Microstory 52: Dream School

Centuries ago, there arose a group of people with extraordinary abilities. They were the remnants of developments and human experiments from millennia before. The technology that ultimately made them possible already existed, but what these people and their abilities brought the world was a new perspective. Just because a particular technology is possible, doesn’t mean there is anyone around creative enough to come up with the full range of its uses. One of these anomalies was a man named Mandy Alto. He could enter other people’s dreams, and share experiences across a network of sleepers. While some considered the possibility of using this for espionage and mind control, a contemporary of his named Valary had a different idea. She realized that Mandy could create 100% lucid dreams, meaning that the dreamers were able to recall what had happened to them upon waking, sometimes even to a higher degree than with real life events. As a visionary, Valary founded a new league of education. During their five hours of sleep, students would study in a world of endless possibilities and resources. This left time to do whatever they wanted during their waking hours. The practice continues today. In fact, learning while awake is becoming exceedingly rare.