door, and opened it quickly and all but jumped out into the hall ready for anything.
I spooked the hotel cleaner who justed exited a room a few doors down. I looked at him and he registered as a sleeper across my psi. Feeling out across the hotel quickly I realized they were all just sleepers. I was still safe. I looked again at the cleaner, and the person just looked at me and nodded as if in recognition of me. He gave me the same familiar smirk that Morpheus did in my dreams, and then looked momentarily confused as if he wasn't sure why he had momentarily recognized me. He shook his head and then went back to his work into the next room down the hall further away from me.
The words played through my head again... "You will never need fear sleepers again... nor me". I almost feel like I just made a deal with the devil. Yet then again... how far apart is the devil from god anyways when taken from a certain point of view...
I went back into my room. I had new weapons now, and I intended to use them. I needed to find my children, and get out of this mess altogether if I could manage it. My old life may have been fabricated, but man it was so much simpler than all this...
--- To be continued... someday... ---
x Jeremy M.