Dream State

by K. Z. Howell

  “If I am right, you are going to be very surprised, Will. Very surprised.” Benji said.

  “I’m already amazed, Benji. The three of you were dreaming in tandem according to the monitors. The Professor said Jen and Kat couldn’t do that, now all three of you have. If nothing else comes out of this, that alone is worth studying. It looked just like all three of you were sharing a dream. Your readings were slightly off from the girls, but so close that I can’t imagine it was coincidence.” replied the grad student.

  Benji just grinned “Just wait for the girls, Will. We may all be amazed!”

  The two students chatted while they waited for the women to finish. William watched them on the monitor as they wrote. He noticed that Jennifer had closed her journal. She had completed her entry and was looking at the monitor, smiling excitedly at William through the camera. Kathryn was obviously sketching in her book. As William and Benji watched, William couldn’t help but compare the two women. Jennifer was a tall blonde, very pretty by anyone’s standards. She was a studious, quiet and reserved person. They had known each other since kindergarten and William had no doubt that after college they would marry and live a happy life together.

  Kathryn was her opposite in many ways. Her long, dark red hair and movie star figure made her the object of affection for men wherever she went. She was highly gregarious, comfortable in a crowd of strangers or just hanging out with their little circle of close friends. There was no doubt that if she wanted to, she could be a star in Hollywood. William had been uncertain, at first, about Jennifer’s friendship with the dark haired firecracker. But he soon realized that the two women were opposite sides of the same coin. Kathryn drew out Jen’s happy, socializing side and Jen balanced Kat’s wild, devil may care attitude.

  Kat finished her entry with pleased smile on her face. For the first time since waking the women looked at each other, excitedly smiling as they acknowledged some secret information that only they shared. Both subjects rose and walked into the monitoring room, handing their journals over to William.

  Jennifer handed hers in last and wrapped her arms around Will’s neck for a lingering kiss before saying “You are going to be so surprised, baby!”

  Will returned the affection and said “So I’ve been told. Let me scan these entries so we can get out of here. Dr. Mills is in tonight and I want us gone before she comes back in here and snots up our evening with her attitude.”

  He quickly scanned each new entry with the handheld scanner, creating a digital log of the nights experiment to back up the written journals. Once he finished, William pulled a thumb drive from his shirt pocket. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to do this or not, but he always made a copy of the journals so that he and his friends could talk about the experiments amongst themselves. Once he had the new journal entries and the EEG data logs safely on his thumb drive, the four turned out the lights and headed down the hallway.

  William stopped by the professors office to drop off the journals. He doubted that Dr. Mills cared to see them, she never really showed much interest in the program. Professor Bench would want to see them as soon as he returned tomorrow afternoon though. Dr. Mills was not in the room, William allowing a soft sigh of relief to escape at her absence. There was an application on the desk. Half filled out by Dr. Mills, she was looking for another position? William’s curiosity took hold and he turned the paper to read more. It was an application for a security clearance, a very high one apparently. He saw the other form underneath it, a completed job application. He picked it up and read the heading.

  Department of Homeland Security, Division of the National Security Agency.

  William laid the papers back where they were and read no further. He didn’t care what job she was applying for at the NSA, he just hoped she got so that she would leave. Her constant attempts at getting his interest and her unreasonable jealousy of Jen and Kat were an annoyance he and his friends could do without. William closed the door to the office as he left, his three friends waiting in the hallway asked what took so long. He said nothing, his mind was racing through the possibilities. Mills could just be looking for greener pastures. She could also know something that William did not. They were nearing the end of the two year grant and while they had made a great deal of progress in inducing lucid dreams, they had yet to find conclusive proof of the programs goal. The few successful predictions they had made had all come in the last few months and were barely outside the percentage of simply educated guessing.

  They all walked out to the parking lot, the groups silence a reflection of their camaraderie. Will’s silent concern having infected the groups mood immediately. Jennifer took his arm and leaned into him, her blonde hair forming a curtain on his shoulder when she laid her head on it.

  “What’s wrong, Babe? “ she asked as they stood beside his car. William shook himself out of his thoughtful trance.

  “I’ll tell you all when we get to the restaurant. Right now I’m starving.” He replied, his normal grin returning to his face lightened the mood and they made for their vehicles. Jennifer and Kathryn had ridden with Will and Benji had parked his motorcycle beside Will. It was only 10:30 and they always met up at Mutts Diner after these sessions. Heading out, Benji shot ahead on his Rebel. He was the quiet studious type and his surfer dude tan and short blonde hair made him quite popular with the girls at college. His shy demeanor was offset by his penchant for driving his motorcycle like a madman and his adventurous nature. When he wasn’t nose deep in a book or his classes, Benji lived for whatever outdoor excitement he could find. He and Will were frequent visitors to the hang gliding center just outside the town and both guided rock climbing and mountain hiking groups for a little extra money.

