unpleasant reality, and I had to admit to myself that they scared me a little, too. However, I was still convinced that for me there was no going back to the Jon Lake who existed prior to my dreams of 2150. I was committed to exploring my dream world of the future to its conclusion whatever that might be. Now, how could I get Karl to accept this?
'All right, Karl,' I said finally. 'I concede your points. Maybe I am going insane. Maybe I am running away from the unpleasant reality of my Ph.D. grind. But, truth can be demonstrated sooner or later. If I can learn to develop Macro powers such as clairvoyance, telepathy, and so on, then I should be able to demonstrate them to you here in 1976. Right?'
Karl looked surprised and said, 'Are you saying that if you dream you've developed these powers, and can't demonstrate them to my satisfaction while you are awake, that you'll give up this massive psychotic delusion?'
'Yes, Karl,' I answered. 'That's exactly what I'm saying.
'I'm willing to put my dream world to the test, and if it fails to pass this test, to hell with it.'
'Now you're talking sense,' Karl said, patting me on the shoulder with smiling relief. 'Since you're willing, to let me be the final judge in your test of reality I can hardly object to your continuing interest in these weird dreams. I'm convinced, however, that it won't be long before your dream world fails your test of reality.'
By unspoken agreement we dropped the subject and talked of other things for the rest of the afternoon. Then we went out for dinner followed by a movie featuring the youth drug culture.
On the way back to our apartment we discussed the tremendous increase in drug usage among our generation and agreed that this was certainly a desperate attempt to escape from, or find something better than, the unpleasant reality of our very micro society.
Later, while lying in my bed waiting for sleep to come and, hopefully, transport me to the future, I wondered if my motivation to dream of a beautiful future was similar to the motivation of those who use drugs.
It made me uncomfortable and I called across the room to where Karl was lying and, once again, repeated my promise to forget about my dream world if it didn't pass our test.
He expressed his satisfaction with this agreement, saying that now we had it licked.
I was still reassuring myself when I, fell asleep.
CHAPTER 6: Jon's Alpha and Rana
Once again I awakened to the voice of Central Information. I immediately interrupted to ask how long I had been asleep. But this time C.I. said it could not give me this information since the Alpha room chair was not designed to be a body-mind monitor, as were the chairs in the library.
I decided, however, that since Carol was not back yet I must have, once again, returned within only seconds of 2150 time.
I decided to ask C.I. some of my troublesome questions.
'You know, C.I., all of this switching back and forth in time is playing havoc with my life in 1976. My brother thinks I'm heading for some kind of psychotic break. When he presented his arguments I had to admit that he made a strong case.
'We decided to settle the matter once and for all by devising a test of the reality of 2150. If I can develop some of the Macro powers you described and demonstrate them back in 1976, then Karl, and I, will accept 2150 as reality. If not, then we'll just accept my 'dreams' as a massive escape device which I designed to relieve the tensions created by uninterrupted years of study.
'Tell me, is it possible for me to develop some of these Macro powers, and if I do, will I still have them when I go back to 1976?'
C.I. answered with one unqualified word, 'Yes.'
'Is it possible for me to stay in 2150 permanently?' I asked next.
'Yes, if you attain third-level awareness you can stay in 2150 permanently,' was her answer.
'When will that be?'
'That depends entirely on your desire, and your belief that it is possible.'
'Well, how long will it be before I develop some Macro powers?' I asked.
C.I.'s response could have been a recording of her previous one, for she said, 'That depends entirely on your desire, and your belief that it is possible.'
Thinking that perhaps some mechanical failure had caused this identical response I asked C.I. my name to see if her 'tape' was stuck.
Her response was, 'Jon Lake is your 1976 name. Your 2150 name is Jon 8-927 since there have been seven other Jons born in Delta 927.'
'How long will it be before I develop some Macro powers?' I persisted.
'That depends entirely on your desire, and your belief that it is possible,' was still the response.
While I was disappointed in not being able to find out how long it would take me to develop some of the Macro powers, I was delighted that they could be demonstrated back in 1976, and kind of tickled somewhere inside to hear my 2150 identification.
The knowledge that I could stay permanently in 2150 if I did attain third-level awareness brought me deep pleasure and relief. Yet there was something unanswered that bothered me. It was my concern for my body back in 1976.
I asked C.I., 'If I reach third level awareness and stay permanently here in 2150, what will happen to my body back in 1976?'
C.I., who was a woman of few words, said simply, 'It will die.'
I was trying to cope with this prospect of dying and living all at the same time when Carol returned with my Macro identity bracelet.
'Here's your own personal mib, Jon,' Carol said with a smile as she slipped it onto my wrist.
I marveled at its lack of weight for in spite of its multiple functions of timepiece, nutrition dispenser, heart and brain wave monitor, and communications cell (for those with limited telepathic power), it weighed considerably less than my 1976 wristwatch.
Carol explained that it was waterproof and practically indestructible. When I asked about its power source, she replied that all equipment, from mibs to their largest transportation vehicles and servo-mechanisms, receive their power from what she called a Central Information power broadcasting center.
I asked her if this was an atomic power center, and she responded with an emphatic denial, explaining that atomic wastes had contributed greatly to the pollution problems of micro man. Then she explained how cosmic radiation was combined with the forces created by the movement of the earth. These were captured, reactivated, reflected and amplified by a crystal, then broadcast, creating a central power source. Power was obtained, through electro-acoustical tuning to this energy source.
Once this had been accomplished, man was no longer dependent on any other power source and the world's fuel pollution problems were over.
When I asked more about the crystal and how it worked, Carol said that the tunics we wore employed a very similar crystal structure and process in miniature.
She went on to tell me how they had learned to recycle and use all waste products so that the planet Earth was the cleanest in recorded history. I remembered the sparkling clarity and sweetness of the air of 2150 and tried to imagine rivers, lakes, and oceans free of refuse and wastes. Carol asked C.I. to show us pictures of the Earth as it existed in 2150.
I spent the next few minutes looking at an Earth transformed into a garden of Eden. No longer the vast ugly oil slicks on our waters. No longer the dirty yellow air or the deadly unseen gases saturating our atmosphere. No longer the ugly sprawling cities functioning as planetary sewers. All of micro man's ugly slough had been removed.
