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The Story of Promiseum - Dream Walker

Chapter Nine - Finding Answers

By Llwyd L. BreninPublished 3 years ago 13 min read
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The Story of Promiseum - Dream Walker
Photo by J-Photos on Unsplash

"When I was younger and very ambitious," he started. "I had a fascinating dream. Mostly everything was dark, but there was a voice. My voice! He was telling me things to study. Physics, electronics, engineering, even books on dream theory. It took me four years to master those, plus other fields to put me ahead of the game. Like I said, I was very ambitious. After that, he started describing diagrams and blueprints a piece at a time. I had to memorize them and draw them out. I added improvements, of course. While I built that machine, I was building another, more powerful machine. When the first machine was finished, I built the first dream chamber with improvements from the blueprints.

"I'm guessing this has something to do with 'Walker from the dream,'" Danny said. "But why would he want you to build these machines?"

"I'm getting to that," Walter said. “Now it was time to turn on the machine and activate the dream chamber. I didn't know it at the time, but the dream chamber I built was an exact replica of one already built. The only noticeable difference was the man now standing in the room with me. His name is Walker, and yes, he's my double from the other side. That's why he contacted me. He explained his theories about the universe splitting, the veil of Dreams, and the medial barrier. At the time, we didn't know about the medial spirits or that the medial barrier was a realm of its own. He helped me find certain people to put together a group of scientists. Some were already scientists, while some weren't, but he helped me train them.”

"Why go through all the trouble?" Danny asked. "I mean, he already had a team of scientists. Why get their doubles involved?"

"He was trying to find a way through the medial barrier," Walter said. "And he wanted to try out a theory he had about our doubles. Since we are connected, it's easier to reach our doubles. He wanted to use that to break through the medial barrier. With the technology and power he gained from that, he hoped to rule both of the worlds."

"So, he's the arrogant 'SOB' you were talking about?" Danny asked.

"No," Walter said, "I was talking about myself. You see, I saw more potential than he did. I knew that the medial barrier had to contain a power greater than we could imagine. I connected my machine directly to the medial barrier in an attempt to take the power for myself. I thought, why rule the world as a king when you could control the universe as a god? I was such a fool!"

"So, what happened?" Danny asked. "It didn't work?"

"No, it worked," Walter said. “I charged myself up with medial energy a little at a time. The power was intoxicating. I felt like I was becoming a god. Then everything came crashing down. My wife was one of the scientists. I loved her more than my own life, but I sent her to perform a hazardous experiment. I guess I thought since I was practically a god, nothing would happen to her. She died painfully and alone, and there was nothing I could do."

"Is that why you switched sides?" Danny asked.

"Not exactly," he said. “But it's part of it. I no longer had a reason to live. My wife was gone. It was my fault, and I couldn't bring her back. I wanted to end it all. I tried to end my life, but the medial energy wouldn't let me die. So, I used my machine to project my dream self into the medial realm and create a feedback loop that would destroy the entire universe. Then she showed up. At first, I thought she was my wife, but it was her double. She was more patient and caring than her counterpart. I fell in love all over again, and she helped me see the error of my ways. After that, I vowed to stop Walker and make things right.”

"What about Lancel?" Danny asked. "How does he fit into all of this?"

"Lancel's from the other side," Walter said. "He's both of us combined plus his mother. Lancel has more physical energy from that side, but he's the first to cross the medial barrier. He also knows the most about medial spirits, well after you. From what I hear, you practically are one. Anyway, I learned about him years later. She carried back a part of me, but Walker defiled her. She died shortly after giving birth. Almost twenty-two years ago, he made it here, and you pretty much know the rest of the story."

"What about this sleep clinic?" Danny asked.

"Remember the team of scientists I mentioned?" he asked. "When Walker and I became enemies, they all chose sides. We each have allies on both sides, as well as enemies. The group at the asylum is what's left of our enemies here. They're probably holding him there until they can figure out how to get him back across."

"Then, that's where I'll start," Danny said. "But I need some allies myself.”

