One Must Imagine Sisyphus Happy

A restaurant

I am a new recruit in a secret dream task force. I am here at this restaurant to meet my partner, The Gourmand. He doesn't look like a secret agent. He is portly, loud, and loves food. He gives me a Dream Unit, which is a folding tablet that is disguised as a normal computer but also has technology to track agents in the dream world. Through flashes and intuition, I gain an understanding of how things work in this fiction. When we fall asleep we enter an alternate reality that all people enter when they dream. This other reality, called trans-reality, is as valid as ours, called cis-reality. Normally, dreamers are randomly assigned to another identity in the dream world, but the Dream Unit allows us to remain ourselves with our memories and intentions, and to communicate between agents in both realities. The Dream Units also require a nearby Transmitter, which is a little electronic cylinder about the size of a bike pump.

A small town

Our first mission sends The Gourmand and me to a small town, both in cis- and trans-reality. It seems European, with narrow crooked streets an quaint little houses and shops. I don't know all the details of the mission so I follow The Gourmand's lead. First we need to find a spot for the Transmitter, which we stash in a remote alley. We learn that near the town is a little mountain village in trans-reality where a popular comedian will be doing a rare double show tonight. Our target will be at the second show.

Meanwhile, I show off the Dream Unit to some friends in cis-reality. I allude to its secret functionality but don't tell any more.

A mountain road

The Gourmand retrieves the Transmitter and I drive us up the mountain toward the village. I take a wrong turn and my partner gives me some grief because he knows a shorter route. My route takes us a bit away from the village. We set up the Transmitter here because it will be safe, but The Gourmand is concerned about the range not covering our mission area. We then head into the village.

A mountain village

My partner and I split up. The Gourmand heads to the local hotel to gather information. My task is to attend the comedy show, find our target, and follow her to her next location. As it is a double show, I buy a ticket for the first show and watch it just because I like the comedian. Between the shows, I walk out to the parking lot and spot my target trying to buy tickets for the second show from a scalper. After some haggling, she decides not to buy a ticket and instead walks away. I shadow her to a Chinese restaurant that looks like a gang hangout. Rather than follow her in, I return to the hotel to meet my partner.

A hotel bar

The Gourmand has been at the hotel bar, entertaining a group of strangers with his knowledge of food and drink and showing off his Dream Unit. I guess he is gathering information, but I'm not sure what exactly. Maybe he's just having a good time on the company dime. I join them, and he's certainly an amusing fellow, but I want to get on with the mission. Finally, we head to the restaurant.

A Chinese restaurant

We enter, despite the suspicious looks of the gangster bouncers. Inside, the lighting is all red and the place is crowded with people. We navigate through the restaurant as my partner finally informs me that the target is a man going by the name "David Robinson" but I'm not sure if we are here to save him or assassinate him. In one wing of the restaurant, a man is making a toast and thanking several people by name in the crowd. When he thanks "David" and a man stands up to receive a cheer, we know we have found our target. David suddenly falls, as if shot, but the noise of the crowd makes it impossible for me to know. Everyone charges for the exits and I'm dragged along with them.

A mountain road

Some time later, I regroup with The Gourmand. We should have returned back to cis-reality by now, but there's something wrong with the Transmitter. We find it where we left it, but it is out of power. The situation could have been worse if it had been discovered or damaged. It was a rocky first mission and this final detail is another difficulty, but we just need to recharge it down at the town.