“Undaunted” is book #6 in the Dreamscape Conspiracy series. The cover image is a working image until something better strikes my fancy. There are several sub-stories within Undaunted, and I’ve pulled one to share with readers. Here’s a slice of context…
Wayne has an innovative brainstorm, as has been known to happen, and has roped Dr. Celeste Killington into the role of an unsuspecting guinea pig for an experiment that, if successful, opens another path to explore with the next generation of Dreamscape. No spoiler here…but a lot can happen in 8.3 seconds.
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Nothing Like an Adventure
“Dreamscape surprised me once again by capturing brain activity outside of active REM dreams in a critically injured, comatose Marine, and even after his death. Knowing what we discovered makes me believe Dreamscape can do more if we’re adventurous enough to try.” Wayne said, chumming for some sign of interest.
“That sounds like a challenge,” said Celeste, now silently cheering his initiative.
“You don’t know this yet, but perhaps you do – not much remains a secret around her for very long. I’ve already tried something new, and it worked. It adds another dimension to a dream that not only stimulates sensation but delivers the physiological sensations firsthand. You feel the dream, not just dream it.
AIMEE worked with me to capture physiological sensations in dream maps and brain patterns previously captured in Dreamscape. Those captured patterns were used to replicate sensations in a transferrable inserted into a sleeping person using NeuroNet.
AIMEE oversaw the operation of Dreamscape while I played the guinea pig. The transferrable lasted 8.3 seconds, simulating the sensation an organic would experience firsthand, even though the source was a vivid dream. Reflecting on what we accomplished outside of a sleeping dreamer with Delaney’s son, I wondered if we could replicate an experience while awake. To validate my theory, I need to test it.
I want to conduct a test in which Dreamscape transmits a transferrable into a waking participant’s brain using NeuroNet. If that test is successful, that will serve as proof of concept.
Next, baseline field tests should be conducted at the hospital on select volunteers. Gaining access to Carteret County Memorial Hospital and local support are critical success factors, and someone with the inside track, like yourself, needs to be our face and sell the opportunity to be part of another breakthrough innovation. Are you in?”
Wayne fell silent and watched Celeste for a reaction to his ideas, wondering where her questions were that she had lined up, because she had not asked a single one. Was he that convincing?
Celeste finally asked, but it did not sound like the question was older than his last statement. “Who will be part of this testing you want to conduct?”
Wayne said, “I’d like the participant to be the same person who is tasked to sell the concept to Dr. Delaney. Nothing could be more convincing than firsthand experience with the concept. Are you up for an 8.3-second event?”
Her eyes locked on Wayne’s, and she said, “I could die a hundred deaths in 8.3 seconds. It sounds rather ominous to be honest.”
“You don’t know me well enough to accept my promise, but trust me, it’s harmless …if it works. You don’t have to sleep and dream; you’ll be in the sleep station with NeuroNet on your head, and wide awake. If it works, you will experience an 8.3-second event.”
“What’s the event?” she asked pointedly.
Wayne shook his head. “To keep bias out of the equation, I cannot answer that question. It might not even work on someone wide awake. If it does, we are headed toward another CSU breakthrough, and it will bear your name. C’mon. Let’s go down to the sleep station and get you hooked up.”
When Wayne had NeuroNet connected to Dreamscape and placed on Celeste’s head, he gave final instructions. “Lie back on the chaise and relax. Eyes open or eyes closed is up to you. We’re only talking 8.3 seconds, so you should survive without a scratch. Okay?”
Celeste nodded, “Let’s do this.”
Wayne handed her the latest enhancement to Dreamscape 3.0 —a handheld remote. He pointed to the play button and said, “When you press play, Dreamscape downloads the transferrable into the NeuroNet interface, and your event will be live…if it works.”
Wayne headed out of the room and said, “Take a minute. Get your head right. Relax. Just push play when you’re ready. I’ll be back in a sec.”
Celeste took a deep breath, then let it out as she paused her thumb over the play icon. She was not a fan of trusting anyone who subjected her to an experiment in which she was the guinea pig, with no advance guidance, expectations, or advanced knowledge beyond ‘push play when your head is right.’
Wayne stepped out of the Sleep Station and headed to the Observation Station, where the Dreamscape 3.0 databases tracked all aspects of Celeste’s experience…if she had one. Celeste tried unsuccessfully to relax but took the plunge and pushed Play. He watched Celeste closely as she launched what he hoped would be a successful transfer of 8.3 seconds of the physiological sensations and emotional context of an orgasm as experienced by an organic.
Nothing happened. Celeste opened her eyes and questioned if she had actually pushed play. She had, and nothing happened…until it did, and the transferrable delivered spectacularly. The Dreamscape hardware and monitors danced with signals captured by the NeuroNet. He watched her entire body respond, stiffening, arching her neck to press back into the headrest, further proof that Celeste was under the influence of a righteous orgasm for the entire 8.3 seconds.
Wayne returned to the Sleep Station moments later, excited to confirm the results he anticipated, vibrating nervously to hear what Celeste experienced, and asked, “Well?”
Celeste sat up, removed the NeuroNet, fluffing her hair before looking up at Wayne and confessing in a near whisper, “I think I just got laid.”
Wayne sat back and laughed, nodding his head. “I almost peed a little when you said you could die a hundred deaths in 8.3 seconds. I knew that was an exaggeration, but a righteous La Petite Mort would count as one spectacular, momentary near-death event, and you only need one of those to lock down a memory. Congratulations, you survived.”
“You are one sneaky son of a bitch, Wayne Fitzpatrick. It feels like this was a setup where you scripted the whole thing. You planted a seed and tricked me into this test. You boldly ask me how long it’s been since I’ve been laid, and then drop this on me when you knew all along it would work. I feel like I’ve been gamed.”
Wayne pushed back. “Hey, I honestly didn’t know it would work. I was fairly confident it should work, but I needed someone like you who had never been hooked up to NeuroNet and Dreamscape to experience it with no expectations, plus, you were not gamed, you were laid in 8.3 seconds.”
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