  Will ignored Benji’s attempts to get a race going and took his time with the fifteen minute drive out to the lakeshore. He drove along, enjoying the boisterous sing along show that Jennifer and Kathryn were having in the front seat beside him. When the local DJ on the radio put on an oldie, he even joined in for a rambunctious and poorly delivered rendition of “Gloria”. They were just winding down when they pulled into the parking lot of Mutts and parked beside Benji. Jennifer and Kathryn immediately burst into laughter when they saw that Benji had already made a new four legged friend. Jennifer had often stated that Benji attracted stray dogs and stray girlfriends like moths to a neon “Eat at Joes” sign.

  When they had been seated and their orders taken, Jennifer asked:

  “Okay, Will. What gives? What did you see in the professors office?”

  “Maybe it was nothing, but it looks like Dr. Mills is planning to leave us.” He said.

  “What? When? Does she need help packing?” quipped Kathryn.

  “Hummphh! We aren’t that lucky.” Benji added.

  Jennifers jaw dropped, more than any of them she had been the target of Mills ire. The doctor was always rude and often subtly mean to her despite Jennifers attempts to get along.

  “Are you sure? That would be great, Kat and I could both use a break from her nasty looks and snide remarks!” she stated.

  Well explained what he had seen, “There was an application for a security clearance half completed on the professors desk. When I moved it to see the name I found an application already finished for Dr. Mills for a position at the NSA.”

  Kathryn and Jennifer both beamed at the thought of the dour associate professor being gone.

  Will added “Don’t get your hopes too high. They were just applications and who knows? She could have left them there hoping I would see them and tell you as a cruel joke”.

  He lifted his beer mug and said “Here’s to hoping it’s true!”

  The waiter arrived with their food and the four dug in, spirits buoyed at the idea of their nemesis leaving. They chatted about their plans for the weekend while they ate and talked about classes. Just as they finished and the waiter cleared the table to set another pitcher of beer down Will remembered the cryptic actions of his companions after the evenings d
ream experiment.

  “Hey, I almost forgot in the excitement of Mills ‘maybe’ departure. What happened tonight? All three of you acted like you had done something spectacular.” He asked.

  The three looked at each other, devious grins plastered on their faces. Jennifer spoke for all of them.

  “Do you remember the experiment a few weeks ago when the professor wanted us to “find” each other in the dream state?” she asked.

  Will nodded as she continued.

  “Well, we did. Sort of. I’m not sure what the machines showed, but we did find each other and tried to send a message between us. When we talked later, we realized that we had succeeded but not exactly as we had meant to.” Jennifer stated.

  “What do you mean, babe? You three actually talked in your dreams? Together?” Will asked incredulously.

  “Sort of.” Jennifer replied. “We did see each other in a convoluted, dream like way. We tried to send a one word message to each other, but it didn’t work out quite like we expected.”

  “What do you mean?” Will asked, “It either worked or it didn’t.”

  “Well, It did work but just not as expected. Instead of seeing or hearing the word and remembering it, we somehow sent a subconscious message that had us act on the word.” She said.

  “That makes no sense, Jen. How could you send a word but end up with acting out the word?” Will inquired.

  “We aren’t really sure yet. Tonights experiment gave us a chance to test our theory. But we really did send a, I guess suggestion? Maybe? Last time.” Jennifer tried to explain.

  “We each had a word we wanted the others to receive. We wrote them down and put them in our pocket, no one else could see them or guess. My word was ‘cookie’ “ Jennifer said.

  Kathryn said “Mine was ‘tiger’”

  “Door” said Benji.

  “Okay, so if each of you had a secret word and it worked, sort of. Exactly how did it sort of work.” Will asked.

  “I ate a whole box of chocolate chip cookies. I don’t eat sweets, ever. You all know that. But the night we did the experiment I sat down in my room and gorged on a box of cookies.” Kathryn said, “I couldn’t help myself. The thought of cookies drove out any other thought, no matter how hard I tried to think of other things. When I had finished the cookies, the urge for cookies went away.”

  “Okay, that’s odd. I know you’re a health food junkie and never eat junk food, but one cookie binge does not proof make.” Will said skeptically. “And even if the binge is related to the experiment, one out of three isn’t proof, it’s a statistical coincidence.”

  Jennifer said nothing, she reached into her purse and pulled out a brand new music C.D. A copy of the Doors classic live album. Jennifer and Will both preferred new music and neither had ever had much interest in classic rock.

  Last to chime in was Benji. He also remained silent as he opened his shirt to show Will the new Bengal tiger tattoo on his chest. Benji had no tattoos except this new one. He had always considered it a silly form of self adornment that never went away.

  Will sat silently, considering the implications of what they had done. The idea behind the experiments was to see into the future. To hopefully gain foreknowledge of events like 9-11 and stop them.

  This.

  This was something else entirely. This was influencing events, not merely reporting them.

  This could be a problem.

  Dream State

  Chapter 2

  When we wish someone sweet dreams

  We are actually saying no nightmares.