Before starting his "mission," Danny stopped by his apartment to tell his mom and Emily what had happened. They didn't take the news well, but he assured them that he would not rest until Lancel was safe. Then he went to the veil of dreams to get answers and some help.

He had a feeling that he would need all he could get. He learned that at least two spirits were helping them. One was a lesser spirit, but one was more powerful than he should be.

Merlin told him that medial spirits were helping them, but he didn't know how many. Danny pointed out that they shouldn't be able to do much to help them. They certainly shouldn't be able to give extra energy to a spirit. But Merlin and Gary both told him that there was a machine creating a new kind of connection, allowing more than one medial spirit to supply the energy. Danny stopped by Walter's to tell him what he had learned.

"It sounds like an experiment I've already done," Walter said. "It wasn't a failed experiment, but not really something I needed. If that's his game, I have just the thing. Whatever you're planning on doing, Danny, be careful! This is dangerous stuff."

"I will," Danny said, "but I won't get any more answers without going there myself. First, I need to stop by the medial realm, though.

"So, he went through his dream door and was gone. When Danny got to the medial realm, he went to his garden. He wasn't sure why, but he knew he had to go there. When he looked around, he realized the garden had changed. It seemed to be a lot bigger. At least twenty-five total acres. The tree in the middle was still there, but it was also more prominent. It still had the bench around it, and the ground was paved in Cobble Stone in a ten-foot radius around the tree. Around that, Cobblestone paths were leading out in different directions. The koi pond was in the same spot; however, it was no longer at the garden's edge. It was also bigger and had a beautiful antique-looking fountain in the middle. Danny looked around. There were now all varieties of fruit and nut trees everywhere, along with more flowers and greenery. It was no longer the simple garden he remembered. It was a paradise!

"What do you think?" A familiar voice asked.

Recognizing his own voice, Danny turned to see his medial spirit in physical form again.

"How are you in physical form again?" Danny asked. “I didn't know you could change forms without me.

"I can't," he answered, “but this garden that we created isn't just a world that we made. It's part of us. We can be or do anything we want here."

"So, you made all of these changes?" Danny asked.

"Yes," He answered. “Well, technically, we made them together. You designed this in your subconscious because it's a place you will need. I just made the changes for you. When you're ready, you'll know what we made it for. There's also a much larger space outside the gate surrounding this garden, but right now, it's empty. When we're ready for it, we'll change it to what we need."

"Thank you," Danny said. "I didn't realize until just now, but I do have a use for both of them. But that's not why I'm here, is it?"

"No," he said, "you need information. You remember the squirrels we saw before?"

"Yes," Danny said.

"They're actually Essentials from the left side," he said. “They are called Snip and Snap, and they are the twin spirit Essentials attached to Sing and Song."

"They're attached to sing and song?" Danny asked in surprise. “But Sing and Song are birds! "It's too complicated to explain the whole thing now, so I'll try to simplify it," he said. “Basically, all lesser (or dream) spirits come from children still attached to us when we split. When your mother and father's medial spirits merged, so did their children. Snip and Snap were from your father's, while Sing and Song were from your mother's."

"So, they're like my brothers and sisters?" Danny asked.

"In a way," he said, "I guess they are. But they have information from the other side, for you.

"Danny turned to look at the squirrels. They just looked like ordinary squirrels. But Sing and Song just looked like ordinary birds, so he decided to introduce himself.

"Snip. Snap. Nice to meet you," Danny said.

"I'm Snip. She's Snap,” Snip said. "But it's a pleasure anyway."

"Yes," said Snap, "it's always a pleasure to meet someone so famous. Especially one powerful enough to create worlds such as this."

"Thank you," Danny said. "Do you have information for me?"

"Yes, we do," said Snip. "Things are not good on the other side," Snap added.

"I can imagine," Danny said. "Please tell me about it."

"Well," Snip started. "It's horrible the way they treat us," Snap interrupted. "They have new technology," Snip continued. "And they do horrible experiments on us too," Snap said.

"Wait a minute," Danny said. "One at a time, please. What are you trying to tell me?"

