this is so strange
this is strange. and definitely not a poem. but it's 7am and i can't get back to sleep because i just had the strangest dream, and i don't want to forget it.
i was minding my own business, planning a music recital for my kids, and the news was playing on tv. they had been talking about a potential solar flare incident for a little while, but at that moment a breaking news bulletin began. the news anchor not so calmly stated 'this just in- this potentially catastrophic solar event will reach the earth's atmosphere in less than two hours, according to NASA scientists.' i was alone and didn't know what to think, so i immediately called my mother. she was crying. i drove to her house (which happened to be our rental house from a few years ago and not the apartment they currently live in) and my whole family was there. the news was on every tv. pictures of what scientists believed would be the cause of this disaster. anyone unprotected would die a painful death from radiation. there was no way to even be sure that you would be protected. all power in every corner of the earth knocked out. fires break out. generally just large scale destruction. suddenly my dad looked up from his computer and said, ' we need to go indiana.' (i think my dream self was not creative enough to think of an actual city in indiana, but it was a large, empty, cornfield type town) we didn't question him just then because we could tell it was urgent. we got in the car (somehow all six of us fit?) and began to pry. he told us that he had read that the government had an escape plan set up for just such an event, or more likely, an alien invasion. i don't remember much of the car ride, but we got stuck in the traffic of all the cars trying to get into this small town. we were less than 30 minutes than when the flare was supposed to hit the earth. we abandoned the car and began walking, not entirely sure of our destination until- things started to get more and more windy. and loud. and then, as we reached the top of a large hill, blue light flooded around us. there, straight ahead, was a mile-wide tunnel of blue streaks of light, stretching up into the sky as far as you could see. it was completely visable yet you could see right through it. it was as if the light was shooting from the ground in small streaks. it was surrounded by army men in protective suits, carrying those shield things that the police carry in riots. they were letting people into the tunnel a family at a time. we didn't say anything, we just waited in line. we didn't talk about the risks, or where the tunnel would lead us. we didn't say anything, because what choice did we have? die this way, or potentially die that way, it didn't seem to matter at this point. when we reached the position in line where we would walk through next, we held hands. i remember being oddly calm as we walked harmlessly through the blue streaks. once we were all one step through, we were sucked up into the vortex and stared flying upwards. i remember touching the wall with just one finger and all of a sudden everything began moving in slow motion. something emerged into the light streaks. i could see the government officials who created this device as if i were watching a scene in a movie- projected onto the walls of the light tunnel. there was a scientist with a small model proposing it to the president (obama!) and a room full of people. he was talking about how it was a transportational device- but not from one place to another- one reality to another. it could transport people from a world where one set of outcomes occurs, to an alternate world where an entirely different set of outcomes occured. the president looks impressed and signs off on funding for the project. the scene became wavy and dissolved, and a new scene appeared. the techonology being built. this dissolved and it was the scientists discovering the flare. they knew how catastrophic this would be, but they didn't tell anyone. they vowed to keep it a secret until the last day in order to avoid riots. and finally- the scene of the tunnel lighting up for the first time. the scientist who built it screaming that it hadn't been tested properly, and the government official saying what choice do we have? they began letting people inside, not knowing what was going to happen to them. someone posted a picture on facebook that immediately went viral, the picture my dad saw when he decided to drive us. all the pictures dissolved and i looked up and could see the end of the tunnel, leading straight to earth. it was as if we had gone straight up only to drop straight back down. we flew down the remainder of the tunnel at incredible speed, but slowed to a halt just before hitting the ground. we walked out of the tunnel and as soon as the last inch of us left, the tunnel and all its structure and technology disappeared entirely. we all looked at each other, at the empty space, but didn't say anything. in the distance, towards the bottom of the hill, our car was there. there was no one else around. silently we began walking towards it and silently we drove home. in the back of my mind i kept thinking about the old earth, about everyone who had probably died there, about the government that could have saved them but didn't, about this new earth, and what would be different. and then i woke up. and i haven't been able to get back to sleep since.
