I knew Inception would make its way into my dreams someday...

Prologue
I started out in a tight attic, climbing my way along twisting little stairways, from which I could watch an 8-year old black boy eating cereal. I made my way up along a little bookcase and through a flat rectangular hole on top of it. This led me into another small room, the boy watching me curiously the entire time. There seemed to be a significance to the whole tableau, but it escaped me for the moment.

False Start
Then I was walking down a dark street at night, my partner in a heavy tweed coat next to me. He was an older gentleman with gray hair and a handlebar mustache. Apparently, we were homicide detectives. We rounded the corner, having kept alongside a smallish castle and now waited just outside the largish wooden front door. There was a bench for us to loiter at, while the dense blackness of the night and the stubborn air made it feel like were in an enclosed room. The prince of the castle (in his foppish duds) walked in after a short time, carrying a large and ornate wooden cross. Acknowledging us with only a dismissive glance, he propped the cross up in the doorway in such a position as to completely jam it. He then walked out with his nose in the air, and we were shut out.

Reprise
We appeared now at the front of a very similar castle, into which we were welcomed by a very similar prince. He evidently knew what our business was and asked us to stay the night and watch out for suspicious activities, as he was planning an elaborate party that night. My partner and I walked around the castle, looking into looming but tasteful rooms. One was marked with the name of a long-dead queen, which dated the castle to several centuries ago. A party guest was unpacking in there, and I briefly wondered if he had wandered into the wrong room. We found our own bedroom in short order, and immediately prepared for bed. Another man, who looked somewhat homeless, also came in and barged right onto the bed, clothes and all. My partner reluctantly took the sofa/bench on the side, while I carefully lay down next to the other man. That isn't as terrible as it sounds - it turns out my detective work operates on people's dreams. So I touched the man's side and entered a new world instantly.

Now I was surrounded by modern-style team members, decked out in neon-lit suits and sporting fantastic machinery. We were in the castle, but it looked different - colder and grayer. We walked from room to room, fearing the worst. We found it in the kitchen, a maid stabbed to death and lying, white-faced, on the floor. I immediately looked away and went over to the freezer area with my gun drawn, looking for clues. In a little niche in the corner, I saw one of the cupboards glowing a bright orange. Knowing this cue, I plunged right in. The portal led me to the start of a maze of vast, empty rooms, each with a mosaic of differently-sized stained glass panels on the ground. In each one, a couple different panes glowed with a different neon color, each connected to the colors on my team members' suits. The idea was to navigate them based on some pattern, but in actuality, I randomly put my foot down on each one until I went through. Each led to a different mosaic room, and I more and more frantically sought out the next exit each time, fearing that I would get lost in a loop.

Finally, I reached a room where none of the panes were glowing. Instead, a huge gap was in the wall, through which I could see that I was way up in the sky and across from another towering building. I gauged the jump to be very difficult, but I could see that I had no other choice. After a long run and leap, I rolled onto the opposite ledge and caught my breath. Looking up, I saw that the tower tapered off to the top, which was close by. There was a very tight squeeze into an opening on the wall, so I slithered in. By now, I was wearing a full-body black spandex suit, which enhanced my stealth. I wormed my way up confusing little laddered passages, surrounded on all sides by books. When I finally popped out, I recognized the little black boy that was suddenly astounded to see me. I raced past him, up the stairs, and back into the rectangular gap at the top of the bookshelf, except now coming in through the opposite way. From this new angle, I saw an iPhone in the cubbyhole, which I grabbed. Having come now full circle to the beginning of the dream, I woke up in back in the castle.

Epilogue
I don't remember how the iPhone told me what I needed to know, but it turns out that the Prince himself had (or was about to) commit the murder. I suppose we would have arrested him on the spot had this layer of the dream lasted any longer.

posted by Larry at 5:12 PM