"Sorry,” Snip said. "Maybe this will help," said Snap.

With that, they turned to face each other, stood on their back feet, and put their paws together. There was a sort of shimmer effect, followed by a bright flash of light. The flash was bright enough to make Danny close his eyes for a minute. When he opened his eyes, Snip and Snap were gone. In their place was a giant squirrel half the size of himself.

"I didn't know twin spirits could do that," Danny said.

"Of course, we can," he said. “Usually only in our home dream, but this is our home now."

"So, what did you want to tell me?" Danny asked.

"They have these machines that allow them to enter and move through the dream veil," He said. "They also have machines that allow them to capture us for experiments or to hurt us if we get in the way. We tried to fight them. At first, we could drive them away, but now we don't stand a chance."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Danny said." Is there anything I can do?"

"Not yet," he said. "First, you have to save your father. He's at your asylum for now. They don't know how to get him back across yet, but it's a matter of time. They're learning to manipulate the energy. And if Walker gets him, not even you can help us."

"I'll have to make sure that doesn't happen," Danny said. "Is there anything else?"

"Yes," he said. "With the help of a powerful new machine and a few spirits, they managed to capture a medial spirit. The machine can focus its energy to form connections between other medial spirits. These connections can be used to supply massive amounts of energy to another spirit. That's how they found and captured your father."

"They captured a medial spirit!" Danny exclaimed. "I didn't think that was possible. I didn't even know that they knew about medial spirits. This changes everything. I have to talk to Walter again and form a new plan. Thank you for your help."

"You're welcome," he said, "but remember you must save your father first. He's their key to unlocking everything, including the medial spirits."

Then there was another flash of light, and the next thing Danny saw was Snip chasing Snap up the tree and out of sight. Danny thanked his medial spirit again and left the medial realm. He stopped by Walter's to update him on what happened. Then it was time to rescue Lance.

There was a lot more security at the asylum now. But still, no one was guarding the wall. Danny couldn't reach the door he left inside, so he used the pair he left at the wall. There were more guards inside too. When Danny entered through the back door, he had to immediately put two guards to sleep. Then, another one in the stairwell on the way down. He went door to door, looking in through the little windows. He passed the room Jonathan was in. It was still out of commission. The building seemed more like a maze than when he was here, but he finally found what he was looking for. Near the stairwell from the lobby, there was a secret hall disguised as a janitor's closet.

Danny was looking around the corner about to go for the door when he felt a hand on his shoulder. His reaction was almost instantaneous as he grabbed the wrist and twisted it. At the same time, Danny turned around and brought the relatively large man to his knees in a wrist lock. He made the guy sleep, but he didn't want him to be found too soon. So, he made a dream door, charged him with medial energy, and put him in the veil of dreams.

When the next person went in, Danny entered behind her. There were three people in the hall now. Danny put them to sleep and hid them in the veil of dreams also. Now that he was in, Danny could feel Lancel's energy. The central lab was straight ahead, but Lancel wasn't in there. He was in the room to the left. It was a prep room attached to the central lab.

When Danny found him, he was strapped to a table. This table, however, was adjusted in the vertical position, so he was almost standing up while he was still strapped to the table. Danny checked him out. He was okay, just asleep. When Danny woke him, he was surprised to see Danny but relieved at the same time. Danny unstrapped him and explained everything. Then he gave him the energy he saved and changed his energy signature to match the medial spirit.

"I can't make a door in here," Danny said, "something's blocking it. But I have one in the hall. When you get through, go straight to the medial realm. Wait for me by the tree, in the garden. You'll be safe there. He watched the other door until Lancel was gone.

Danny turned to leave when the hair stood up on the back of his neck. That's weird, he thought as he walked towards the door. The next thing he knew, there was a tingling sensation as everything went black.

Sci Fi
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About the Creator

Llwyd L. Brenin

The stories that you see labeled chapter one - chapter sixteen are chapters from my completed book, The story of Promiseum - Dream Walker. So if you decide to escape to my fantasy world, start with chapter one and read them in order.

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