Chapter 3

Later that night Helen dreamed she flew through the air. She flew about 6 meters above and along a highway. She looked down at all the cars and took pride in being able to soar above the crowd.

She wondered briefly what made her different. At that instant she noticed a blue spark of electricity flying along beside her. From the way it flew, sometimes hovering, sometimes zipping along, she knew it was alive. "Who are you?" she inquired.

In answer the spark grew brighter and came closer to her. It flew straight to her hand, and entered her fingers. Shefelt it travel up her arm, into her chest, and then up toward her head. She felt dizzy for a moment. Then the spark flew out through her eye, and hovered a few centimeters from her. A voice formed in her head. "I'm an explorer from another world. I followed your trail. I absorbed you. We are now one person. You fly above the crowd only for this reason."

"What do you mean? What is your name?"

"My name is what I am. What I am is my name."

"Do you mean you have no name?" Remembering a naming ritual, she placed her hand above the cool blue spark. "I pronounce you 'Sparky'."

Then she saw her house below her and dove down to fly into the window. She saw the blue spark follow her in. As she alighted on her bed, it hovered around her. "Sparky, what are you doing here?"

The blue spark answered silently, "I live here now."

Helen opened her eyes and sat up in bed. She turned and looked at the clock. 2:35. "Oh brother", she thought. Then she lay back down and closed her eyes, waiting to go back to sleep.

"What did that dream mean?" She meditated on her brief dream. Did that electric shock have some permanent effect on her?

"Not in the way you think." The silent voice surprised her.

"Omigosh", she exclaimed, "I'm talking to myself. That electric shock gave me a split personality."

"No", said the voice. "You are my split personality."

"Hey. I'm the original! How could I be your split personality?"

"When I absorbed you, I became you. You are now part of me, but split off from the rest of me."

"Does this mean I've lost my mind?"

"Of course not. You are still you. You still make your own choices."

"You changed me! You made me into a different person?"

"There's no cause for regret. We are both much greater than we were before we merged. I'm grateful to you. Before you, I could barely see your world. Through you I can know everything about your world."

"So this is what's meant by a lucid dream. I know that I'm dreaming because what's happening is clearly impossible."

She drifted back to sleep. At the edge of consciousness, she heard the silent voice again. "Let your mind become fully awake. You will understand."