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

I stretched, adjusted my headset, and yawned. On the one hand, it was great that the mission floor was so dim -- my head was pounding. On the other hand, I was about to fall asleep. 
 
 `` Hendricks, we got connection yet?'' I said, speaking into my mic. Henny was right across the aisle, but we never took the headsets off on the mission floor and it was habit. As if in response, static filled my ears. Henny gave me a thumbs up. 
 
 I turned to my station and started listening -- and watching. 
 
 The Somnolent Simulation Experimental Agency was established in 1946. Thanks to some think tank breakthrough -- still way too classified even for us ops to know the details -- Big Brother could both broadcast and observe civilian dreams. 
 
 On the screens in front of me, I watched a score of regular Joes and Janes. Looked like Henny had put me on Naked Exam That You Did n't Study For duty. Ugh. It was easiest to watch twenty people having the same dream. Easier to pick out the lucids, and easier yet to see -- if it ever happened -- what we were looking for. 
 
 On the mission floor, 900 other ops were doing the same thing I was. 
 
 I peeked over at Henny's screen, and opened an IM window. 
 
 > op729: You bitch. You gave me Naked Exams and took Threesome with Twins?! 
 
 Henny turned and laughed. I could n't hear it, but I knew her bright, amused, unrepentant laugh well and just seeing her throw her head back, the bounce of her ponytail, made me smile. 
 
 Back to the dreams. No lucids here, and while we were n't real sure what our mission was, we had parameters to follow. Non-lucids were worthless. 
 
 I hit a key to refresh my feeds with a new batch. Jesus, how many people were getting Naked Exam broadcast tonight? 
 
 I felt myself starting to doze. Glanced at the time. Coffee run should be soon. Thank god. 
 
 No lucids in this bunch either. I did n't refresh, and instead watched Henny. My feelings for her were becoming problematic. Not because she did n't return them -- I did n't know one way or another if she did -- but because I did n't want to have them. She was a bright spot in my day, a ray of sunshine in this dark, over-air-conditioned bunker we spent too many hours in. I did n't want to risk losing that. Pretty much everything else sucked. 
 
 She noticed me watching her and smiled. `` Coffee?'' she mouthed, not bothering to key her mic. I nodded desperately. She opened an IM window and typed to someone, one of the trainees, most likely, then signed `` OK'' with a grin to me. I grinned back. She's an angel, I thought. 
 
 She watched her station. I could n't make out which dream it was. There were hundreds of templates, though, so that was n't surprising. She tilted her head to the side, curiously, then enlarged one of the windows. 
 
 She started typing furiously. I was surprised to hear an alert on my own machine and turned back to my station to see what she was saying. 
 
 > op765: Rinker, what the fuck? 
 
 I blinked. Huh? So she caught me staring? We stared at each other all the time, what was she on about. 
 
 > op729: Sorry Hen, just spacey today, not enough sleep. 
 
 > op765: This ca n't be happening. We do n't have chips! 
 
 Chips were implanted in civs at birth to enable them to receive broadcast dreams and transmit their experiences. 
 
 > op729: What ca n't be happening? What are you talking about? 
 
 I turned to wave her over and get her to just explain, but she was n't at her chair. In fact, no one was. I was alone on the floor. Fear slid down through my spine and back up again, and I shuddered. 
 
 > op729: What the fuck is going on? 
 
 > op765: You tell me!!! 
 
 > op729: Where did everyone go?? Where are you Hen? 
 
 > op765: God I do n't know what to do. This is outside of all of the parameters. 
 
 I stood up and slowly looked around again. Everyone was just gone. Screens were still lit, dreams were still playing, but I was alone. 
 
 `` HENNY!'' I yelled. `` This is n't fucking funny anymore.'' It actually would have been a great prank, normally, but the sick fearful feeling I could n't shake sucked all of the humor out of it for me. 
 
 That's when everything went black. I screamed. There were hardly any lights on on the floor to start with, but the screens kept the room relatively well lit. Now I could n't see anything; it's not like the bunker had windows. I sat back down hurriedly, fumbling for my keyboard, but my screen was as black as everything else. 
 
 `` Henny!'' I said. `` Cut this the fuck out! Show yourself! NOW,'' I said, and I was ashamed of the panic in my voice but I could n't help it. 
 
 My screen flickered. I watched with confusion as a pixelated stream cleared to reveal... Henny. Up close and personal, and I could see the ops room, packed with people, behind her. Her face was lit blue and washed out from the screen. Other ops were gathered around, mouths slack. I could see the reflection of my face in her eyes. 
 
 She typed something; I could hear the keyboard from my speakers, but not across the aisle. And that's when I understood. 
 
 > op765: Hi, Rink. Can you still read this? 
 
 I nodded and she gasped. 
 
 > op765: Can you... can you type back? 
 
 I shrugged. `` Let's see,'' I said. 
 
 > op729: Henny, this is Rink. Over and out. 
 
 I tapped Enter. 
 
 She watched the screen with wonder. `` Can you say aloud what you just typed? 
 
 I repeated it. 
 
 `` Do you know what is happening?'' 
 
 I nodded. 
 
 `` We just got our first hit. And it's me.''
