A great chasm spreads across the land, fifty or so feet from one side to the other and dropping over three hundred feet to the bottom, with villages standing on each side of the divide. The quest is warfare, with victory gained by total annihilation of the other tribe–but without the use of bridges or any other device that easily transports people across the gap.
The battle had already started when these rules were clarified, but both sides of the conflict adapt to these guidelines before any significant progress occurs. As the battle rages on–with arrows flying, the tribes switching to opposite sides of the cliff, and warriors scaling the dangerous wall where falling could mean a drop to their death–our side seems to be losing. The remaining few of us retreat to a building to make our last stand, and I wonder where all our people have gone. I look across the gap for my answer: they have constructed a train to carry themselves across and surrender to their enemies.
The chief laughs at us from across the way as his last warrior approaches us to claim the victory of battle. As he comes near and enters the building I unleash my final weapon–a can of silly-string–but it runs empty before defeating him. The remaining few of us, including my brother Luke and my friend Seth, circle around in a narrow hallway trying to avoid death from this warrior by playing music–and somehow it works! The warrior pursues us as we circle but finally succumbs and is defeated.
We step outside to see that no enemies remain on our side and jeer at the chief across the way: we are victorious. As we stand in the breeze and take it in, my brother goes up to the cliff’s edge to collect the trash that accumulated during battle. While he does this I notice the enemy chief making his way down the far side of the steep cliff and back up toward us, apparently bent on his total victory; but as he climbs up onto our side, I toss him some rocks and other objects that carry just enough momentum to push him back and fall to the depths below.
I wake up slowly, the excitement of battle still fresh in my mind. I look to my right: Seth occupies the hotel bed next to mine and has an expression of bewilderment and excitement on his face, similar to how I feel. Before I can speak he describes the epic battle we both took part in, with all the important details in place. I lay in silence for a moment before I respond, “Seth, I think we just had a shared dream!” He, too, is amazed and asked me about the dream previous to the battle: “Did you also dream about Quarkers? QUARKERS?” I close my eyes and try to recall; the dreams are fading fast, but that indeed was also the theme of my previous dream, though the details had now faded beyond memory. I lay in bed, porous blanked over my head as I stare at the ceiling, still bewildered. I notice the ceiling is covered with many large insects that resemble something like beetles and grasshoppers, in larger populations than yesterday and with a rather aggressive appearance. I keep the covers over my head as I watch them congregate. I look one straight in the eye; it looks me right back. A brief moment of stillness passes between us before it dives down toward my head and I awake with a jostle in my own bed.
Jacob Haqq-Misra
Other posts by Jacob Haqq-Misra
At long last my philosophical novel is complete! A journey through space, time, and dreams, Planetary Messenger explores the social, scientific, and spiritual consequences of discovering another planet in the galaxy just like our Earth. I began this project as a NaNoWriMo entry in 2007 and continued editing and revising for a year and a half.
