I'm racing through the universe; stars and galaxies fly by, like in those screensavers. Now the stars turn into purple, dystopian cityscapes beneath ominous dark clouds. The skyline dissolves into urban canyons. I approach the streets; they are littered with dark cubes. I close in and the cubes transform into Lego men lying on the streets, getting on their feet. With increasing clarity, I can make out the parts of the Lego men; they give me a friendly wave. Their limbs transform into tentacles, they stroke my skin — a soothing sensation. The purple cityscapes give way to an ominous Lara Croft-style jungle, neon-green trees with a touch of Alice-in-Wonderland.
I see a yellow maelstrom, or vortex, spinning clockwise, sucking in everything but me. I order the vortex to spin counterclockwise, and it obliges. I am in control. This is better than Kubrick's 2001 Odyssey.
My eyesight is moderate and I usually wear glasses. Even so, everything is always a bit blurry. This is different. This is ultra-high-definition, crystal clear, wherever I look. I realize I'm not seeing images; my brain is generating them in 8K resolution.
I open my eyes. The ceiling is above me, the light of the full moon falls through the window. I close my eyes, and instantly I'm back to my Lego men and the vortex, which I tell to resume clockwise rotation. On - off - on.
Michael Jackson died from it says the anesthetist. I had asked what potion she might have given me. Propofol. Next time, I will ask for a double dose.
*****
More Insights from Outside the Bubble, by Detlef Palm
Write to Detlef at detlefpalm55@gmail.com
Definitely for GenZ consumption ....
ReplyDeleteLou, you're wrong. I was born some 60 years before Gen-Z, yet I am impressed by Detlef's piece. Let me explain:
ReplyDeleteAround 1800AD, one Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote the immortal lines:
In Xanadu did Kublah Khan a stately pleasure dome decree,
Where Alph the sacred river ran, through caverns measureless to man,
Down to a sunless sea.
Though there seems to be some debate about this, but Coleridge was supposed to have been high on drugs (like Gen-Z sometimes are ?) when he wrote it. Somehow, I think Detlef may have joined Coleridge in his telling of the joys of a hallucinogenic trip ? Just thinking. . . . .
Apologies. I should have signed in as Ken Gibbs. . . .
ReplyDeleteKen - We need more smiles and laughter nowadays. You truly are a treasure to the boomers
DeleteA double dose might be what Jackson got
ReplyDeleteWhat a trip. Sometimes I get similar visions in dreams, and other times my eyes are so blurry that I see all kinds of magical forms. But usually I am just enjoying the natural world and the lights at night.
ReplyDeleteI'll have some of whatever Detlef is having.
ReplyDelete