From: shop@wam.umd.edu (Chris)
Subject: in control but not lucid
Organization: University of Maryland, College Park
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 18:55:57 GMT

   This is the first time I've posted anything. Please pardon my grammar.
If it really bothers you, then don't read it. 
   A little background. I have in the past GMed a few role playing games. For
anyone not familiar with role playing games, the GM describes an environment
and a set of situations for his players to react to. This seemed to play an
interesting role in a dream I had about two weeks ago. 
   This feature length dream occurred on a night where a gave myself an extra
two hours of sleep, and told myself before I went to sleep that I would have
a lucid dream.
   In my dream I was running an adventure for a set of players. The adventure
was based on the (book, TV series, radio program, Infocom game) The
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. As I described what was happening to the
players within my dream, the dream would play out my description.  
    I thought I'll share it with anyone out there who might, like me, enjoy
reading dreams. I was also wondering if anyone else out there has had dreams
where they seemed to control the action but do not know that they are
dreaming. This is my third such dream.
    The dream, like others I've had, tells a semi-coherent story. This one is
by far the longest and most detailed I remember having. Yes, I did dream this.
I am not just making it up!
_____________
   The dream started with a group of about 20 people sitting at a table in a
large dining area. They were the players I was putting though the adventure.
I told them that they hear a voice announcing that the world will
have to be destroyed. While I'm telling them this I can hear the words being
announced.
   Every one on earth, including my players, panic and decide to make the most
of their last few minutes. I am rather offended by display so I shout at the
sky to go ahead and destroy them now. The aliens do not comply. 
   Somehow, I managed to get my group back together at the table. I ask them
for money to use so that I may buy beer and peanuts. (They need to it to
cushion their systems from the shock of matter transmission.) When they
protest, I tell them they won't need the money for obvious reasons. One of
them must have recognized the reference to the book because he says that I
must be Ford Prefect. I realize that I have been following the book too
closely and correct him by saying "No, I am actually Ford Perfect." For some
reason he felt that was significantly different and I continued to tell story.

   I had everyone touch each other while I used the electronic thumb to hitch
a ride on the ship. They all had to be in contact with each other so that
everyone would be transported. I did not actually have the device, I just
pressed an imaginary button on an imaginary transmitter.
   I told them that they are now in a room with gray wall. When dining area
did not change right away, I stared at the area until it dissolved into a gray
walled room in an old house. The players were still with me but the table had
vanished. 
   I decided to make sort of a joke to let them know what just happened. I was
going to tell them that I have some good news and bad news, give them all bad
news and tell them I lied about the good news. In the dream I flubbed my
lines. I told them the bad news is the earth has been destroyed and the bad
news is we have just hitched a ride on the ship that destroyed it. The second
part sounded too much like good news so the joke failed and I did not have a
chance to deliver the punch line.
   In a adjacent room was a child in a bunk bed. He must have been woken up by
the commotion. He was barely awake and did not speak clearly, so we could not
understand what he said. I figured that he was just complaining about being
woke up. I said to the players that he was the alien that picked us up and
that we need Babel fish to understand him. I went off to look for the Babel
fish dispenser.
   I wandered onto the deck of the space ship. The ship looked like an ancient
sailing ship. I realized that such a ship could not fly though space so I told
the players that the ship used the solar winds. I occurred to me in the dream
that the ship would just tumble though space so I created an image of two
ships with their bottoms connected. (Pardon my crude illustration) I decided
that is what the space ship looked like. I told my players that it could
achieve about 36% light speed. With the relativistic compression of space it
could travel between the stars. (Yes, I really did dream this part, including
the explanation.)
     /| /|
    _\|_\|_                  <==        \ | /
    \ _ _ /             solar winds     -SUN-
    /_____\                             / | \
     /| /|                   <==
     \| \|

   On the deck the ship's captain and the wife of the captain of the guard
were arguing. I latter decided within the dream that the ships captain was
actually a ruler of a small interstellar kingdom. While I was physically
hiding behind some barrels, I was mentally standing next to the two of them
listing to the conversation. I was also somehow narrating the conversation to
my players who were still in the gray room. The King claimed that her husband
was trying to cause dissention in the kingdom. She denied the claim by saying
the her husbands family has always defended the king and upheld the law. I
realize the people of the kingdom feel her husband would make a better ruler.
Therefor, the king is trying to get rid of him.
   I decided, in orderer to keep that plot moving, that our group should be
discovered. With out actually seeing it happen, I decided that the crew
accepted us as passengers. I realized that this was an unlikely occurrence so
I said the Captain of the guard had something to do with it.
   I find the players in what appears to be the first class section of an
airplane. The crew was serving food. The meal consisted of a bowl of milk and
a bowl of milk and cereal. I thought this seem too ordinary so I told the
players not to let it bother them when they see their food move. I looked at
the bowl and turned the Cherios into scallop shaped discs and made them
wiggle. I was happy to see the looks of disgust from the players as they
watched their food. 
   In the dream, I thought about what should happen next. I felt that the goal
of the players should be to take over the ship, and with the aid of the ship,
lead a revolution placing the captain of the guard in charge. I could not
figure out how they could do it. At this point the dream faded. I don't
remember if I woke up of if the dream just ended.
-----
   I copied the dream down as soon as I woke up. For any doubters out there,
I really did dream this.
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"I'm so far ahead of myself, I'll never catch up"
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                                                  Chris
Newsgroups: alt.dreams