[ WP ] Dreams have all been tests , and someone finally passed .

High above the Earth's atmosphere, a spaceship hovered. 
 
 To humans, the spaceship would've appeared very small. It was barely an inch in diameter, and looked like a perfect sphere. It hid itself among the satellites and debris orbiting around the planet, evading detection by disguising itself as a piece of space junk. 
 
 Inside the spaceship lived an entire alien civilization. To humans, the aliens would've appeared bizarre. Each individual alien was tiny, the size of a virus, and billions of them lived in the spaceship. They, like their ship, were spherical in shape, featureless except for a multitude of colors that pulsed across their surfaces. They used these pulses to communicate with one another. 
 
 Today, the aliens were flashing colors at one another in a state of what humans would've called excitement. The colors pulsed again and again, starting in chaos but eventually settling into one synchronous message. To humans, the message would mean *it's confirmed*, *it's proven*, or *we're sure of it now*. 
 
 ***** 
 
 Donald van Kean was, to most people, completely unremarkable. He was a retired soldier, having served in the army, and now worked as a taxi driver. It was n't a very lucrative living, but he managed to keep himself fed and clothed. He'd never married, had no children, and had very few friends. He was of medium height, medium build, and had brown hair that was graying at the temples. To his fellow man, Donald did not merit a second glance. 
 
 To the aliens, he was their savior. 
 
 On this day, Donald set out from his run-down apartment building and settled into his cab. Before he could turn the ignition, though, his windshield shattered and something embedded itself into his shotgun seat with a loud *bang*. Donald's first instinct was that someone was shooting at him. He dived down under his dashboard and took cover. He listened hard, but could hear nothing but his pounding heart. He craned his neck and looked up at the broken windshield, at the massive hole and the spiderweb of cracks. He peered at the bullet lodged in the leather of the seat's headrest, until he realized it did n't look like a bullet. It looked like a large dark blue marble. 
 
 And then he noticed the marble seemed to be giving off something, a gas or smoke of some sort. The smoke wisped out from the marble, and then—and here Donald was really surprised—instead of drifting up or out, it sank down toward him, cowering under his dashboard. 
 
 The smoke touched his skin, and immediately his mind was filled with colors. 
 
 A few disorienting moments later, he realized the colors were talking to him. Not in any language he knew, in fact, not in any language at all. He was receiving fundamental ideas in his mind, transmitted directly into his brain without being constrained by the limits of language. They were like feelings, but far more precise and far more detailed. The message he was getting most strongly was very clear. 
 
 ***We greet you*** 
 
 He felt a surge of confusion from within himself, and immediately received a response in the *mentalese*. 
 
 ***We are aliens. We are dying. We need your help. *** 
 
 Donald's confusion strengthened. How could he help them? 
 
 ***You are unique. Your brain is unique. We require your brain. *** 
 
 Donald was overwhelmed by fear. Aliens wanted his brain? 
 
 ***Do not fear. We will not hurt you. You are unique. We need you. *** 
 
 How? 
 
 ***We are an advanced race. We are dying. We have much knowledge and wisdom. We need someone to pass our knowledge to. We need someone to keep our legacy alive. *** 
 
 But... why me? 
 
 ***We have watched all humans for a long time. You are unique. You remember your dreams. Others wake up and forget their dreams. You are the one we need. *** 
 
 What does my dreaming have to do with it? 
 
 ***We will give you the knowledge while you sleep. You will remember it when you wake, and pass it on to others. You will remember our knowledge. You will be our legacy. *** 
 
 But... ca n't you just teach us the knowledge when we're awake? 
 
 ***We are dying. Language is too slow for teaching this knowledge. We do not have time. We will live inside you, for as long as we can, and when we die you will have the rest of your life to teach the knowledge to the other humans. *** 
 
 Donald finally felt himself comprehend. The colors pulsed satisfaction and happiness at him. He decided they would begin tonight. 
 
 ***Yes, we will begin tonight. We hope you sleep well tonight. ***
