J.D.

15.02.2010

Being a DC (Non-lucid)

NON-DREAM DREAM LUCID

I've often wondered about the nature of dream characters, or DCs. Are they manifestations of subconscious desires, real people you meet on the "astral plane", artificial intelligence created by our mind but nonetheless "real", or simply meaningless characters like those in a video game. My personal view lands me somewhere between those last two options.

This was an peculiar dream which gave me a greater appreciation of and interest in DCs.

A man who I vaguely knew (not in real life) was going to die, and his doctors had decided to put him in a coma in order that he could live out his remaining hours in a "lucid dream" state. I was at his bedside with a few of his friends when they put him in the coma, and I then shared a taxi home with them. Before we left, the doctors told us that he would not wake up again, and it was an absolute mathematical certainty that he would die in a couple of hours. We were driving past (of all places) my old school, when I thought I saw him outside on the footpath. I made the driver stop the car, and the three of the man's friends and I got out to look. Sure enough, it was him. He was standing at the side of the road, just staring as if deep in thought.



We were about to go over and talk to him to see what was going on, but I put out my arm to stop the others.
"Wait," I said. "Didn't the doctors tell us that there was no chance he was going to wake up, the condition is irreversible et cetera? Logically, if he is here, seemingly fine, then this must be his dream!" The others thought for a minute, then slowly came to the same conclusion I had. There was no room for shades of grey in this dream, if something was stated as fact, it was. So using the facts I had been given, I formed the only logical conclusion. I was someone else's DC. I checked my hand, but it seemed normal.
"Of course it's normal," I thought. "Dream characters aren't supposed to be able to tell they're only part of a dream, but some of the smarter ones do work it out." I may have been on the cusp of a major epiphany about life here...

I also concluded that my entire life, memories, experiences had not really happened, except to me- and that my life was basically meaningless. This was not the depressing thought I expected it to be. I accepted it, and wondered whether I should inform the man that he was dreaming. In the end I made up my mind that I should. If he was lucid, he would have a much better time, I was sure of it.

It is true, dreams can have a profound effect on how you view life and reality. -Even if it's just an interesting thought exercise.