i was minding my own business, planning a music recital for my kids, and the news was playing on tv. they had been talking about a potential solar flare incident for a little while, but at that moment a breaking news bulletin began. the news anchor not so calmly stated 'this just in- this potentially catastrophic solar event will reach the earth's atmosphere in less than two hours, according to NASA scientists.' i was alone and didn't know what to think, so i immediately called my mother. she was crying. i drove to her house (which happened to be our rental house from a few years ago and not the apartment they currently live in) and my whole family was there. the news was on every tv. pictures of what scientists believed would be the cause of this disaster. anyone unprotected would die a painful death from radiation. there was no way to even be sure that you would be protected. all power in every corner of the earth knocked out. fires break out. generally just large scale destruction. suddenly my dad looked up from his computer and said, ' we need to go indiana.' (i think my dream self was not creative enough to think of an actual city in indiana, but it was a large, empty, cornfield type town) we didn't question him just then because we could tell it was urgent. we got in the car (somehow all six of us fit?) and began to pry. he told us that he had read that the government had an escape plan set up for just such an event, or more likely, an alien invasion. i don't remember much of the car ride, but we got stuck in the traffic of all the cars trying to get into this small town. we were less than 30 minutes than when the flare was supposed to hit the earth. we abandoned the car and began walking, not entirely sure of our destination until- things started to get more and more windy. and loud. and then, as we reached the top of a large hill, blue light flooded around us. there, straight ahead, was a mile-wide tunnel of blue streaks of light, stretching up into the sky as far as you could see. it was completely visable yet you could see right through it. it was as if the light was shooting from the ground in small streaks. it was surrounded by army men in protective suits, carrying those shield things that the police carry in riots. they were letting people into the tunnel a family at a time. we didn't say anything, we just waited in line. we didn't talk about the risks, or where the tunnel would lead us. we didn't say anything, because what choice did we have? die this way, or potentially die that way, it didn't seem to matter at this point. when we reached the position in line where we would walk through next, we held hands. i remember being oddly calm as we walked harmlessly through the blue streaks. once we were all one step through, we were sucked up into the vortex and stared flying upwards. i remember touching the wall with just one finger and all of a sudden everything began moving in slow motion. something emerged into the light streaks. i could see the government officials who created this device as if i were watching a scene in a movie- projected onto the walls of the light tunnel. there was a scientist with a small model proposing it to the president (obama!) and a room full of people. he was talking about how it was a transportational device- but not from one place to another- one reality to another. it could transport people from a world where one set of outcomes occurs, to an alternate world where an entirely different set of outcomes occured. the president looks impressed and signs off on funding for the project. the scene became wavy and dissolved, and a new scene appeared. the techonology being built. this dissolved and it was the scientists discovering the flare. they knew how catastrophic this would be, but they didn't tell anyone. they vowed to keep it a secret until the last day in order to avoid riots. and finally- the scene of the tunnel lighting up for the first time. the scientist who built it screaming that it hadn't been tested properly, and the government official saying what choice do we have? they began letting people inside, not knowing what was going to happen to them. someone posted a picture on facebook that immediately went viral, the picture my dad saw when he decided to drive us. all the pictures dissolved and i looked up and could see the end of the tunnel, leading straight to earth. it was as if we had gone straight up only to drop straight back down. we flew down the remainder of the tunnel at incredible speed, but slowed to a halt just before hitting the ground. we walked out of the tunnel and as soon as the last inch of us left, the tunnel and all its structure and technology disappeared entirely. we all looked at each other, at the empty space, but didn't say anything. in the distance, towards the bottom of the hill, our car was there. there was no one else around. silently we began walking towards it and silently we drove home. in the back of my mind i kept thinking about the old earth, about everyone who had probably died there, about the government that could have saved them but didn't, about this new earth, and what would be different. and then i woke up. and i haven't been able to get back to sleep since.