[i]Dream[/i] [i]When you're feelin' blue[/i] [i]Dream[/i] [i]That's the thing to do[/i] [i]Just watch the smoke rings rise in the air[/i] [i]You'll find your share of memories there[/i] [i]So dream[/i] [i]When the day is through[/i] [i]Dream[/i] [i]And they might come true[/i] [i]Things never are as bad as they seem[/i] [i]So dream, dream, dream[/i] -Pied Pipers, Dream [b]The Power of Dreams[/b] The transhuman mind is an astonishing thing, built as it is from crude chemical circuitry by eons of blind natural selection. From these eons of blind selection for a survival guiding mechanism has come unusual quirks like consciousness, art, hats, and, of course, dreams. Dreams have been a part of every facet of human culture; they provide inspiration for the artist, guidance for the mystic, and insight for the scientist by breaking and reshaping reality into new forms. While most of these forms are insane and mean nothing, they occasionally spur some form of powerful realization that shatters previous obstacles. So, in an era where dreams can be watched, recorded, and re-experienced, why not have some fun with them? [b]Stream Of Consciousness[/b] Created by a former Bohemian turned Titanian in AF 7, Stream Of Consciousness is an open source game that has earned a reputation as an experience unlike any other. The game requires one user to ingest a Petal, which puts them into a deep sleep and stimulates a very powerful dream, which can be anything from a soaring dream of flight to a sweat-inducing eroticism to an utterly terrifying nightmare (usually, this is random but it can be set by the user who wants a particular experience). This is not the game experience, however. During these dreams, imagery is recorded and stored for later use. While not mandatory, there is an option to also disable the formation of memory during this time, preventing the dreamer from remembering the dream and spoiling the fun. Upon awakening, the dreamer is informed that the dream is finished recording, and the game begins. Players are placed into a simspace uploaded by them or from a prechosen set distributed with the software. They are given a relatively simple objective, such as delivering a package. While they play, however, complications of varying difficulty are set to arise. Adding further to the difficulty and surreality of the game is the dynamic alteration of the simspace environment and challenges by the inclusion of features drawn from the earlier dream. Nightmares warp the landscape into horrific monstrosities and threaten terrible harm, while sensual dreams offer distractions of desire and delusions of the senses. More conventionally positive dreams, such as those involving flight, create curious situations, such as turning the players' arms into wings and having them fly through a shattered sky. More bizarre dreams create environments that are just that; bizarre. Because of the nature of the game, there is a thriving amount of level development by serious dreamers, who have started experimenting with factors to try and stimulate various kinds of dreams that they post on the mesh for people to use as level seeds. Most people who play, however, tend not to share so much; dreams are very personal things, and displaying moments of lost control can be quite embarassing and leaves many feeling vulnerable. [b]Plot Hooks[/b] -Some people who have extensively been using Stream Of Consciousness have started experimenting with "group dreaming", using experimental petals to induce dreams and randomly shift impulses, creating even more warped and varied dreams. While this has created some novel experiences, there are also side-effects; their personalities have begun to bleed into each other. What happens when a more artistic player character is invited to share in one of these sessions, and starts to hear whispers in his head the next morning? -A new dream seed for Stream Of Consciousness has appeared on the Titanian mesh, known as Lucky Number 4 (幸运的第四). A very vivid nightmare seed, Lucky Number 4 provides a far longer and more detailed experience than most seeds. Its popularity has grown immensely, regularly topping new map downloads... Until people using it start turning up dead. Biomorphs suffer heart attacks, synthmorphs suffer neural overload, and they must inevitably be restarted from a back-up. Is there such a thing as too scary? Or is there a pattern to these deaths? -Defacement of a mesh site led to the capture of a half-mad infomorph by authorities. Between his mad ranting, his brief periods of coherency led to him explaining that his dreams are being harvested. Is there a criminal syndicate trading in dreams? For what purpose? -Three simple words: [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5gsmqiYnaQ]Just be weird.[/url]