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An Electoral Dragon

Dreamed 1998/10/21 by Chris Wayan


Election fever! This year it's a struggle for power between magical forces as well--ambitious shamans and spirits. I can't keep them all straight, but the biggest struggle's around a young woman trying to depose her fierce, soulless grandfather.

People show their party affiliations by sporting truly stupid haircuts. The most common is a pale lime-green flat-top or buzz. I think it's really ugly. Like cheap Astroturf. Plastic hair, plastic thoughts!

I ride the bus, because my bike-lock broke. I follow my housemate Alder. As she climbs on the local bus, I notice she too has changed her hair. Dyed the top indigo, left the rest silver. No idea what it means politically, but it looks better than Astroturf. A green, toothy dragon; words 'DON'T VOTE FOR THIS!' Sketch of dream by Wayan.

Later I'm walking downtown past the mouth of an alley, and a sort of green dragon pops out--scaly, toothy, spiky crest. Dragons are all right in fiction, but in real life? A shock. Not a pleasant one. An ugly character. Mugger or panhandler?

But an oily voice-over explains the monster is running for office! "This is Dan Hamburg, a naive, solitary, opportunistic wizard jumping into the governor's race, spoiling the contest for serious candidates."

Oh. Only now do I realize this isn't life I'm seeing and feeling, but a virtual reality news editorial! A propaganda piece against radicals and third parties. These experiences aren't my life; they're being chosen for me. And I better analyze what I'm being shown with more skepticism. The high production values--vivid, truly lifelike virtual reality, not that cheesy, hasty VR most campaign ads can afford--fooled me into mistaking propaganda for life!

And I wake.

NOTES ON WAKING



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