Compass Society

The next few days flew by. Gary found that entering the stream was almost becoming an addiction. Becoming a part of the computer and working only with his mind gave him a great sense of accomplishment and made him feel good.

He was surprised when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He had honestly forgotten that he had shoulders. He had even stopped using the monitor and found more privacy within his own mind, working and lost in the stream. He understood why it was that most of the people in this room were blank and lifeless. Being in the stream made you free and unfettered by the physical world. You could go anywhere and do anything with just a thought. Gary had even experimented with what he thought was some virtual reality. He had briefly thought about the Eiffel Tower and he was there. He felt like he was standing in front of the grand structure. He could hear people speaking rapidly in French. He felt the crisp air. He could even feel the pavement under his feet. He couldn’t decide, however, whether it was in his mind or real. After all, didn’t your mind interpret what was real and what was not? Mind altering drugs could make you believe that certain things were real when, in fact, they were all within the confines of your skull.

So the tap on his shoulder was more like an alarm going off and waking him from a deep sleep. It was difficult to jump back into the reality of the world and when he turned, it took him a moment or two to realize that it was actually Stacy who was standing there and smiling at him.

“Are you okay?” Stacy asked somewhat concerned.