Friday, March 07, 2008

Sleepytime

Last night I dreamed I lived in some place ruled by a general who wanted to induct all the children into his army for re-education. The people protested by having their children commit suicide rather than obey. We gathered at what I can best describe as a bizarre open-air ironworks factory circa 1950’s. I was in my late teens and lined up with the children to die, although I had no parents with me and did not believe the military induction to be worse than death. First, the children of the wealthy and influential lined up on a low stone wall and threatened to hang themselves if the general didn’t back down. He didn’t and some stepped into oblivion, although others cried and continued to make threats. We stood sweating under the sun as the two sides shouted rhyming slogans at each other and sang songs about death being preferable to the other side’s ideology.

Then I was sitting in a theatre, an old man, watching a grainy black and white documentary about that bleak day. The narrator said it was a horrible day eventually leading to revolt, and that the survivors should be forgiven if the events drove them mad. No kidding.

Back at the factory, the soldiers had cut down those who died and the parents ordered in the common children to stand behind the wall and resist. The children rushed forward with eager faces as if the entrance gates to the amusement park had just been thrown wide. The general ordered a firing squad, but told them to avoid shooting the remaining children of the wealthy. I lined up but didn’t make it into the factory with the first group. All except the ones lucky enough to be behind the children still standing on the wall with nooses around their necks were shot. Immediately, the parents ordered in replacements, shouting encouragement and telling us all how proud they felt.

In the future (or maybe present), we toured the set constructed for the documentary, which was built next to the rusting carcass of the original factory. People asked me to identify places where I had stood and praised me for being a hero. I didn’t feel like a hero, just somebody who wanted a nap. I politely pointed to the spot where I stood where I survived by cowering behind a teenaged girl who couldn’t bring herself to step off the wall.

The stench of sun-dried blood and clouds of flies surrounded us as we stood under the afternoon sun. I knew that I would survive because I remembered the flashes forward, but the waiting was almost unbearable. The parents ordered us to sit, sing songs, lay across the bodies of the fallen to prevent their removal, and then stand again to bravely face the firing squads to see who would back down first. Instead of moving down the line like a good boy, I stayed behind the girl and told the others to go around. Some were thrilled to be allowed to die for the cause, but a passing girl gave me a look that said she knew she was going forward to die in my place.

Then I rolled over and found myself the year 2015 in a band competing for the top of the charts against a group called Jefferson Tophat. Apparently Jefferson Airplane reformed one more time.

Sleeping for me is essentially a traumatic experience.

12 comments:

Stacy The Peanut Queen said...

Damn. That's dark.

I think yopu need to get liquored up before you go to bed.

Really....if you drink enough, you won't dream....or at least you won't remember the dreams you do dream.

Preity Angel... said...

What a lovely dream.. haha

Monogram Queen said...

Grant that is one of the most bizarro dreams I have ever read and your total recall is amazing!

Okami said...

A family member of mine recalled vivid dreams after every return from active duty.

Now he comes to expect them.

Maybe stop eating so many potatoes before bed? :)

Memphis said...

I've been having dreams like that lately. Sleeping isn't just a job anymore, it's an adventure.

Kerry said...

Dang! What did you eat before you went to bed!!??!

Lay off the bean burritos. lol

Leesa said...

As a rule, I don't talk about dreams on my blog. After reviewing your dream on a dream interpretation website, apparently you are post-menopausal. Er, maybe these websites don't really work.

Tai said...

Yeah, I have dreams like that. But at least MY dreams don't include Jefferson Airplane, geesh.

Anonymous said...

That dream reminded me of a scene from a movie I once saw. I think Toshiro Mofune was in it....

Anyway! Satan must be annoyed with your offerings to give you crappy dreams like that.

I posted about sleep too. How weird is that?

Grant said...

All - work is preventing normal blogging. In the meantime, please know that I am cuter than you. :p

Adrianne said...

OMG very dark and frightening but well written. Thats what you get for drinking coke before bed.

Spider Girl said...

I used to keep pretty detailed dream journals, and when I reread them I can't help but notice the amount of dreams featuring zombie armies, serial killers, and me running around hiding bodies.

I like to think it's made me the calm non-serial- killer type that I am. I figure my subconscious just doesn't want me to get all pent up.This is most likely a good thing.