Track 03: DreamRunner
Awaken my runner, my maestro, your time has come
I wake up from a dream that seems to last forever. I replay those last moments, my last moments, over and over. Every time I blink, I see my death up close and personal. The faceless thing hanging over me, the feeling of all the power in my limbs, leaving me. The bright flash. My breath comes quickly and the tightness in my chest returns. The frigid air is thin and tight in my lungs.
Now don’t do that… It's bad luck if you die on my watch.
What? The shock of hearing that voice snaps me out of my panic attack. I look around for the first time, seeing I’m in some kind of medical exam room. The objects look odd and, if I’m honest, I don’t know that I’d be able to pick them out of a lineup. Dressed in only what I could call some kind of leggings. They didn’t leave much to the imagination. I glance down at my bare, freshly shaved chest. In the place where my wound should have been, there was nothing. No wound. No bandages. No scar. Nothing. It was as if I had just dreamed it, but how could you dream of death?
I’m gonna let you know right at the top, you aren’t crazy.
The voice came through my… headphones. I was on someone’s operating table and still had my psylink on.
Oh, that’s going to make this a lot easier for you. I’m lucking out on you have one of those. I mean, I was going to pick one up before things went down, but I’m pretty sure that’s a bad idea now.
“W-Who are you?” I push my voice out past the broken rasp of ill used vocal cords.
I’m your magic fairy helper. The voice mocks me.
“Be straight.” If I still had any patience to lose, this would be the end of it.
I’m Kohl. Also, you don’t have to talk out loud. I can hear you if you speak in your mind.
Yes, and no. The picture of someone seesawing their hands back and forth appeared in my mind’s eye. I am processing all your immediate sensory inputs and your thoughts directed towards me. Other than that, I don’t even know your name. A fake cough is projected into my head. It’s a pretty clumsy way of giving me a nudge until they were actually nudging the words, your name, in my head. This is crazy.
I thought I told you. You weren’t crazy.
You practically yelled that at me. Either way, there are a few things you should know before getting started. So get comfortable. If I can swing it, you won’t be disturbed.
I take my headphones down off my head and place them around my neck. I just need the brain space. Part of me can’t wrap my head around the mind to mind communication. There’s an odd weight to it. Is this really different from the show I put on last night? They had me playing seven different venues, playing different songs, and I felt the energy in the rooms and even the different climates where some of those shows were happening. The press of bodies in Greenland under the northern lights differed from the underground rave in Russia. I can almost feel the wind on my face from the Singaporean bacchanal on the roof of that one boat-like building.
That looks breathtaking. I hear a sigh come from Kohl, this time directly in my head. So I can’t really get away from him. Hanging my head, I sigh. This is all too much. I’m sorry, I’m still new at this and learning how to do all of this. I’ll try to give you more privacy. It’s just that your mind is… very loud.
You’re not dead, but you will be if you don’t tell me your name! I could tell it is a joke, on the other hand, there’s some seriousness about it.
That’s a very cool name. He, for that’s the impression I’m getting like very masculine energy. I wonder if he knows mine just by talking this way. If something as complicated as gender can be layered in telepathic speech, does that mean things like personality filter through? I mean, the tone is obviously coming through. Could that be altered, though? Pretending to be this disarming while holding other motives? It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mix. There are a few things I want to go over with you. I need you to know. If at any point you need me to stop so you can process the information, just let me know it’s a lot to take in.
I nod, realizing he could see my movements and where I’m looking even without me sending that information to him. The fact Kohl is just in my head is wild. Like a psychic parasite. This is a crazy update. I don’t know that everyone would be excited for the release of telepathic calls with a video feature that you aren’t able to turn off.
You’ve been asleep for four months.
Kind of it’s called Group Think. It’s an affliction cause by repeated exposure to people who are already under its control. Think of it like a mental illness but, it’s contagious. The people you come into contact with or try to save can be used as weapons against you.
Invasion! Aliens are real! Turns out the crazy conspiracy uncle is right, those people who are naturally on the outside of society are safer against it than most people. People who are neurodivergent, queer, a minority, people with disabilities. Anyone who doesn’t quite fit in the mainstream tends to be more resistant against GT.
Ah, you were a special case, because you were shot.
You’re gonna want to sit down for this.
It… is lizard people…
“What?!” I can’t help it, I cackle.
