We're a team of six, originally two scientists, two artists, and two thinkers. It's stormy. The rain is hard and the lightning dramatic. Perfect conditions for the experiment.
We've been commissioned to design a giant-sized lightning rod that can capture and store energy from lightning. We're part of a competitive race, with teams all over the world, to design and implement a powerful, efficient, humane, and aesthetically invigorating (but flexible) model that can be reproduced all over the world.
The lightning rods have to be beautiful but reproduceable in variations that will look different. They have to gather the power safely and store it effectively. They will provide the power to heat and light homes, drive cars, and run computers. Each team is composed of scientists, artists, and thinkers--and part of the aim is that the teams will begin to dissolve these categories so that every member becomes all three. Only teams that manage this successfully even have a shot at winning.
Note: I woke from this dream but remained in a liminal state for a while and "finished" it there, gradually becoming more conscious as I did. I'm not sure exactly how much of this was in the original dream, but definitely the idea for and the testing of the divining rod. It was pouring rain when I woke, so that must be where source of the storm. Finally, my partner has been working on the early stages of a project that would animate people's "green dreams." I guess it got under my skin.
Comments (9)
what's a "green dream"
Posted by Virtual Light | November 10, 2006 1:44 AM
Posted on November 10, 2006 01:44
Oh, a green dream is a sort of utopian vision of an environmentally sound world. I forgot to define my key term!
Posted by Lydgate | November 10, 2006 10:38 PM
Posted on November 10, 2006 22:38
Is the "green dream" a common phenomenon... Does the geneal populus have this sort of dream often?
Posted by Virtual Light | November 12, 2006 2:52 PM
Posted on November 12, 2006 14:52
Not as far as I know. I think the "green dream" is basically a concept, though I'm sure many people have had fantasies that would qualify.
Posted by Lydgate | November 13, 2006 7:50 PM
Posted on November 13, 2006 19:50
I love how things can enter your dreams from the waking world, like with the rain when you woke up. This reminded me of George Henry Lewes' concept of the external entering your dreams. And the fact that you woke up in a liminal state, I think, had alot to do with you thinking you had a chance of winning. This mirrors what you described as a "green dream" which was a utopian vision of an environmentally sound world. But this is also a contradiction to the conditions in your dream - lightning. The way you described it reminded me of Frankenstein. =)
Posted by True Romance | November 18, 2006 3:09 AM
Posted on November 18, 2006 03:09
How can a lighting rod be beautiful?
I love how the almost archetypal characters of scientist, artist, and thinker make appearances here. The fact that they're supposed to almost mold together to create something beutiful is strange. This dream should be made into a short story. Its narrative structure seems so feasible and cogitable.
Posted by Mr. Thompson | November 19, 2006 3:32 AM
Posted on November 19, 2006 03:32
Maybe I will write a story based on it. Good idea!
Making the lightning rod beautiful was part of the challenge. That's why there had to be teams all over the world. Hopefully at least one will make it work. Christo? Richard Serra? Gaudi? (Oh, he's dead...)
Posted by Lydgate | November 19, 2006 3:45 PM
Posted on November 19, 2006 15:45
a bit unrelated:
Gaudi's arches remind me of the cover of the unconsoled... connection?
Posted by Virtual Light | December 27, 2006 6:32 AM
Posted on December 27, 2006 06:32
To Virtual Light:
I see what you mean about Gaudi and The Unconsoled. Those arches on the cover, though, are more typical of a lot of European architecture, especially in small cities and towns. Nonetheless, Gaudi and Ishiguro both experiment with form in ways that inflect realism with elements of dreaming, so I'd say you're onto something.
Posted by Lydgate | December 29, 2006 2:28 PM
Posted on December 29, 2006 14:28