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5.Dreaming

15 years ago

Juni’s dream was brief but poignant. It simply told itself to be careful who it played with, while appearing as a human-Kayohash hybrid. The physical Juni, on the other hand, suddenly found itself without limbs, like a slug. Perhaps this was a warning to not “play with” Kali Rosha, but more likely it was because Juni had become tangled up in its sheets. Either way, it woke up with a start as it fell out of bed.

More surprising than the dream, however, was the realization that it could remember the last time it had such a bizarre dream (which apparently involved being taken apart, along with some odd variations in its anatomy), and could even remember many other things, like how to call Tamu on a data node, where they normally met for morning caffeine, and the various units of time. It did not, however, remember to wear clothing in public.

After such an embarrassing public spectacle, Juni and Tamu decided it would be best to visit campus; Juni wanted to speak with the simulation again, realizing that it suddenly had many memories unique to the simulation’s existence. Tamu wanted instead to determine what quirk of physiology allowed Juni to “hear” the simulation directly — as well as to allow the safety protocol to still work, as the neural interface had been removed long before — and anyway the simulation had to be reset due to Juni’s catastrophic interaction with it.

As Tamu and Lieutenant Sasha Tzernikov (one of his technicians) readied an energy modulator, Juni pondered the series of events which led it to where it was. It easily remembered everything it thought about, such as the fact it was hatched outside of The South and as such could not attain tenure in the para-militaristic academic oligarchy that was in control of Unity. As Tamu primed the emitter, however, Juni could smell Tamu’s voice.

The experiment progressed, and as the signal gained strength, so did the distress caused by the resulting synaesthesic sensations. As these things often do, it culminated in Juni passing out and having a seizure, and once again, Juni found itself dreaming.

This second dream was much more complex; Juni again spoke with itself, and again the other-self appeared as a human-Kayohash hybrid. Its dream-self implored it to remember that which it could not, the information locked up in its brain about the humans and Unity and its past and intended future. In a stronger plea, the dream-Juni appeared as a platypus, a figment of its genetic past.

Juni and the dream-Juni imagined flying to the hub of Unity, and pondered its reality and origin. A faint plea came from the hub, “please help us,” as the dream-self appeared as something between platypus and Kayohash.

Finally, with the last gasp of this dream, Juni’s subconscious implored that Juni try to find itself, and Juni once again awoke under the care of Dr. Liam Goldberg.

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