It’ll be a lot less funny if one of them comes back. Kohl’s voice has lost a lot of his mirth. I think I need to be very clear at this moment, Mix. I can tell you most of what you need to know to survive the next ten minutes, but I need you just to assume I’m telling the truth. You don’t know me. Regardless of that, I need you to survive because you’ll be my best chance at getting myself out of here.
I know it’s weird to say something about the tone of someone who can put images in my head, whose face I haven’t seen before. Nevertheless, I believe him. There’s something about Kohl that makes me want to trust him. Without hearing the fear in his voice, I think he’s actually as afraid as I should be. He’s trapped and I can help?
I’ll do my best to start from the beginning,
Mind-Link, the company behind the psylinks and psynet, isn’t the original inventors of that tech. It was given to them by another group, The Dominance, they just mass marketed to people all over the world.
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
I don’t know that they would get that reference. I will say, however, the vibe they’re going for is most assuredly “crush you under their booted heel and make you submit to their endless and superior power.”
The Dominance is made up of a collection of alien species who have become an inter-galactic empire. A capitalist, militaristic regime, they swallow whole worlds just to use their populations as slaves for the production of weapons, vehicles, WMDs. They even press-gang some of you into fighting and tracking down the rest of your peoples. The Dominance isn’t just humanity’s enemy; they are the enemy of entire worlds.
For The Dominance, taking over was old hat. They roped in your governments using lobbying, bribes, assassinations, and infiltrations and did whatever they could to dig their roots into all facets of life. Those structures they couldn’t take over they would replace or have convenient wars started to weaken those countries until they accepted. You were actually one of those people your seven country show did gangbusters and tons of performing artist did things just like it.
I’m sorry I don’t know who Misha is. She could be a part of it. She could also just be another cog in the wheel.
And safety, The Capitalists wanted to make sure they didn’t have to slave away with the rest of the plebians.
If you’ve seen what I’ve seen, you’d know that wasn’t true. Take my word for it, things got a lot worse…
Yes, and no. The fact I could wake you means you’re special. I’ve been working to find people like you. DreamRunners.
No, he chuckles, I’m your DreamCrafter. I basically run logistics and make it easier for you to do your job.
To fight The Dominance. Save our world.
Actually… Almost exactly. Thanks for wrapping it up so succinctly. You will be Storm and I’ll be Professor X in this situation.
That’s my job.
That’s kinda up to you… There’s a beat where there’s silence from the other end. Which is odd because I think this is the first time I’ve noticed the silence in my head. Can you turn your head a bit?
Holy shit… Holy shit! Something on that screen must disturb him, cause the vibe he sent over was palpable. I don’t know if he means to but the connection thrums. Fam, you have alien DNA. You’re part alien.
I sit there, taken aback, looking at the strange words on the screen. I think I might have probably learned too much today. I chuckle. The world differs completely from the one I fell asleep in. I take a deep breath and I swing my legs over the side of the cot, jumping down and land on my legs. I expect to for my legs to explode in pain but, when nothing happens, I get some stretching in. I want to make sure I’m ready for whatever happens next.
Do you want to talk about it? Kohl sounds uncomfortable, which is probably the right thing to feel when you blow someone’s mind about not being completely human.
Okay, just a few things left really… From the rather calm, Kohl, I think he’s a bit phased by all this. So you get stats and abilities. Because of the life you lived, you have certain skills assigned to you, so let’s look at them. I’m downloading an app to your headphones now. It will activate the DreamRunner protocols in your psylink. It’s built in.
A loading bar quickly zips across the front of my eyes and, just like that, it’s done. I try not to think about what it means that someone I haven’t met has this kind of access.
A screen pops into my view. I hadn’t realized my contacts were still in. It’s a slightly transparent black window with gold lettering. A few notifications pop-up:
Congratulations and Welcome Mix, we’re so glad you’ve joined our ranks.
You have been awakened by DreamCrafter, Kohl.
You are now considered one of his DreamRunners. If at any time you wish to leave and become a new DreamCrafter’s runner, you may.
Mold the psyfields and use Dream to change the world. Bend it to your will and save the universe!
You have lived a life that has given you many great experiences. Now that you havee been awakened, your stats will affect this.
I didn’t mind how excited it seems, the only issue is it seems kinda nationalistic. It’s selling so hard. I mean, it is saving the world, so I guess I can forgive it a bit.
We apologize. In bringing you into the fold, we have made a decision to aid you as you grow. Recently, The Dominace has been brutal about stopping out the DreamRunners. Many have died in the pursuit of our goals.
