It’s two forty eight in the morning and Captain Kirk and his landing party are getting ready to attack Spock’s brother who has assembled a rag tag army and taken over the capitol city of the dusty desert planet. The capitol consisted of a single building, a baked mud bar and hotel for travelers who really, really, really got on the wrong flight. I yawned and watched the program with the sound off. I knew what they were saying. I’ve seen the television series episodes and motion pictures multiple times, enough that I could watch with the sound down and kinow exactly who was saying what.
In spite of the movie playing away soundlessly, my room was still dark and appeared to have a brooding quality to it. I decided to anthropomorphize the wall and allow it to discuss any issues openly and safely, with an understandig that the information it gave would not be used later to prosecute most likely. I wondered if my perspective was influenced by the doses of varying bedtime medications. Some of them have cautions about heavy machinery and alcohol use, but one of them recommends laying down on taking it and having yourself restrained for safety due to somnambulation. Apparently people have awakened to find themseves fully dressed and driving somewhere down a freeway while this sleep tonic quietly worked its medical magic. Their eyes and ears were reporting a different set of perceptions, using reality, in part, to reinforce the dream. At least until they woke up disoriented and confused about how they got where they were.
“Hrmf.” I said. “So how do I know that I am not sleep walking and in a virtual world that only mimics reality? Can I be sure that label warning isn’t just something I cooked up in a dream state? After all, I have consumed this drug. That, I deduced, gave me a 50-50 chance not to be dreaming and thus reinforced, I decided to believe my eyes, although I would be keeping my eye on my eyes. The wee hours of the morning cause me many random thoughts as I wait for sleep to overtake me. I check off the final two documents required for the VA home repair grant and sigh that the 17 month process has finally been achieved and now all I have to do is wait for the contractors to show up. I look at the clock and it’s now three twenty am. The television gone dark as its sleep timer counted down nothing.