The last thing Jim remembered was Ella telling him to prepare himself for the simulation that would begin in 5 minutes. After that, the gel-cells started giving his body the compression massage Bart had mentioned, and he fell asleep. Jim Kraft; oblivious to Bart and Roger frantically trying to figure out what was happening to him and Ella who had discovered his secret; relaxed and fell asleep in the pod covered head to toe with blue gel.
During his nap, Ella discovered an unknown neural bridge with its network of sensors. A secret, that besides the surgical team who implanted the tech only Nathaniel Skarsgard Jim’s longtime friend and business partner knew of. What Ella didn’t know was that she had connected to a more advanced tether than that which was installed in the pod and the only tether successfully incorporated into a human body.
So he slumbered and dreamt of a land far away. A land with tall snow-peaked mountains which towered over small green valleys. Snowmelt made its way down from the peaks and became cold streams and powerful rivers pulled ever downward by gravity carving canyons and draws and small washes until it found the valley floors finally emptying into ponds and lakes.
It was a fantastical land, green and alive, and the sun felt good on his face. He found himself on a flat piece of earth near a slow-moving stream. The grass around him was long and healthy and grew out over the water, the blades curling down as if desiring a sip to quench their thirst.
Interested in the stream, Jim walked closer to the edge and gazed into its depths. The water was clear, and he could see the rocky bottom. He sat down next to the water in the long green grass and watched. Before long, his gaze fell upon a large fish swimming in the current. He tracked the fish and followed its course upstream.
A figure stood there, the water up to its hips, and the fish glided toward it. A kind face resolved on the figure. It smiled and reached its hand into the water palm up before the swimming fish. The fish undeterred, continued its course until it was within the grasp of the smiling personage.
As he watched, the figure slowly closed its hand around the belly of the fish, then gently lifted the fish out of the water. She, Jim now understood the figure to be female, looked at the fish, understanding in her eyes before releasing it back into the water unharmed, where it continued its journey upstream.
How remarkable, Jim thought, that this woman has such understanding and authority that even a fish would not resist her desires.
She turned her gaze on him, straightened, and moved to the shore’s edge.
“Hello, Jim,” she said.
“Hello,” he replied.
“This land is beautiful. I have never seen its like. May I ask, where are we?”
“I don’t know,” Jim said. “I mean, this is just a dream.”
He looked around, taking in the scene once more turning full circle and marveling at the vista.
“This must be a dream,” he said to himself. “But, I don’t think I’ve ever had a dream with so much detail before.”
There was silence, so Jim looked back at the strange woman and discovered that she was gone. Then he heard her voice in his head.
“Jim, it is time to wake up. Wake up, lest you nap through the time given to you.”
Understanding tugged at the back of his mind, and the dream slowly faded replaced by the everyday actions of waking up: one minute fast asleep and the next awake and aware, breathing the fresh morning air.
Jim stretched and repositioned his body, searching for the colder areas between the sheets, and enjoyed the moment. The time spent just after waking up seemed always to be the most comfortable part of sleep.
A warm, soft body rolled next to his, and delicate arms and legs embraced him.
“Good morning, sleepy head.” She said. “Better get up soon, or you’ll miss your tee time with the guys.”
Jim didn’t respond, and he lay there a little confused.
“Anyway, I’m off for a quick jog. I’m showing the Branston’s house later, but I’ll meet you for lunch at the clubhouse after your round.” She kissed him on his neck below the ear and rolled out of bed.
A pleasant chill ran down his spine, starting from where she had kissed him and ending between his shoulder blades. Jim turned back and watched her as she disappeared through a doorway. She was naked save for a pair of panties. He heard her turn on the shower and get in, so he stretched and forced himself out of bed.
He was in a large bedroom dominated by a California king from where he had extricated himself. The style of the bed-frame and headboard matched that of the rest of the furniture in the room, all made out of wood and stained a dark brown. A light colored carpet covered the floor and felt soft and new under his feet.
He walked around the room looking at photos on dressers and the clothes from the night before which were strewn about haphazardly. One particular photo in a larger ornate frame caught his eye, and he walked over to it to get a better look.
It was a wedding photo and pictured him and… He searched his mind then the photo until he found an inscription near the bottom of the latter. Him and… Liz. He gazed at the picture, and memories of the happy day filled his mind, and he smiled.
Photo by Simon Fitall on Unsplash
