Chapter one
I dreamt of a snake, long as my arm, but thin like a blade of field grass. Its body was transparent with hints of jade and silver.
The sound of a brook bubbled in the background. The sky was a hue of opal that blinded me. The snake spoke a phrase in Mandarin that I could not recognize, but I was certain it was an admonishment for past transgressions during my time in the province of Sichuan.
I cut off the tail and ate it. As I grasped the head, its tongue flickering spitefully, I paused and released the serpent back into the dream, reassuring myself the tail would grow back. My guilt dissolved as the morning attached to the world of the Awake took hold.
The point which served as a temporary residence in the dimension which claimed to be awake had the shape of a trapezoid. All the residences built in the Imperial Capital City of Awake Land were trapezoidal, in order to lull the inhabitants into an ongoing static mood of compliance. Awake Land was the model for human engineers whose ambitions were to transform their own birthplaces into Awake Nations.
In Awake Land, there existed no dissension nor discontent, though Awakened persons were permitted to grumble about things of no importance such as the weather and the price of beans.
The titular head of Awake Land was a former schoolteacher who addressed the citizens as if they were children. Teacher, as the head was known, communicated in short sentences and simple words, breathing deeply as each syllable was exhaled.
Citizens were compelled to play games in order to win credits for food and shelter. Those who refused to participate were arrested and delivered to a stadium where, watched by others from the safe vantage points of personal devices, the miscreants were ground into mulch for spreading in the gardens of the collective. If a miscreant begged convincingly for mercy, a poop emoji was branded on their forehead and they were given permanent employment as manure spreaders. “Poopers”, as the spreaders were called, often embraced their new chance at life. They became passionate vocal advocates for Awake Land and everything it represented.
This is the tale of how I escaped Awake Land thanks to the intervention of my Angel. The Angel named Metabólica.
To be continued…
davidzhen 