Chapter Text
The leather seat creaked as Josh sat down.
He once read somewhere that the chairs were similar to what dentists had for their patients a few hundred years ago.
He wondered what it’d be like if they still had dentists; there was no need for them now. A simple pill (like what used to be multi vitamins), once swallowed, releases chemicals in the body that fixed anything small that was physically wrong with you (i.e illnesses, acne, tooth decay) so now everyone could have a perfect smile.
Josh can’t imagine how hard life must’ve been before the advancements in science and technology.
To be honest, life is still hard. Only in different ways. Even after all the research and new discoveries, no one had found a cure for depression. Almost all of Earth’s population suffered, including Josh. Which was why he was here now, in this room painted black with red lights shining on him eerily.
He was here for a ‘Dream’.
‘Dreams’ was in fact a new trend that had began not even ten sun cycles ago. With it being so new, and also so controversial, the public naturally discouraged it. They found it immoral. Josh found it the best thing to have ever been invented. It was much better than any other hard drugs he’d tried in the past.
‘Dreams’ was an alternate universe you would be transported to mentally, where anyone else who were also having a ‘Dream’, would be there at the same time, though not always in the same place.
Apparently, it was impossible to feel unhappy in a Dream since it takes you to another part of your brain. It wasn’t a true cure for depression, but it was the next best thing. If Josh had the option to get away from the real world, he was going to take it.
///
He felt nervous. It was his first time to have a ‘Dream’ and the ‘Dream assistant’ could tell. She gave Josh a sympathetic smile before placing her hand gently on Josh’s forehead and pushing him to sit back against the seat.
“My name is Jenna and I will be assisting you today.”
She sounded like a robot and probably was one, too. It was hard to distinguish between androids and humans in today’s society. Josh remembers learning about the war they had had since a lot of humans had started to segregate themselves when androids were first emerging as beings. The robots, well the ones who had developed emotions, rebelled yet neither side won or lost after countless battles (most believed the androids were smart enough to purposely not win). A peace treaty was made, and after all the time that had passed, robots were now generally accepted as being as much a member in society as humans. The only difference after all, was what they were made of physically.
Josh smiled at Jenna who stood over him with perfect posture, her blonde hair tied up, blue eyes sparkling. Josh couldn’t deny her beauty, even if it was artificial.
The android then brandished a large needle containing a purple liquid with bubbles of luminous pink inside. It reminded Josh of one of those old fashioned lava lamps.
“Now Josh, this is the Dream Serum which I will inject into your arm. After ten seconds of drowsiness, you will start to lose consciousness and find yourself in another realm. The place you find yourself in depends on your own personality and cognitive functions. You can then move around and explore this place as well as travel across the realm and meet other people.
There is nothing to be afraid of; this is designed to help you live a life full of peace and happiness.
In your form, you ticked to be in this Dream for 2 hours. After those two hours, you will start to awaken in the real world where I will be waiting for you, as well as checking your vitals constantly.
Any questions?” Jenna finished her speech, which Josh guessed she repeated to each of her clients.
“Is this safe?” His voice broke.
“Absolutely, Josh, there’s nothing to fear.”
Josh then felt a small sharp pain in his arm as the red lights appeared to dim, slowly leaving the room to become completely dark.