Cataloging the Populace

Walking around the center of the city was the ultimate adventure, and the three of us set out with a bounce in our steps. There were sidewalks in this part of the city and glass window storefronts. One was a shoe store that we stopped at to say hello to a young, nerdy looking young man behind the cash register. Funny, there were more shoes in the display window than there were inside the store.

"Be careful!" followed us out the door and onto the street again. We turned right and resumed our adventure.

Others walking became more numerous. It seemed as though everyone was dressed in drabby colors, and all with scarves around their necks covering faces up to the nose and stocking caps on their heads pulled far over the ears.

"Would you look at this. C'mon, let's check it out," said the tall, fiery and blond woman that was the leader of our little group. A tall white sign was there, the writing obscured by a group of people standing in front of it. Walking through a glass door, there were tellers seated at a counter behind glass, but there were no lines so we were able to walk right up.

Having no idea what it was that was supposed to happen there, I raised my eyebrows when she slapped down a piece of paper in front of me headlined "Application for Passport" across the top and gave me a pen to write with. No harm in that.

I began to fill out the form, questioning the teller all the while. "This is cool, I've never had a passport before."

"We'd like everyone to have one. It'll make things so much easier."

"Do we get to choose the color of our covers?"

"Oh. No. There's no need for different colors."

"Will you be mailing it to me when it's done, or do we get it right away, now?"

"You don't get it. We keep it here, stored in lockers."

"How much do they cost?"

"Forty dollars."

"And, we aren't given something that we pay for?" I had stopped writing, now very interested in what the teller was saying to me.

"No. Everyone will have passports stored right here, once the law is passed."

"I'm not interested in paying you for something you have no intentions of giving me. It's not right."

"Oh, but everyone will be..."

"In fact, this is communistic. You are collecting information on everyone! That isn't right, and it's communism!"

"But, we'll be sending everyone money once the law is passed."

In horror, I stepped back from the counter with my application in hand, and tore it in half; both fists gripping the paper tight. "Stop, everyone," I yelled to the room, "this is a scam. They want to track and control everyone. It's communism!"

My two companions stepped away from the counter with large, round eyes and pale faces. It took them no time at all to realize that what I was saying was true. They were enticing people in with the promise of money, then collecting information on everyone who takes the bait. Reforming our group with the tall blond in the middle and the two shorter ones on each side, we headed back out onto the street.

I was fuming mad. Furious, angry, and on a warpath now. Soon, we came upon a large gathering of people sitting on large stairs, most with heads down and tucked into their scarves. I climbed up onto a stair and shouted out my tirade.

"Do you see what they are doing? They want to catalog each and every one of you, give you a number, and control everything that you do. They want to control everyone! It's communism! We'll all be captives!"

On and on I yelled. Heads raised and eyes began to flash with the same anger I felt. Some picked up and joined in with my yelling. Then a fight broke out, and once again, the three of us left the scene.

Back to the shoe store we went, only this time, when we opened the door, we didn't see the nerd behind a cash register - or any displays of shoes. This time, it looked like a corporate office with floor to ceiling stainless steel panels. Taken by surprise, I didn't see where the tall blond woman went, and only caught sight of the other short one as she appeared to walk through a wall a la Harry Potter's Room of Requirements.

Slowly walking up to the wall, I touched it. Yes, it was solid. The nerdy cashier appeared and led me into a room, and he told me to follow the waiter with a huge tray of bottled waters balanced on his finger tips.

"That lady sure is nice to buy all this water for her people," the waiter said as he walked toward another solid wall.

**********************

And that is when I woke up. I woke up hard and sat upright, swinging both feet to the floor. I've been having weird dreams for awhile now, but none so blatantly unrecognizable to me. I did not recognize a single person, and I don't remember ever walking through a large city in that way. Yes, it was in full color.

I usually never remember the chain of events in a dream like I have with this one, and most of the time, it is only minutes before the prevailing feeling from the dream fades. Not this time. This one was potent.