1000 YEARS - Book 1 - Awakening

4. The Twilight of Dream and Reality*

In the middle of a frozen lake she stood — alone — in the canoe. ...Where was Seth?
A light wind swirled snowflakes across the vast expanse of the icy wasteland. ...She was not cold though!? ...And the air smelled of... lilies of the valley.

— Odd...

A rope ladder lay on top of the ice. It started next to the canoe and extended straight out into the far horizon. ...Intermittent chatter penetrated into this bizarre scene. Words drifted past her, meaningless and disjointed...
"...Yes, your Eminences ... very inconclusive results ... most unpleasant ... highly disturbing..."

— Dr. Phelps?
What was Phelps doing in her simulation? What was it called again?
'Sub-cognitive exploration'. ...Yes. She remembered that!

Phelps appeared to be engaged in some kind of conversation with...? She could make out other voices, mere muffled mutterings in the distance. But from the intonations and inflections it was clear that there were several parties to this dialogue. What were they talking about?
"...traumatic ... not all memory sourced ... originated in wrong brain sector ... prophetic..."

She could not hear the words of other mumbling voices or recognize their owners, but there was one, occasionally — a deep, droning one. ...Its tone sounded... vaguely familiar. It was speaking to Phelps now, with what sounded like ...urgency? ...And Phelps responded...
"... yes, prophetic in nature ... agreed! ... too dangerous ... Alpha Four ..."

They were talking about her! She strained to focus her bedraggled mind.

Where was Phelps? ... And where were these others?
— And most importantly, ...where was Seth? ...her avatar companion. He had assured her he would always be there!

She tried to call into the wintery scene, ...to find them, ...or help them find HER! — But no sound escaped her mouth. It was as if her mouth had been sealed shut! She felt panic rise.
Standing in the canoe she flailed her arms, desperate to get someone's attention — anyone's attention! Suddenly eyes appeared in the ice on both sides of the rope ladder. Eyes that stared at her, like the stone ones from the great hall. ...As a matter of fact, she was fairly certain that these were the same pairs of eyes she had seen there — haunting her, again!
"...yes, understood! ... your Eminence..."

— This was Nakamura's voice! ...she sounded — contrite!?
The deep rumbling voice was addressing her.
...Where were they all?

"...progress for the Populus ... understood! ... regular stimulation only ... has the Seth been instructed?..."

— Why did she refer to him as 'the Seth'!? ... Weird!

Then her attention was drawn away from the scene. — A warm hand touched the back of her neck, and she felt her head tilt slightly. Something cold made contact with her lips.
"Drink, Alpha," she heard Seth's low, resonant voice close to her ear.

— Mint! Sweet fizzy mint!

She turned into his hand when he released her neck, and her sluggish fingers were able to find his before he withdrew. She felt his hand lightly close around hers, and his thumb traced small circles on her open palm.
"Seth, please proceed." Nakamura's voice spoke somewhere close-by.

— ~ — ~ —

She felt his hands on her body, warm and comforting, kneading her tired muscles. Well-oiled hands gliding over her skin, loosening tension and apprehension. This was real, she could feel it! ...And after the confusing and discomfiting experiences in the simulator it felt like balm to her battered brain and body.
She was still exhausted from the physical exertion in the holo-simulator and from the chaos in her disordered mind, ...from the realism of the simulations ...and the peculiarity of the real world. — Both seemed ...surreal. In fact, what was real and what was not was a blurry mess in her high-strung mind.