The Dream Sanctum: The Eternal World (6 page)

“So the Creators of the Dream Sanctum are also
the ones responsible for the creation of the universe in its entirety. Is that
your claim?”

Lackthorpe glanced around uncertainly, then
nodded.

“A bold claim to make, especially considering
the universe is far, far older than the Sanctum,” Kwin pressed. “But with a
bold claim comes bold evidence. How did you manage to connect the two?”

“It’s simple! Our universe and the Dream
Sanctum were created under similar circumstances. In this case we have direct
evidence that Creators exist. Our universe doesn’t have such proof, but why
should it not be so?”

“The absence of evidence for one theory does
not solidify another,” Kwin reminded him. “But let’s get to the crux of the
matter. I believe that we as individuals in the Sanctum have a very real impact
on the world, whereas you claim it is static and cannot be affected but anyone
bur the Creators. Am I right?”

“Correct! Just think about it, ladies and
gentlemen.” Lackthorpe turned to the crowd and gestured to everyone in front of
him. “Can we hurt one another? Can we hurt the world we live in? Absolutely
not. The only things we can affect are ourselves.”

“And yet multiple dreamers, including myself,
were able to initiate a reset of the Sanctum when we defeated the Nightmares,”
Kwin replied. “Also remember that the Nightmares themselves were created by
dreamers just like you and… well, like you. According to ‘Successes and
Failures of Combined Creations,’ which I’m sure you’ve read, these creations
could affect the world however they pleased.”

“Now wait just a moment,” Lackthorpe said. He
was starting to sound frustrated, but was doing everything in his power to
remain cordial. “Those changes to the world were brought about by the
creations, not the creators.”

“Precisely,” Kwin answered. As she turned back
to the crowd, Lackthorpe’s face turned pink as he realized what he had said.
“There are limitations on all of us, but that does not mean we can do nothing.
Multiple times in history dreamers have come up with ingenious ideas to change
and protect the world. We haven’t heard from the Creators for thousands of
years. If they are still here, they are uninvolved in our affairs. We, the
dreamers, have been the ones taking care of this world.”

A burst of applause drowned out anything
Lackthorpe was going to say. Before the noise died down completely, Kwin
continued.

“From a more technical perspective, we must
have at least some input in the world. I believe that the world acts as a hub
for our communication; after all, this is where we all come together, right? So
in order for that exchange of information to happen – whatever or however that
may be – the world needs to acknowledge us and connect us somehow.”

“Your theory doesn’t explain how we get here
or how we communicate!” Lackthorpe exclaimed. “Whereas I have already explained
that the world is a separate universe, and that we enter this world as our
subconscious travels to it.”

“I’m glad you touched on that, professor. Does
your theory account for the different stages of the sleep cycle and how we are
able to remain here as long as we want, despite each sleep cycle lasting only
an hour and a half? Also, what
is
the
unconscious mind, and how does it travel anywhere?”

Lackthorpe’s face was turning red, and the men
behind him were frantically flipping through their books and speaking to each other
in hushed tones. Kwin turned back to face the crowd.

“I’ll let them check on that. In the meantime,
I’d like to offer some ideas of my own. As you know, the sleep cycle is broken
up into five stages. REM sleep is where you’re most likely to dream, but it
doesn’t last long. Yet here we are, sometimes for hours on end. I believe this
is because the Sanctum functions like a mind itself, not a dream. In essence,
our sleep cycle is determined by the mind of the Sanctum, not our own.”

“That sounds incredibly unhealthy, just
changing your sleep schedule arbitrarily like that,” Lackthorpe scoffed. “Your
brain works the way it does for a reason!”

“This is a dream, however. Despite the
differences, even if we are here, our brains still proceed through the different
stages as they normally do. We just aren’t affected by it. As far as my
evidence suggests, our brains experience no change whether we’re in the Sanctum
or not.”

“Oh? And I suppose you’ve had your own brain
monitored to prove this,” the professor challenged.

“I have. Every day for eleven months while I
was in a coma.”

Lackthorpe froze, suddenly at a loss for
words. A few people booed, but Kwin raised her hand to silence them.

A girl near the stage raised her hand, and
Kwin pointed to her.

“Yes?”

“I don’t mean to interrupt, but what is that
thing you said? REM sleep?”

“Excellent question. REM stands for ‘rapid eye
movement,’ and it is sometimes called
paradoxical
sleep
. It is the cycle during which dreams are most likely to occur, though
they have also been known to occur during the first and third stages as well.”

The professor nodded vigorously as the girl
thanked Kwin. Kwin then turned back to the table at the men flipping through
their notes.

“I’ve gone and rambled long enough. Were you
able to find an answer to how our unconscious minds travel to this different
dimension of yours?”

“I… we… we don’t know for certain yet,”
Lackthorpe said between gritted teeth.

“That’s okay! I don’t have all the answers
either. But there must be something that led you to that particular conclusion
over, say, another theory. What pointed you in that direction?”

“Because the subconscious mind is what is
responsible for dreams, so that must be it.”

“That could technically be true, but it
doesn’t explain how or why it supposedly
travels
anywhere. You haven’t quite explained that part yet.”

“The brain isn’t even completely understood by
science yet. It’s very possible that it can do things we don’t even realize
yet,” Lackthorpe said hotly. “After all, we’re here, aren’t we?”

“We are indeed. But we’re not debating whether
or not the mind is capable of incredible things. We’re here because you have a
theory so established you felt capable of explaining it to the world. Here,
maybe I can help. If you would, may I see your notes?”

Lackthorpe looked like he wanted to incinerate
Kwin with his glare alone, but then he seemed to realize the situation was
hopeless. He slowly grabbed his notebook and handed it to Kwin, who took it
eagerly and flipped through the pages. As she did so, her expression changed
from excitement to puzzlement.

