The Dream Hacker
by
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Dreamers live on dangerous ground. They speak their feelings right out loud. They talk about love when hate is strong. They keep the faith when all hope is gone. From the song Can’t Stop a Dreamer by Cyrill Neville There are so many memorable things that occur in a person’s life, especially those “firsts” that you never seem to forget. You make a mental list of things you know you’ll always remember, like your first kiss and your first broken heart. You can’t ever forget your first car, when you move into your first apartment or your first day at your first job. Dylan had his own share of memorable firsts but as he lay in bed that morning, staring at the ceiling he struggled to decide if his previous night’s dream activity should be added to his list. Something about it felt totally different from every one of the thousands of dreams he’d enjoyed in his life. It was hard to comprehend but somehow it was as though he had been in on something that happened to someone else, like he was both the audience and the actor. It wasn’t really sleeping or at least he didn’t think so. As much as his mastery of lucid dreaming had taken him to a different level while he slept, what happened in the previous night’s dream seemed to be every bit as profound in its effect on him. Ever since he’d read about dream sharing it had intrigued him as much as it made him uneasy. There were so many legends and so much anecdotal evidence that it could actually happen but there wasn’t one shred of scientific research or clinical data that proved it was real. His professional life had been built on a foundation of facts and precedence, of decisions based upon previous events and things that came before. By comparison, dream sharing was like pulling something out of thin air and declaring it to be real. But the feeling he had that morning seemed very, very real and he couldn’t quite decide how he felt about it. He was running a bit behind schedule and given what had transpired in his dream he shouldn’t have been so surprised when he made it to the office and nearly got knocked over in the lobby by a very manic and distracted Max Dewart. “Geez, Dylan, watch where you’re going. “I could say the same thing to you, Max. What’s your hurry?” The expression on Max’s face had changed from his normal aloofness to one of obvious irritation. “It’s none of your concern.” Even though the two of them had learned to keep their distance and maintain a minimal level of civility Max’s behavior seemed to shout that something had changed. “Have a nice day.” Dylan said, not even trying to mask his sarcastic tone. During the workday Dylan had many clients to think about and many things to juggle, but not so many that the previous night’s dream didn’t intrude on his thoughts frequently and intensely. Before he’d left the house it was easy to be skeptical about what might have happened. He’d almost convinced himself it was all just wishful thinking. But when he walked through the front door of the office and Max acted the way he did, Dylan suddenly was convinced he had something that seemed connected to his dream. Maybe it was a coincidence. Max had always been an asshole and Dylan had learned to never really expect much from him in the way of anything beyond basic common courtesy. But what if it was something more? What if there really was a connection to the dream, and what if the connection was that it was really Max’s dream? Dylan was almost afraid to think about it.
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About the Book
Your dreams belong to you. They’re private, and no one needs to know what happens in them. But what if someone could invade your dreams? And once in, what if that someone could control what happens while you lie there, powerless to affect the outcome? Dylan Ward can do that. Struggling to make partner in a law firm and finding it hard to hold on to a romantic relationship, his nightly dreams become his escape into a world that seems far happier than his real one. When he learns about the phenomenon of lucid dreaming, where the sleeping person is actually conscious of the events in the dream, he immerses himself in an attempt to master it. Soon his nights are filled with fun and adventure, where he has the power to control events and find temporary relief from his mundane life. That relief soon pales when he reads an old legend about dream sharing that leads him to the idea of entering and controlling the dreams of others. What starts out as an interesting experiment soon turns into an obsession of hacking into the dreams of the people in his life. He begins a strange quest for vengeance, power, love, and all the things that are missing from his real world. But it’s when he devises a way to teach other people how to invade dreams that the dangers of his obsession become frighteningly clear. The Dream Hacker moves between imagination and reality, along the hazy sleeping path that everyone travels but can’t really navigate. Mixing equal parts of dark humor and the angst of modern culture, the story challenges our notions of understanding what is real and asks just how far a person will go to change the course of his life.
About the Author
This is Timothy Benson’s fourth work of fiction. His short stories and novels depict the lives of ordinary people who are faced with extraordinary events, often of their own making. Tim’s career as a designer, artist and writer has given him a unique perspective on the ways our imagination can affect every aspect of our lives, even our behavior. His work also explores the connection between the visual arts and the written word. He lives in Phoenix with his wife, Carol.