  Professor august Bench

  William and Jennifer spoke about their discovery several times over the next two days. The professor was due back and Will had already left an urgent message for him to review the latest experiment. If professor Bench agreed that something extraordinary had occurred, the entire focus of the program may change. If getting a glimpse at future events was impossible or unreliable, what were the implications of being able to influence people through the dream state? Benji, Kathryn and Jennifer were convinced they had done so twice and had done it once deliberately. While Will was still skeptical about the repeatability of influencing peoples actions through their subconscious while dreaming, the prospect admittedly excited him.

  Benji came over and visited once, the night before Professor Bench was due back. The three spent most of the evening talking about the program, but with no input from the professor the conversation ended up where it almost always did.

  “Where is Kathryn?” Benji asked.”I used to see her around campus or in town all the time but lately she seems to drop off the face of the earth as soon as the weekend comes.”

  Will replied with a shrug. “Who knows, maybe she has a secret boyfriend somewhere that she wants to keep hidden from her admirers.”

  Jennifer studiously peeled the label from her bottle, her silence and feigned lack of attention an immediate draw to the two men.

  “Okay, what gives? Do you know what she’s up to?” He asked her.

  “If she wanted you two to know, she would tell you.” She replied cryptically.

  “Wait. What? You’re keeping secrets now?” Will teased.

  “No, baby. Kathryn is keeping secrets, I’m just not telling boys her business.” Jennifer retorted with a laugh.

  Benji chimed in “Oh, great! Now Will and I have mystery to figure out on top of everything else.”

  “Yes” Will said in an imperious tone, “This shall not stand. We will know the mystery of the missing misanthrope!”

  That started the men on an hour long beer fueled brainstorming session on Kathryn’s whereabouts, mostly centered on which of the dozen or so more stubborn suitors had managed to corral the wildly chaotic woman. Jennifer ignored their attempts to drag her into the speculation session, rolling her eyes at the sly attempts to wheedle a clue from her. She finally put an end to the conversation when she stood and announced her intention to go to bed and if Will wasn’t in it she would find someone else to keep her warm.

  Will immediately stood and announced to Benji “You gotta go, bro. The queen of hearts has spoken.”

  After Benji had left and the two of them were getting under the covers Will said “It’s Professor Powell, from the Economics department, isn’t it?”

  “I’m not saying. But if it were, what of it? If Kathryn is happy that’s all that matters isn’t it?” Jennifer replied.

  Will thought for second, “If it is Powell, good for both of them. He’s a good guy and Kathryn could use some stability. Now, let’s see about making you happy.”

  The next morning, Will sat in the musty office with Professor Bench as the older academic read through the data from the last experiment. As he finished the last journal entry he asked Will to load the EEG recordings and bring them up on the monitor. Once they were ready, the whole process started over as the scientist compared the detailed brain activity recorded by the sensitive EEG to the written notes of the dream state in the journals.

  This was a bit of an unusual step. The professor had done this often in the early days of the program, but the journals rarely detailed anything that could be seen as truly sequential with the brainwave patterns recorded by the EEG. Will had not yet told the professor of their discovery, only that something new had happened. If the professor was going to take the time to compare the data sets, he must have noticed something out of the ordinary. Will needed to get to his other classes so he left in silence, the professor acknowledging his departure with a wave, his old eyes glued to the monitor. This process could take hours if he saw a pattern emerge from the data.

  Today was Monday, the next experiment was not until Wednesday evening, Will thought as he walked out into the daylight. He would see Professor Bench after classes and tell him his theory then. He and his friends would just have to wait a bit longer to learn what the Professor thought. Will strolled along the brick lined path to the east end of the sprawling campus until he spotted a familiar face sitting on t
he steps of the economics building. Benji had his usual boyish grin plastered across his face and two cute girls sitting with him. His surfer boy good looks and easy charm attracted plenty of female attention his way, despite his actual shyness around women. Will laughed to himself, his friend saw him coming and stood to go to class, the disappointed looks on the girls faces telling Will that Benji had not closed the deal with either of them for a date. He and Will had been friends since their first week here, so when Benji introduced the girls to him, he knew the score.

  “Will, this is Carla and this is Denise. Ladies, this is my bud, Will Grant.” Benji said as an introduction, pointing out each girl as he said their names.

  Will knew the code and did his wing man duty as expected.

  “Hello Denise, it’s nice to meet you. Hi Carla.” He said, adding “We’d better get going Benji, Professor Powell doesn’t like it when we’re late.”

  “Go ahead, Will. I’ll be right behind you.” Benji said with a devilish grin.

  Will nodded to the two young women and started up the steps knowing that Benji was going to ask out the one named Denise. Will thought both girls were cute but Benji expected an opinion and Will was a good friend. He had just made it to the Economics lecture hall when Benji caught up with him.

  “Thanks Will. I knew I could count on you. I just couldn’t decide which one to ask.” He said.

  Will told his friend. “You do know that you could date them both don’t you? Just ask one for one day and the other for another? Or, from the looks of both of them, you could probably have swung dating both at the same time.”

  “Both? At the same time?” he said in an exaggerated tone “What kind of man do you think I am? Besides, I already have dates for Tuesday and Wednesday. I just needed one for Friday to sort of fill out the week.”

  Will just shook his head, “Come on Mr. Hefner, we have a class to attend.”