As I took my boots off, I couldn't help but chuckle remembering Ola's theatrics. She's intelligent, that much is true, but I had suspicions that she may have a couple of screws loose.
I dug up valuable information from the library but nothing that really explained 'when' this was. I, however, got to confirm that this was earth and the capital is somewhere in the heartlands of Africa. The history of the Empire dated back to 300 years ago and the History of the world dated back to 10,000 years ago. My soul was definitely not pulled back in time, I'm certain that I would remember if there ever was an empire that spanned at least 300 years, boasted of steam & machinery technology and located within the heartlands of Africa. Nothing is said about what happened before 10,000 years ago, but that was a really long time ago so I did not begrudge the library for not having literature on it.
I soaked in the warm bath for a while, compartmentalizing my thoughts and ideas on how to cash in on my memories. There were a couple of innovations from todays newspaper that, when tweaked a little, had the potential of raking in profits. After finalizing on how I would tread for the next few weeks in relation to personal finance, I got out of the bathtub and readied for bed. I still had to figure out what the projection in my mind was, I was too exhausted last night to tinker with it.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Suspended in abstract space, I looked around at the nothingness. I knew I was asleep but what exactly I was to do in this space was still unknown. After a while, I got sick of the darkness and deeply wished there was a light source. The entire space gradually turned white. I marveled at the false omnipotence. Then thought it would be nice having a grand palace, a long table and chairs with ancient patterns for aesthetic purposes here. A monumental, white marbled portico, held by two 20 feet tall, lotus shaped columns snapped into existence. The gateway led to a large pillared courtyard with 20 decorated limestone columns, within which housed a long and ancient, red granite table surrounded by 14 highbacked chairs. A gabled ceiling of monolithic limestone blocks stacked above the limestone columns.
I sat at the head of the large table and pondered what this place was. I understood it was located within an abstract space in my mind but it's exact nature escaped me. I decided to formulate a hypothesis and ride the thought to wherever it may take me.
[ I willed this place into existence but did not imagine every inch of it, nor do I actively maintain it. The design, however, is something from my memories. So this could be a dream.]
The statement got me wondering what dreams fundamentally were. I looked around at the high ceiling and the intricate carvings on the table and thought:
[If my hypothesis is right then I can consider everything around me to be study samples.]
I willed a pen into existence and looked at it hoping to pick something up. I didn't have any particular objective in mind and only hoped that fiddling around would uncover something that would aid in my thought process. I idly wondered whether my 6th sense functioned in my incorporeal body. On switching to it, I was overwhelmed by the sheer intensity of amalgamated sentiments that looked like tides in an ocean below the palace. It took a while adjusting and settling down but I had a lead.
[When people sleep, they no longer restrain their sentiments. Strong sentiments drown out the weak ones and in a large city like this one, hundreds of thousands of sleepers induce millions of strong sentiments forming a sea of collective unconscious. The amalgamation of sentiments interact with the sleepers ; their minds subconsciously try to decode the sentiments by relating them to what the sleeper has in memory, resulting in formation of incoherent images that the sleeper remembers when they wake up. These erratic images and the process of their formation in the sleeper's mind is what we call 'dream'. Because I remain lucid in my sleep, it results in a stable dream that is capable of identifying which sentiments belong to me therefore curving out a region of stable space within the sea of collective unconscious. ] I felt a jolt in my physical mind and my incorporeal body crumbled.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
I opened my eyes and realized it was high noon. I would be late for brunch with Ola. I wondered whether I was the first person to ever pass out in the middle of the sleeping process.
[Last time this happened, I gained a sixth sense that enabled me to better see what people intend to communicate. This was triggered when I comprehended the essence of communication. Last night's incident was triggered after comprehending the essence of dreams. By this logic, an ability should manifest. ]
Even though the prospect of gaining new abilities was exciting, I couldn't help but feel that there existed an underlying disclaimer. I could not possibly be the 1st to experience this. I suspected an entire world existed hidden from the masses. Probably a whole equivalent of a civilization secretly living amongst the citizens of the crown and I needed information. I made a mental note to be on the look out for any bizarre occurrences as I walked down the stairs to meet up with Ola.
I met Ola taking notes as she read through the newspaper and for the first time, I saw her without her travel cloak on. She wore a long sleeved, navy blue, cotton, vintage dress that had a V shaped front with a white vintage corset underneath and brown gloves. Her legs crossed and back straight, she lost herself in her research.
