A Vivid Dream
Reocoles was soaring, riding the winds high over Atlantis. Like a powerful hawk, he sailed through the sky, rising on the swells and circling the landscape far below.
Though he didn’t have any wings or feathers, he rode the air currents with ease. His outstretched arms carried him wherever he chose. And with no need to walk upon the ground, he had left behind the clumsy metal brace for his leg.
Flying! he told himself giddily as the winds tousled his gray hair. I am, for once, moving freely!
And I am also dreaming, he thought lucidly. This dream feels so real, so true . . . I am certain it must be another dream sent to me from the gods on high.
Even as he flew into a cloud and out the other side, he smiled. The last divine dream helped me discover this island called Atlantis—and begin my climb to greatness. He banked a turn to the right. What discovery, I wonder, will this new dream bring?
Below him, he saw clearly the City of Great Powers, dominated by the Divine Monk’s temple. He saw, too, the market square, the City gates—and his great accomplishment, the Machines District. Despite the layer of sooty haze that for some inexplicable reason hung over that section of the City, he couldn’t miss seeing how it bustled with activity and industry.
The true heart of this place, he thought proudly. How these poor people ever managed to exist before his ship arrived, he could never understand.
The only irksome sight in the City was that dilapidated old bridge that the local folk had decorated with prayer leaves. Why, it didn’t even go all the way across the river gorge! Just seeing the bridge annoyed him, since there couldn’t be any purpose to having such a rickety, half-finished contraption.
When I’m finished with my more pressing projects, he reminded himself, it’s high time my men tear that bridge down and build a shiny new iron one in its place.
He chortled, guessing that the Divine Monk might hear some resistance from the locals to this plan. In their ignorance, they seemed to be attached to such old, useless structures. All I need to do to solve that problem, he told himself, is to name the new bridge after His Holiness the Divine Monk.
Banking another turn, he flew southward across the river. Soon he was sailing toward the Great Forest, that mass of unused trees and waterways. On the open land just north of the forest, he saw with pride, was the industrial complex he’d created over the past several years. Pit mines, ditches, and roadways hummed with the business of resource extraction and refining.
Suddenly—the whole scene shifted. The industrial complex expanded, pushing across the forest’s rim and deep into the thick mass of trees. As steadily as oil flowing over a body of water, the complex grew swiftly larger. Before long, instead of only a few mines, a network of dozens appeared, complete with new ditches and tailings ponds. The Great Forest, meanwhile, vanished under a maze of roads, dams, and clear-cut slopes, along with the rows of tenement houses to enable more workers to labor for longer periods.
The future! realized Reocoles. Thanks to Zeus, I am being shown a glimpse of the future.
Soaring overhead, the master machinist marveled at how completely the forest’s resources were being utilized. Why, even from this altitude he could see piles of glittering gemstones that had been mined! And he also took pride in how many of the roads, bridges, construction sites, and refineries he’d already been planning to build—and which could be found on the map labeled Great Forest Plan that graced the building he humbly called his “workshop.”
Yet there was much more going on in this vision of the future than he’d previously imagined. In particular, he could tell that some powerful new energy source was being extracted from the landscape. Though he couldn’t tell exactly what it was, he felt certain it was not merely coal, oil, or timber. No . . . this new form of energy, being processed under large domed structures, seemed both immensely powerful and deeply mysterious.
Just one of the many treasures that awaits my discovery, thought Reocoles. He swooped lower, pleased at how much more of the land was now visible without the nuisance of all those trees.
Then, miraculously, he heard in his mind a voice. The voice, he felt certain, of Zeus himself.
“All this and more awaits you, Reocoles. And with this progress will come all the power you desire—as well as the empire you deserve.
“But lo,” the godly voice intoned, “heed this warning! The future you have seen will come to pass only if you work much faster. For change is coming to your world—and you must be ready to seize every opportunity!
“Or else,” the voice concluded, “you and all your works shall perish forever.”
At that, Reocoles woke up. He wiped his face, drenched with perspiration, with his bedsheet. Though dawn was still several hours away, he strapped on his leg brace, dressed himself, and went straight to work.