The Dream Sanctum: The Eternal World Read Free Page B

function, but entirely useless.”
    Lindsay seemed utterly blown away by this revelation,
and Kai had to admit it made a lot of sense. Their entire strategy against the
Nightmares was resetting the Sanctum back to its default state. That they and
the other dreamers had the power to do something on that scale was incredible.
    “What about how we all connect, though?” Kai asked. “How do we see and talk to
other people in our sleep? That type of thing should be impossible unless
people can actually be psychic.”
    “The answers to those questions are beyond any
of us. Figuring out how the Sanctum works may be an important part of answering
them, however, so that’s what we need to work on first. Whatever the case, it
gets me thinking that the human mind is far more powerful than we currently
imagine.”
    There was a pause as everyone fell silent, thinking
about what they had just discussed. Kai was full of questions, but they were
questions he knew no one would have the answer to. If there was any possibility
that humans had any semblance of psychic abilities, it would turn modern
science on its head, and it was possible that the Sanctum held the key to such
discoveries.
    With the meeting evidently over, Alastor
looked around at the others.
    “Who’s up for a swim?”
    The others all immediately voiced their
approval and stood up, eager to make use of Alastor’s enormous indoor pool.
    “Wait, what else is in those notes?” Lindsay
asked, looking at the massive stack of papers that had yet to be sifted though.
“We’ve hardly talked about any of them!”
    “More complex ideas, nothing you’d be
interested in,” Kwin said, moving to put the stack away on Alastor’s desk.
    “Try me!” Lindsay replied confidently.
    Kwin tilted her head slightly, raising one
eyebrow, then pulled a few papers with sticky notes from the stack.
    “All right. Let’s start with one of the easier
sections, like the relationship between neocortical gamma waves and conscious
activity. Of course, as you must already be aware, a gamma wave is a neural
oscillation that typically operates within a range of twenty-five to one
hundred hertz, though forty is the most common. This neural activity is most
common in the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for executive functions
like complex cognitive behavior, personality expression and decision making.
The fascinating part is that this electrical activity is typically absent in
the minds of most normal dreamers during all phases of the sleep cycle, but
still present in the minds of lucid dreamers. This implies a causal connection
between cortex activity and dream awareness, possibly one that can even be
externally influenced. I personally think the possibilities for treating mental
disorders are promising, but don’t let me babble on, what do you think?”
    Lindsay was silent for a moment, the
expression on her face showing that she was attempting to process this information
with all her might. Kwin looked at her expectantly until, finally, Lindsay
relented.
    “Oh, fine. I’ll leave it to you geniuses to
do… whatever it is you do with that jumble of words,” Lindsay sighed.
    Kwin only smiled, clearly enjoying her small
victory, and set the papers back into the stack.
    “Right then,” Alastor said jovially, “last one
to the pool sits shotgun with Fred on the ride home!”
    No sooner were the words out of his mouth than
the other three rushed by him in a mad scramble downstairs.

Chapter 3: Flicker

 
    E lla returned home later that
evening, looking exhausted but pleased to be home. As she walked into the
manor’s game room, Alastor scooted to the side to give her a spot on the couch
next to him. On the other side of the couch sat Kwin, who was deeply immersed
in a comic book. On the floor in front of them sat Lindsay and Kai who were in
the middle of a heated racing game. After just a minute, Lindsay thrust her
fist into the air.
    “Yes! Three wins for me, zero for