Kinson paused, his eyes losing focus as he recalled his recent experiences. The memories were rather distant and detached, despite happening only a few hours before.
"Well, it's kind of hard to explain, but I'll do my best. Basically, when I did it, I got lost in the person I was watching. I don't remember it super well, but I'm pretty sure I forgot my own identity, and truly took on theirs. Fortunately, there's the system in place, which regulates and maintains the deathdreamer. Without it, I think I'd just end up dying, like most of the early deathdreamers. Something happens to their soul if they get too deep into the deathdream, causing death. Anyway, the System prevents that from happening, but has the side effect of muddying the memory, so to say. But this one was rather graphic, even as far as deathdream go, if I recall," Kinson explained.
"That sounds insane! So you really do go into the memories of a dead person? And do you even experience it in the first person?" Trevor exclaimed with both excitement and shock.
Celeste shook her head in disbelief. "Is it really that dangerous?" she asked in a small voice.
Kinson shrugged. "From what I hear, at least. I've only been at it for a few months, myself, so I'm not that familiar with it. Also, I'm only a class 1, so my soul is pretty weak, anyway. That makes it even more dangerous, from what I've read."
"Well, do you remember what happened in the deathdream? I heard from some others that the evaluation subject was from an old Terran war!" Trevor asked, filled with expectation.
"Oh, sure, I remember a bit. Basically, I was this soldier serving in Vietnam, this hellish jungle on Terra. Basically, we were slogging through this jungle, and were ambushed by the enemy, who used the cover of the jungle to set ambushes and traps. The guy I followed was eventually caught in a cross fire and blown up by a landmine," Kinson felt a little confused. He clearly experienced all this, so why did it feel like he learned about it from a novel, or movie?
"Are you okay? That sounds pretty intense. Maybe you should see a psychologist." Celeste looked at him in concern.
"Nah, he's fine! Look at him. Every man's dream is to fight in a glorious war, and die an honorable death," Trevor said, grinning.
Kinson coughed in embarrassment, but agreed anyway. "It's pretty distant. I don't really feel like I personally experienced the war. More like it was a story I heard somewhere."
Trevor folded his arms and leaned against the wall. "Man, that deathdream is some pretty freaky stuff."
Celeste let out a sigh of relief. She seemed pretty invested in the whole thing. "Well, sorry to keep you waiting. Thanks for telling us about it. See you tomorrow!"
Celeste stood to go, so Kinson and Trevor waved goodnight. As she went into the dorm, They briefly saw a few of her roommates looking out curiously. One of them, known to them only by her flaming red hair and fiery personality, glared at the two.
"Man, I'm not sure why she hangs out with us," Kinson said, looking over his shoulder as they walked off, "she has more than enough good looks and social skills to be the school diva, but she chooses to hang out with losers like us. It's pretty obvious what the others think"
"I think I know," Trevor looked at Kinson and grinned.
Kinson looked at him sideways. "Really? Is it because your families have been friends for a long time though?"
"Well, our fathers worked together when they were our age, but they haven't been too close since. Not a bad guess though. You'll figure it out sometime." Trevor's grin widened.
"It's been a second since I've seen my own family. I wonder if they're alright…," Kinson sighed..
"Yeah, you should probably check up on them. From what I remember, they seem to be rather, uh, protective," Trevor said, nudging him.
"I guess. I'll reach out to them once we settle this whole advanced study thing."
Forgetting his original question, Kinson happily chatted with Trevor the whole way to their room, their topics ranging from class topics to the latest news. They soon reached their own dorm, which was just a few blocks away from Celeste's and several floors down.
"I'm glad it's just the two of us here. Some of the other students have to cram four in their dorm!" Trevor exclaimed as they walked into the apartment.
The room was small, yet well kept. A bunk took up one wall, and detailed another. A closet, table, and chairs filled up the remaining space rather neatly. Having four people would have pushed the living space from cozy to unbearable. Looking at it now, the only sign of disorder was the top bunk, which clearly hasn't been tended to since the occupant woke up.
"Everything looks great… except your bed. I think you're running three weeks and four days without touching it?" Kinson teased. "I can't believe the son of such a high class family lacks this simple ability."
Trevor threw up his hands dramatically. "Nobody makes their bed, except for you! Why did I get stuck with the only clean freak in the school as a roommate!"
Suddenly, the lights went out. Confused, Kinson pulled out his mobile and checked the time.
"Ah, shoot. 9pm."
"What, already? How did we take so long getting here? Besides, I still don't get why lights out is 9 pm! There must be something wrong with the school board," Trevor complained.
Despite the loud jostling and bumping, the room eventually found silence.