Sci-fi Novel - The Dream Artist - Part 10

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9

Part 10

In the Virtual Reality Laboratory of the Department of Homeland Security, we were investigating Selim Özben's art we hoped would be related to his disappearance. The Lab looked like a small cinema hall with two seats. With very delicate sound, image, odor, vibration, ventilation systems, this hall was built using the latest technology to connect the detectives to the virtual reality and was introduced about a year ago. It was certain that this place was suitable to follow Selim Özben's dreams through the eyes of a researcher. It was an important advantage that Peri had previously worked as an operator in this laboratory to perform various tasks, that we could benefit from the capacity of the lab to the fullest. Since Selim Özben's dreams lasted for five minutes on average, we planned to follow two random dreams from each year of his nine-year career. We started with the first dream he published on hypernet.

At the beginning of the dream, Selim Özben appeared working at the computer in one of the upper floors of a skyscraper. There was a round glass jar with a redfish in it next to his computer. The unusual redness of the fish, the thin tail and the fins resembled a bride's tulle almost hypnotized me. The outside was sunny and unusually bright, and intense sunlight hit inside through the large windows of the skyscraper. We could read peace and comfort from the face of Selim Özben.

Suddenly, the Japanese fish became stagnant, and small waves began to form on the surface of its water. Selim Özben looked up at the jar where the fish was in. Since the seats we were sitting on were slightly shaken, we understood the doubt that Selim Özben felt very well. He already had anxiety and curiosity marks on his face. We've activated the belts of our seats when the shock in the fish's water increased. There was a deep hum, like the sound of a break from the earth. The jar fell to the ground, and the Japanese fish began to flutter helplessly on the ground. Selim threw himself to the floor in panic and crawled into the window. Everything seemed normal outside. Even though the first intensity of the earth tremors had passed, the skyscraper in which Selim was located began to sway right and left with slight movements like a swing. Dust clouds were seen rising from collapsed buildings due to the earthquake. Selim said “I knew this building was solid," with the joy of a boy who had won a game. Soon after, he focused on an apartment across the broad boulevard passing by the skyscraper. The condo was swinging forward and backward with soft movements like giants in children's tales. Its oscillation accelerated and became unstable, and the last time it was leaning towards us, it couldn't recover, so it started moving towards us. I saw the blue eyes of Peri grow in horror in her seat, where she stuck tightly, and as the three-dimensional view of the apartment fell upon us, we reluctantly leaned back. The building across the street collapsed to the bottom of the skyscraper where Selim was located and lifted a large cloud of dust. It made the situation more terrifying as there was no sound coming out of the collapsed giant building. Now, while the oscillating speed of the skyscraper was increasing, the other towers in our field of view began to fall one by one. Every collapsed building was lifting a new dust cloud, and since everything in our field of view was on the move, we had difficulty distinguishing where the earth and sky was.

In the end, our skyscraper began to fall like a domino stone. We felt better about Selim Özben's tragedy because our seats were lying side by side following the skyscraper movement. Selim Özben's face now had an expression of surrender. We found ourselves on the deck of a giant ship floating in the city. In our seats, we were shaking like we were on a ship in a rough sea, and we felt the sea breeze in our faces, and we were impressed by the smell of the sea. The giant waves from the ocean continued to fill the city with water, passing through the few remaining skyscrapers. The giant screen next to us was filled with deep blue ocean water that swells and falls with high turbulence. The clouds on the horizon formed anaphors by passing through each other under the influence of the wind. A deep sense of loneliness shook us. Now the big city, which contained all our loved ones and memories, was like a helpless survivor. The last hills, the mosque minarets, and skyscrapers were about to be covered with water. Selim Özben began to cry remembering the loved ones who stayed in the city. We were reading the pain he suffered from his face. As if the wind had reduced its intensity, the ship's swaying on the sea became softer. In the sky, in the dark clouds, the flashing lights of the forked lightning were seen. The dreaded buzz of the sea and the wind stopped, a light, but steady rain began. Selim Özben was now drenched from the rain on the deck of the ship and trembled by looking at the horizon with sad eyes. The rainwater, filtered out of his wet hair, was stirring in tears. We almost never rocked our seats, and the sea that had just been ravaged by the raging waves was now stagnant as the surface of a lake. Selim Özben turned around and looked at the city he left behind, and there was nothing from the city on the surface of the calm and smooth sea. His pain must have become unbearable, the dream has come to an end.

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