Skye is the Limit by Phenomenal Pen (detective books to read TXT) 📗

“Ben… ben stone?” Lu echoed. “Where have I heard that word before?”

“Here. Just a while ago,” Mr. Chase reminded him. “I was telling you about the golden mound under your Anima.”

“Oh, yeah…”

<It’s basically a Save Point,> Rip explained, <a location in the game that will allow us to save our progress. Gameplay resumes from the last Save Point we use.>

“And if we don’t reach a Benben Stone?” Ellie asked. 

<We go back to zero. We keep going back to the last Save Point if anything happens to us in the game, until we reach the next Save Point or run out of time.> 

“Wash, rinse, repeat,” Ellie said.

<Classic algorithm,> Rip said.

“How many Benben Stones or Save Points are there?” Lu asked Mr. Chase.

“Again it all depends on the dominant dreamer. When I say ‘Nightcrawler,’ there is more to the image than you realize. The Nightcrawler has the power to build the tunnels of the dream. He or she decides how deep, extensive or complex the dream will be.

“Now, I have to teach you Rule No. 5: FIFO. First In, First Out. The Nightcrawler is like the quarterback. Does anyone know American football? Lu?”

No one answered and even Lu shook his head.

“That’s all right. I’m not a fan myself. OK, let’s change the analogy. Imagine you’re climbing a mountain – Zacharie should be familiar with this…”

Athena provided the visual.

“The peak of the mountain is the Extraction Point and leads to your waking up…”

Athena added a hovering helicopter, changed her mind and made it an angel to make it more convivial. Unfortunately she went with the Baroque version; Zacharie made another silent note to himself.

“The mountain is the dream that you’re climbing out of. So, let’s say Zacharie is this dream’s Nightcrawler. He should be around here near the top and the rest of you are tied to him with a rope. Should anything happen to you guys at the bottom, that’s all right because Zacharie can carry on to complete the quest. You’ll be instantly resurrected and appear back on Camp Two, Three or whichever number scattered up the slope.”

“Save Point,” Rip said.

“Benben Stone,” Ellie said simultaneously.

“That’s right. But if anything happens to the Nightcrawler…”

Athena demonstrates the cutting of the rope.

“It’s Game Over. You all fall and go back to zero, to the beginning of the dream.”

<So basically,> Rip said, <all of us that are not the Nightcrawler are like bodyguards of the Nightcrawler.>

“Exactly. Bodyguards, or escorts.” 

“Because we’re all just sharing the Nightcrawler’s dream,” Ellie said.

“Right. You’re along for the ride and what you do is limited by the rules of the Nightcrawler’s world. Ok, let’s have a quick review before we continue. What is the first dream space rule? Lu?” 

“Trust Your Anima,” Lu answered and pointed at his forearm with the invisible hologram.

“Good. Rule 2. Ellie?”

“Early Worm Digs the Hole.”

“Good. Rule 3. Rip?”

“Always Stay Calm.”

“Great. Rule 4. Zacharie?”

<FIFO. Or Last One In Is a Rotten Egg.>

“Er, no – that’s actually Rule 5. Rule 4 is Complete the Quest.”

Mr. Chase whewed, tired but content.

“All right! Great job, everybody. Let’s move on to the last one, shall we? Rule 6: Pinch Yourself.”

“That’s pretty self-explanatory,” Lu said.

“Not with the kind of Pinch we mean,” Mr. Chase replied. “The Pinch, patented and trademarked by the SKYE Project, consists of a DNA-activated locket that each of you would be wearing on a necklace. The name was inspired by the pricking sensation caused by the locket drawing blood from your finger. Once opened, in case the pricking sensation is not enough to induce your awakened state, the locket would reveal a small note.”

“Because people can’t read inside dreams?” Ellie suggested, but then frowned; confused.

“Actually, a small minority can. Just like your glow-in-the-dark holograms, a residual image of your necklace will appear inside the dream episode. Unlike the glow-in-the-dark holograms though, it won’t be constantly visible. You will be conscious of the Pinch locket in varying degrees and moments, but always when it is needed.

“It has been tested that the longer and more focused a person reads inside a dream, the more the dream will reveal its instability. This is why, by constantly tracing your location in dream space through your engRAM pointers, we shall also be constantly broadcasting your full names into your individual lockets.”

<Our names?> Zacharie echoed.

“Yes. Translated into your respective languages, of course. We printed your full names out on pieces of paper, which we then folded and placed inside your lockets. Think of fortune cookies but, instead of cryptic messages, you get your full name.”