ataraxion | 002 | Voice | Text → Scout, Blake, Murphy

[ An audio transmission kicks on around four in the morning. Cibo sounds out of breath and her voice is shaking. There's not much other than the shuffling of sheets. ]

Every time I fall into my restful state, I have these terrible... visions.

[ More shuffling. She sniffs up her runny nose. Sounds juicy. Gross. Then a cough. Now it's obvious that her voice was dry and suffering from the exhaustion. ]

In them, I'm in The City again. Killy is still gone, passengers of the Tranquility are there and the Safeguard have — I just feel like we're all really there. That we're all...

[ Her voice trails off. A small hum and the occasional zapping sound of her electrical prod breaks the silence and coaxes her to speak over it. ]

I've never felt like this before. Never so... I'm so tired. Can someone please tell me what this means? What's happening to me? Why do they feel so real?

[ The transmission cuts. Text to follow. ]

I am looking for RESNIK or WARD regarding my wire-cables for connection to the Tranquility's technology. Sulu said that they may be able to help me. I am also still looking for XAVIER or DATA for information on the Science Department. I have already spoken with Doctor Elizabeth Ross, but I am looking for further confirmation.

TEXT → SCOUT
Are you up? I thought of you first. Are you okay?

TEXT → BLAKE
This message may be interrupting your sleep-pattern, but I am concerned. How are you doing?

TEXT → MURPHY
If you are awake, please reply. I have questions that I feel you would be able to answer.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[Murphy's sleep schedule has been all over the place these days. So when he gets a text, he's already partially awake.]

What's up?

The visions when I rest. They look like memories, but they aren't really. Do you know what they are?

What, you mean dreams?

Dreams. Is that what they are called? You were in them.

Yeah?

What was it about?

[Sarina is hesitant to respond to this, because she was all to familiar with what this woman was experiencing; she herself went through it almost every night. Granted, they were probably far worse dreams than what Cibo was having.]

Did you have something terrible happen to you recently? Heeheehee? Or sometime in your past?

[Realizing that she probably came off as nosier than she intended, her tone starts to back pedal.]

Ah, not that I need specifics, but it-- [A short pause follows, as she briefly deliberated relating her own experiences, but decided against it.] --it happens.

[Because being vague about important topics was what she was all about.]

Edited 2012-08-30 09:20 (UTC)

The Safeguard had found our location. They killed you.

Oh.
Well, I'm not dead.
Is that it?

It felt so real. I could taste the metal in the air again. I felt the heat of your blood on my skin.

Then I felt my mind disconnect from my body into the back-up space as the Safeguard tore me apart. I don't believe your mind did this though. You were still only human.

No, I die a lot in my dreams, too. It's no big deal.

Sounds to me like you were having a vivid dream. That happens sometimes when you sleep.
You've never dreamt like this before?

I do not normally have these dreams. My body simply shuts down for a few hours. I have never seen anything during my rest before.

They are normal then? What do they mean?

Before you came here, you mean?

I don't know. Normally you dream of things that you think about before you go to sleep. Most of the time you can't really control them.

I have only rested one or two times since my arrival, but before this place I did not dream. I was not intentionally thinking of The City before I went to sleep. Or you. Or the others that were present. It was just a vision that began and startled me awake. I remembering being very panicked.

What is the feeling when you are excited and panicked like that? It was not pleasant.

[It's 4 am. Do you know where your girlfriend is?

Scout rolls over and clears his throat, rubbing his face before looking at the glowing screen. She knows none of this, the response being in text.]

i am now

i'm fine

u ok?

You might've been subconsciously thinking about some things that's been going on recently. We can't always control what our minds do when we sleep.

What you were having was probably more like a nightmare, actually. It's like a dream, but sometimes you wake up feeling scared.

Nightmare is a sort of dream? Then what is a normal dream like?

I think I was scared then. Is there a better explanation for an intense feeling of being scared?

I do not think so. The visions were very bad and startled me from resting. I feel panicked like something is very wrong.

It's a little hard to explain. Sometimes it's nicer, but not all the time. You don't wake up feeling as scared after a normal dream, at least. It can be weird and confusing, too.

I'm not sure what else to call it. I guess afraid, or terrified works - all pretty much the same thing on a different scale, really.

Seriously, dreams and fear... you've never dealt with this stuff before?

sounds like a nightmare

u want to sleep here? [?He has to be up in a couple hours anyway, why not?]

No. I have not. I assume that, because they cause the body to weaken, however they are triggered has been suppressed subconsciously or genetically over generations of cloning. That is my only theory.

In normal circumstances, like in my dream, I would not have felt scared. I would have felt a rush or panic. But only for the benefit of my own survival. My adrenaline would be used to numb pain from wounds, or give stamina for fighting. Or running.

[ The voice that answers is politely curious. Gentle and young and vaguely concerned. ]

You speak of dreams. Or— [ A pause. ] —nightmares, if they disquiet.

I may feel more physically comfortable sleeping with you but I am not sure it will prevent it from happening again. This has never happened before so I am confused. I will try it though. Can I come now?

If nightmares are the negative of the action, then that is what it was. But why did that happen? I've never seen such a thing before.

Edited 2012-08-30 11:35 (UTC)

Never have you dreamt before? [ That concern colors with confusion. ] That is— I am unfamiliar with such a thing. Though they say dreams are the voice of the soul, speaking.

The soul? Are you talking about the mind? The brain? The pattern of thought? Because it seemed that the nightmare was reading my memory and placing people I have recently spoken to into the environment. It felt very real...

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002 | Voice | Text → Scout, Blake, Murphy

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