“Professor, there must be some mistake. This
notebook is blank. Why did you bring a blank notebook to your presentation?”

“I will not be insulted like this!” Lackthorpe
snapped. He snatched the notebook from Kwin’s hands and took a step closer to
her. “You are trying to humiliate me, and I’m not going to stand for it!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir,”
Kwin said nervously. “I haven’t said anything to insult you. I’ve done nothing
but explain to everyone how intelligent and–”

“You know exactly what you’re doing, child,”
he hissed. “You said you were going to support us. I should have known.”

Kwin seemed to be through playing now, and she
laughed. By now the crowd was roaring and booing so loudly it was difficult to
hear her, and Lackthorpe’s anger was quickly succumbing to fear.

“Yes, you should. You disrespected me and my
work, so I thought I’d return the favor. But you see, this is where the
difference between you and me lies. While it took you thirteen men behind the
safety of closed doors to take down one
child
,
the only thing I needed to do to disgrace you was get you to open your own
mouth. If it’s any consolation, your reputation was dead the moment you laughed
me out of your room.”

By that point the din was too loud to hear
anything else, and Lackthorpe turned away, furiously gesturing at his
companions that it was time to leave. The city itself seemed to rumble in the
din, and even Kwin seemed slightly intimidated by the noise. She placed a hand
on a nearby chair to steady herself, looking slightly dizzy.

“Wow, these people are really passionate about
a beautiful takedown,” Ella called over the noise, but stopped when she noticed
Alastor’s face. Far from looking pleased, he was visibly concerned. “What is
it? Are you okay?”

“We need to get out of the city, right now,”
Alastor said hurriedly. “Ella, go with Lindsay and Kai, fly straight up and
don’t stop until you’re safely above the towers. I’m going to get Kwin. Go!”

Without another word, Alastor vanished,
appearing next to Kwin on the stage and whispering in her ear. Kwin’s eyes
widened, and a moment later a deafening crack echoed around the city at the
snap of her fingers. The crowd fell silent immediately and turned their eyes to
her, but to Kai’s growing horror and understanding, the rumbling continued.

“Everyone, get out of the city!” Kwin ordered.
“Fly, run or wake up, whatever you have to do, just get out
now
.”

“I think we should listen to her,” Lindsay
suggested hastily. The other two nodded and took to the sky as quickly as they
could. Below them, those in the crowd who could fly came after them while those
who couldn’t sprinted for the gates in a panic or vanished as they fled to the
real world.

The rumbling grew in intensity, and it seemed
to come from the earth and sky itself. Once they were safely high above the
city, Kai looked around fervently, looking for the source of the sound, but he
couldn’t see anything unusual. Beside him, Lindsay gripped his hand tightly in
hers. Her eyes were shut tight and she was breathing heavily.

“Are you feeling it again?” Kai asked, and
Lindsay nodded, keeping her eyes firmly closed. Kai placed his other hand on
hers, but said nothing. He didn’t know what he
could
say.

“Look,” Kwin called, pointing down to the
city. Kai looked, and immediately wished he hadn’t.

The towers of the city were swaying from side
to side, and the very ground far below them seemed to vibrate. As the seconds
passed it only became louder and louder, and suddenly, with a horrendous
splintering and ripping sound, a massive crack appeared in city’s square,
slowly working its way from the gates, past the stairs and up one of the
towers. This was followed by the sound of hundreds of glass windows shattering
simultaneously and the crumbling of debris. A glittering cascade of broken
glass fell to the ground, vanishing into the dust quickly rising from the
collapsing buildings throughout the city. Kai couldn’t tear his eyes away.
Lindsay whimpered and Kai pulled her close, praying to anything that might be
listening that it would stop.

A few terrifying seconds later, the earth fell
silent. The only sounds came from the last few rocks, bricks and bits of glass
falling to the ground. And then, after a moment of painful silence, there came
the wails of despair from thousands of people who had just witnessed the
destruction of their beloved city.

Kwin was the first to regain her voice, but it
shook when she spoke, and she looked completely stricken.

“We should go. Let’s land and wake up. Please.”

There was no disagreement. Kwin darted to the
ground safely outside the city walls. As soon as she made sure that everyone
had landed safely, she vanished.

“Let’s get out of here, yeah?” Kai said to
Lindsay, still holding her hand. She nodded feverishly and disappeared
instantly.

Kai was quick to follow, and he woke quickly,
pulling himself out of bed and into the hall. Lights were already going on
across the floor, and the manor’s tired residents stumbled out of their rooms.
He met up with Lindsay in the hall and headed towards the entertainment room
where he heard raised voices.

“…scariest thing I’ve seen my whole time
there, I thought you said nothing like that could ever happen!” Ella cried.

“Nothing like that
should
happen, that’s a first,” Alastor commented, his arm around
his sister’s shoulders. “I wish I could say what happened just now, but I’m in
the dark. Kwin?”

Kwin was pacing back and forth agitatedly. At
first she didn’t react, and Alastor was about to repeat himself when she
stopped and looked at him.

“I… I don’t know,” she confessed. “I can’t
explain it. That shouldn’t happen. I think I’ll go back and have a look around,
maybe I can find some answers, see what’s…”

She trailed off as Alastor gently guided her to
a nearby chair and sat her in it. She didn’t resist.

“You’re in no state to do that right now. I’ll
have someone bring you some warm tea. Right now we should all try to calm down
first, then we can figure out what to do next.”

Kai pulled Lindsay down to sit with him and
held her close to him.

“How are you feeling?” he asked quietly, not
wanting to draw anyone else’s attention.

“Better, now that it’s over,” Lindsay
whispered. “But the city… the whole thing, just like that. What do we do?”