Microstory 185: Mandy Alto

This is an experimental Bellevue Profile microstory. The introduction can be found in Microstory 101. More to follow.

Few anomalies can boast a greater influence on the dynamic of society than dreamwalker Mandy Alto. Modern scientists on our world are not completely certain why it is that we really need sleep. Studies have shown that we burn negligibly fewer calories while at rest, and so it is believed that sleep is primarily necessary for the brain. While in sleep mode, a person will indeed rejuvenate the body, but it will also regulate chemicals to a healthy balance, and process memory. Sleep is important because it allows us shift data around unencumbered by new input, and impress into our minds everything we learned throughout the day so that we do not lose neural connections and forget useful information. Dreams are said to be the brain’s bizarre manifestation of these processes on subconscious and conscious levels. Mandy’s ability allowed him to enter the dreams of anyone on the planet. Once he connected someone to the dream network, he could bestow upon them perfect lucidity. That is, the dreamers remembered everything that happened to them during the dream, and were aware of it while it was happening. But more than this, the minds of the dreamers were able to process what they were learning in real-time, which was advantageous to fostering long-term memory. A dreamworld is an alternate reality; one that the dreamers can mold and modify at will. There are limitless possibilities and resources. Military can be trained without the least bit of physical danger. If a dreamer is shot, for instance, the injury can be healed immediately and with barely a thought, leaving the injured with a learning experience that allows them to prevent such a thing in the real world. Mandy started a small education program for members of Bellevue, but it was Valary Sela who recognized his ability’s potential to benefit efficiency on a massive scale. Dream telepathy was recreated with technology, and the world began to change. No longer were students required to sleep five hours a day, and then go to school for five hours. By doing both of these things at once, students are free to use the remaining fifteen hours as they choose. The technology spread out quickly and eventually became the primary means of education across the entire universe.