...And We Will Have Snow

Chapter 5-8: World Dream

True to her word, Sedna flew the drone over land and sea to get dramatic shots of the scenes she, Karen and Cheryl wanted to capture for their QAR World Dream. Sitting in her control chair, Sedna was wrapped in the dream and had to stay focused on her flying while the drone was in the air, but Karen and Cheryl were so thrilled with what was being captured that they ran to Tengri and dragged him into the QAR room.

When he witnessed the full majesty of the new dream he too was astonished. He realized that the effect was produced by the regression of Sedna's viewpoint from the drone through the Q to her own mind. The mere fact that she was flying a drone and seeing with its eyes via the QAR link was providing the subliminal background symphony they wanted in the dream. Sedna's own natural responses to what she was seeing stimulated the Q and produced resonances that went far beyond the visual input.

Sedna, flying over an ocean, saw not just water, but an ocean alive with possibilities. As this filtered through the Q, what got recorded was a sensation of viewing not just one ocean, but all oceans everywhere. Examining what the QAR link was offering him, Tengri sensed hints of ancient oceans, possibly even on other planets. He realized that the powerful effect he was experiencing was created largely by his own Q response.

But that was exactly what they wanted. They wanted the viewer to feel an intimate connection with the scene, involve the native connection to the Q that everyone shares. This was almost automatic for Tengri, but clearly Karen and Cheryl were feeling it too. He left the room smiling, deep in his own dream, realizing that Sedna's intuition of what she could do with the drone was flawless. This was truly Bear and Xayna's view of the Farm Dream writ large.

Sedna flew the drone on and on tirelessly, presenting vista after magnificent vista, not just from afar, but swooping in for treetop views of forests, maneuvering through steep-walled canyons, skimming wavetops over windlashed seas. Finally Karen intruded enough to remind her that she needed to give it a rest and feed her body. So she did, bringing the drone to earth in a secluded spot. But she remained in the dream even as she ate and slept, energized by the adventure of it, and soon resumed her link to the drone.

Having flown the drone south and far inland, capturing the Great Basin dessert wonders, the Rocky Mountain majesty, then swooping down over the broad expanse of the Great Plains, she decided to visit Houston. Dema, Cern and Bear were there, working with the inhabitants of the NASA dome.

Getting the Farm Dream to take hold there was a challenge, because the occupants were a mix of Air Force aviators, systems technologists and civilian administrators, all very practical types inclined to expect mathematical order and well-defined procedures, but with very different views of the world. Few of them had any experience as farmers, and not many were much inclined to learn. Most of them experienced the Farm Dream as something akin to the chaos of human society they had made careers of avoiding. Their interest in space stemmed partly from a desire to escape from the complexity of life on earth. In short, they were New Ravens, whether they identified as such or not.

Sedna particularly wanted to share the drone dream with her brother. The World Dream program was still in development, not yet ready to be networked, but her intimate shaman link with her family let her at least give them a sense of what she was up to. They were all excited by it, because they knew they needed something bigger than the Farm Dream to bring the NASA crowd around. Cern and Dema were being stoic, realizing the World Dream was a work in progress, but Bear could not contain himself. The idea of flying a drone was too enticing.

Bear was outside the dome, waiting for Sedna to arrive, when he was joined by his friend Newton Everett. Newt was one of the young engineers, but more of a visionary than most. He at least understood that the Farm and the Dome had larger possibilities.

"What are you looking at?"

"My sister is coming."

"Flying in?"

"You'll see. Turn on your lenses."

Newt tapped the frame of his glasses.

"What am I looking for? A chopper? I don't hear anything yet."

"She's in stealth mode. Totally silent."

"Huh? "

"There she is!"

"I still don't see anything."

"Link with me. I'll zoom in."

A second later, Newt said, "Is this some kind of a joke? What you're showing me looks like your mom in a Supergirl costume."

Bear laughed. "That's my sister! She probably has half a dozen avatars available. She's close enough now you can probably see her without the link."

Newt turned off his QAR link and saw the black drone come down and land next to Bear.

"Hi Bear. Who's your friend?"

"This is Newt. I think he likes your Supergirl costume."

Newt realized he was missing Sedna's audio and turned his link back on, just in time to see Sedna blush and say, "That was for your benefit. Here's what I'm really wearing." The costume was replaced by jeans and a checkered shirt.

Newt grinned and said, "Hey, you didn't have to change on my account. Can you maybe do Wonder Woman?"

Bear knew what was coming. Sedna didn't miss a beat. She switched to her Wonder Woman avatar just long enough to watch Newt's eyes pop, then back to the jeans and shirt.