Teknall did not dream. As a divine being, his mind did not need to go through the mortal process of sleep and the dreaming associated with it. On such occasions that Teknall's mind was idle, he would design new inventions and simulate novel mechanisms. But Gerrik did dream, and Teknall could see Gerrik's thoughts. [colour=cornflowerblue][i]'I am Chiral Phi. You are my children, my sons and daughters, offspring of my barren womb, Chosen People of God. With you I am well pleased, and to me your hearts belong. You are mine- and I am yours, forever and for all time.'[/i][/colour] But Gerrik did not dream like regular mortals. His divinely enhanced mind granted him an unparalleled capacity for metacognition, meaning even during the deepest dreams he was lucid. Which meant he could recognise when a thought was not his own. [i]Where's this dream coming from? This is not from my own head.[/i] [colour=cornflowerblue]'That's the trick, of course. Mortals need to believe that they have control, that their decisions have weight.'[/colour] [i]Stone Chipper, are you getting this? What's this about?[/i] [colour=Peru][i]I am. I know Phi.[/i][/colour] [colour=cornflowerblue]'Mortals are a resource. There's power, locked inside them. All you need is the right keys and you can play a whole civilisation to its doom.'[/colour] [colour=Peru][i]And she wouldn't be broadcasting her trade secrets across Raka. Someone's been spying on her and has decided to publicise her methods of deception.[/i][/colour] [colour=cornflowerblue]'The patterns of mortal activity are predictable. As a unit or a population, they just take a few taps to steer irrevocably astray. Gratitude, fear, curiousity...'[/colour] [colour=Peru][i]I know Toun has been watching Phi, but I don't think he would send messages via dreams. Probably.[/i][/colour] [i]What should I do?[/i] [colour=Peru][i]Keep listening. Check with others in a few days to see if they've had similar dreams; I doubt you're the only one to receive this dream.[/i][/colour] [colour=cornflowerblue]'But that doesn't even matter, does it? Of course not! Nothing matters! Entropy will chew on our bones in the end no matter who we are or what we've done. Even in the short term, the only thing that matters is this: [i]Mortals are power.[/i][/colour] [colour=Peru][i]Maybe engage in a bit of philosophy too.[/i][/colour]