[ I need new clothes ] I thought to my self as I sat across from her. I ordered my breakfast to be brought as I waited for her to finish up. I knew how annoying it was being broken from your reverie. She spoke to me after an hour and made her displeasure known. Somehow this was considered a form of humiliation. I made a mental note to buy an alarm clock. After a long winded apology, she finally let me in on what she had in mind. For starters, she had identified where she wanted her business. A middle-class third grade inventor was seeking funding for his invention, the running machine. She showed me the image of what looked like a crude version of a bicycle and said;
"The name is stupid, it's too expensive, looks clunky and targets the wrong demography. But I have a gut feeling that if properly motivated, the design can be improved resulting in material cost lowering and by extension lowering the final price. I can handle the target market. What I need from you is to get us at least 40% in shares and convince him that everything I do and say is right. This is his home address," she said handing me a piece of paper with an address on it. "I'll go find us a lawyer and rent a place to stay. I suppose this means you are free for the day. Or do you have something to say about my decision?" She said all this with the same air of a person used to making the final decision. It took a while to internalize what she just said but then I agreed with everything she said. I identified the same invention last evening because it was an invention I knew of from my memories. She on the other hand wholly relied on her research, deduction and gut instincts.
"No ma'am, I see no fault in the choices you've made. I can also help improve his designs to lower production." At first she looked like she already expected that I would acknowledge she was right and that the question was simply there as a placeholder conversation. But her face lit up when she heard I could fix the design flaws. I switched to my 6th sense out of curiosity and she radiated a nauseating amount of Γ Smugness ˩.
[yep, definitely got a screw loose. ]
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Since I had what was left of the day all to myself, I decided to go out window shopping, whomever this body belonged to, definitely wasn't the scion of a wealthy family. The inn was located in the middle-class part of town, the streets were wide enough for 3 horse driven carriages to travel side by side and the side streets were made of concrete. I wore a white working shirt with a small collar, an oversized vintage cotton trousers and a pair of working boots. Would have been a perfect dress up to blend into the crowd had the trousers not been 2 inches too short.
After a couple of minutes walking around, I realized I would see nothing here. At the back of my mind, I was on the look out for any indication of something unnatural but this region only mostly offered honest working men and women. Crime ridden areas should have signs of the use of abilities if you are consciously looking for them. The low-class part of town was just the place. I figured crime lords would have access to information uncommon to the masses, and unnatural abilities are right up their alley.
The wide streets thinned and the population ballooned the further down I went into the living spaces of the factories' workers. The air grew stuffy and the lingering smell of rot, decay and alcohol became pronounced the longer you stayed. The low-class region's occupants were made up mostly of these factory workers.
It didn't take long to stumble upon a crime scene. A minor assembly watched the proceeding and I joined them, being two inches taller had its perks. Light continued flashing from the 2nd floor window followed by a harrowing ghostly scream. A man clad in a black leather cloak with a hardened, exhausted face came out of the story building together with a woman who looked to be in her early 30s wearing much the same leather uniform. As I watched them leave and the normal law enforcement taking over the crime scene, I knew it then. There existed so much more in the shadows. I resisted the urge to pursue them until I had more concrete information, who knew what the limits of abilities were, maybe they could kill me just by being conscious of my existence.
I made an inquiry as to who they were, but no one seemed to know whom I was talking about, sending chills down my spine. I was so glad I had enough sense not to follow them. New fear unlocked, I walked back to the inn. By the time I got there, I still had an hour till my scheduled meeting with Ola. I guessed we'd be moving to the place she's rented and continue the briefing then. Working on something mundane that didn't need me to be psychologically present, like room clean up, had always been cathartic for me.
Composed, I walked down to the meeting spot with Ola. She had arrived a couple of minutes early so we just got down to business. She gave me a name, a contact and a new suit. The last one was unexpected. I also suspected she actually got my size right, the woman had frighteningly high perception. The name and contact belonged to our contracted lawyer. I would pay the inventor a visit tomorrow with the lawyer in tow.
Then as expected, she gave the order to move out. I went over to her room and wasn't even surprised that her bags were already packed and waiting for me. After getting all the luggage into a rented carriage, I slid in next to her. She seemed exhausted but satisfied with the much she'd done. As the carriage rode down our new neighborhood, I switched to my 6th sense out of habit since she'd been quiet the whole way. I noticed that she only had Γ Confidence ˩ lingering with Γ Exhaustion˩.
[ She has absolute certainty that I'll not let her down…even though her demands were…eccentric. 'convince him that everything I do and say is right'. She's exhausted from what she's been doing the whole day.] I guessed she also had a habit of making unusually difficult demands for herself too. She worked hard, just as hard as she expects everyone she trusts to.
I projected the blended sentiment Γ Tranquility˩ and Γ Faith ˩. A contented smile crossed her face and I started plotting on how to deliver this crazy woman's demands. I really hoped the comprehension of dream essence came with a useful ability.