I was in our old kitchen, and a large metal rack with spikes at strategic intervals was standing up to one side. An executioner walked into the middle, with the black mask and everything, and waited solemnly. I immediately recognized the rack as a modern, minimalist iron maiden. It was very antiseptic-looking, with a smooth gleam. There was no door, only you were just supposed to lean against it and eventually gravity would take care of everything. The executioner explained that there were pressure points set up on the rack, such as for your chest, that would let you live just long enough to know and feel everything that was going to happen. Then he announced that my coworker John was to be executed! They didn't say the crime. I was particularly upset because we were supposed to play computer games later that day. There were four classroom desks with attached seats to the side, facing perpendicular to the rack. John's wife Meredith calmly walked in and sat down. It was minutes away. At the last second, I couldn't watch and left.

So I went to a sushi restaurant and was eating eel rolls (which you had to put together yourself) with a friend. I was shaking my head over the execution, but didn't say anything until a second friend joined us. I started telling him about the device and John's demise, and how inhumane it was while I ate. He was horrified. "Yes," I said, "it would be terrible - if it were real." He looked relieved and chuckled a bit, thinking I had made it up. I said, "No, it's not that, it's that this is a dream so it'll be all right after I wake up." He looked at me weirdly but kept eating.

posted by Larry at 9:10 AM