Saturday, November 03, 2007

Live and Let Die

It's been a while since I posted a dream of mine that I could remember. Mostly because of the fact that I never get to that point in the sleep cycle anymore. But last night, I was lucky enough to dream. The dream, however, wasn't one that I would classify as a nightmare, but definitely made me feel uncomfortable.

Here's the dream:
I am stuck in what appears to be a school building, only there are no lockers or desks, and in the place of classrooms are rooms where a dozen of us sleep at night in what could be best described as a refugee setting. Naturally, I'm being teased, made fun of, and/or otherwise left to sulk in the corner while the rest of the population of beautiful people talk about things to settle their insecurities.

An announcement is made answering the question on everyone's mind: What the hell is going on? It turns out that the building is actually a quarantine block for some highly contagious illness. A select number of us are able to leave, as the cure is very low in quantity. Names are not drawn, but rather predetermined based on our social interaction. I am picked because nobody cared to talk to me. Everyone else that wasn't picked will ultimately end up dead in the next 24 hours.

As I'm being escorted out to be cured, the faces of everyone in the block change to that of pity and sadness. I don't know if it is because they were made aware of their future state or if they are jealous of the fact I will get to live longer than them. The last person I see is this beautiful strawberry-blond boy, who kisses me on the cheek and whispers "I love you." I whisper back, "Don't tell me that now."

I was being escorted to an elevator-like ship. We move up several floors only to stop and have the doors open. We are told to stay inside. One person doesn't listen and ends up vaporizing as soon as he tries to leave the room. Scared out of our minds, we listen to the instructions. We then see a line of people being lead to what we could only assume is their death.

It becomes increasingly apparent that in order for us to live, everyone we ever knew has to die.
This dream does pose an interesting question, doesn't it?

If the people whom you mistreated or otherwise ignored ended up being the special ones, how would you honestly feel about them and about yourself?

On top of that, if you knew that the only way you could live is if everyone you ever knew had to die for you, how could you go on living? And I'm not talking about just your family and close friends, but everyone. Your enemies, your petty crushes, celebrities you swooned over at one point or another. How could anyone live in complete social and physical isolation like that?

It only feels appropriate that this entry is being typed while I'm the only one in the house, the isolation broken by two sleeping dogs who probably don't even think about these kind of things.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

That happened to me once. It wasn't as bad as you might think.

Life goes on.

Anonymous said...

Jon,

"Don't tell me that now." That is the line that most struck me as I was reading through your account of your uncomfortable dream.

The dreamer "stuck in a refugee setting," "teased, made fun of, and left to sulk," is nevertheless paying attention enough to realize that the "beautiful people talk about things to settle their insecurities."

"For me to live, everyone I ever knew has to die" makes sense if, rather than physically dying, that those people's perceptions of the dreamer have to die.

The dreamer is saved "because nobody cared to talk" to him but he is wondering about the "mistreated or otherwise ignored" "being the special ones."

This dream follows the theme of authorities maintaining their authority by quarantining "contagious illness," that is, ideas not in line with their regime. They are picking minions "based upon social interaction," minions who are not interacting with potential troublemakers. The troublemakers have "pity and sadness" for the cured who are "listening to instructions" and accepting a cure that renders them personless.

Is it that the majority who will not be cured have been "made aware of their future state"? Of course their final future state will be death. They will die. Will they have died for the dreamer?

The message of the dream:

All of us will die
but some of us will be free
to love the uncured.

Robert

Anonymous said...

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