Normally, we offer a Skill for our DreamRunners that Awaken and that fits the person they wish to be or a continuation of their already amazing talents. For you, we have decided to withhold that ability and in return grant you a choice of Utility for your trouble.
Because of your previous experience as DJ, an occupation that requires you to create music using pieces of the world around you, you have been given the option to gain a magic ability.
Your choices are between Alchemy and Enchanting.
We believe in your hands you can create new and exciting symphonies.
Mix “______” Rhapsody
Level 1 (Rank 1)
Die: 1
HP: 11
Will: 1
Reflex: 2
Creativity: 3
Talent: 2
Power: 2
Durability: 1
Don’t get carried away, however yes if you ever feel like I’m not doing what I’m supposed to you can leave. I just don’t want you out there on your own.
Yeah, while there aren’t any classes, there’s a bunch of types of magic to choose from. Try to choose something that will fit you and something you'll enjoy in the future.
I’ll keep my psychic powers for now.
Lemme look it up. While he went looking things up I wanted to see what my stats actually are I pop open the glossary by clicking on the stats one by one.
Will is the manifestation of your ability to reject the influence of others on your mind. It will also keep you alive. Your Will being 1 is representative of the defense of the lion’s share of people without being awakened. While you have the protection of a DreamCrafter, without it you could end up falling back into Group Think and/or becoming suborned. You will also need Will to keep your focus on abilities that require Focus.
Reflex represents your psyfield’s effect on your body’s reflexes, speeding up your mind’s and your body’s reaction time. Having reflexes will not only help you get around, it will help you avoid danger. The higher this stat goes, you may gain something like a precognition.
Creativity represents your ability to learn and pick up new ideas or create new things. Your ability to learn will serve you well when you’re either crafting new potions or making magic weapons or items. The higher your stat the more potent your abilities are.
Talent represents your ability to do hard skills. These are things you can learn by putting in the work. Painting, cooking, or architectural drafting, these must be honed and are not things anyone can do. Talent gets you better at what you’re already good at. Creativity and Talent both feed into each other to make you a more knowledgeable and skilled person.
Power is a manifestation of your influence on the world. While it’s often the stat you’ll use for attack, it will be the one you’ll use for persuasion. This skill is also very important for Psychics. This stat has will and durablity as its counterpart.
Durability represents your body’s willingness to sustain damage and how much your body can sustain damage. The psyfields can make you more durable, harder to damage and even avoid lethal damage.
Hit points are in most cases very simple, but it bears saying: Your health is determined by your durability as you rank up you will become even harder to kill. When you hit points, hit zero, it will be by determination of your Will if you can hang on. If you can’t, you will pass out and become unconscious. In a dangerous place, this might spell your doom and make it possible to be killed easily.
Ranks increse at every 6th level, which is a good determination of strenght and adds some variables to the damage you do when you use Power to attaqk. The higher the rank of the stat, the wider and more powerful the variable damage you do.
Dream is the source of energy for all your utilities and special attacks. It regains after a full sleep cycle. As you gain levels, you gain more Dream you can use it to increase the damage or effectiveness of your abilities.
Dream Dice are a metaphysical visualization of this ability. “Rolling” one to add your abilities will grant you a small boost to your power. It can put you over
Damage is calculated by you Power + Your Rank + and Weapon or ability/spell damage.
Rank 1 is (1-5) Further breakdowns are available when you reach a higher rank or find higher ranked items.
After the quick tutorial finishes, my Heads Up Display which before showed things like the weather, and quick readouts from my friends social media, now shows my hit points, my exhaustion, there are tabs for Utilities, Special Attacks, Knowledge, and Skills. Two black and gold pyramids glisten in the under my Hit Points. If this was a video game, it was a pretty clean display. Like the Psylink, of course it’s fully customizable.
Yeah, Mix?
That’s a tough question… I think it’s mostly that intelligence can’t be quantified like that. IQ is a very flawed idea, I think, because it’s broken down into things like Talent and Creativity. It makes a bit more sense. Your ability to learn new things and then your ability to use the things you know to do that thing. I think Strength is also something that doesn’t quite translate. While you can reinforce the psyfields around and inside your body or wearing armor, you can’t do much to improve the lifting or pushing strength of the human body. While you can physically start lifting weights and get to peak human condition, you won’t exactly be able to go past that, not for long, or your body would break down.