Chapter 259: Inception and Truman Show (Part 2)_2

"Hugo is now in the 68th layer, or what we can call the stage, while you are in the 69th layer, which is the audience seating,"

"Despite being standing by your side right now, I am in fact on the 70th level of the theater, the broadcast room, or what you could call the director's office,"

"Therefore I control everything taking place on stage. For instance, like this..." As Shiller's voice trailed off, he snapped his fingers, and a newspaper appeared on Hugo's table.

"A newspaper? What does it say?" Evans seemed to want to lean in, but hesitated to get too close to Hugo. Shiller reminded him: "You can go ahead and read it, he can't see you."

"In my Thought Palace, each part operates under a different set of rules. In the theater, one's consciousness at a higher level can see the consciousness at the lower level, but the lower level cannot see the upper level,"

"So, you can see him, but he can't see you. In his field of vison, he should currently be sitting on a train, entering Gotham City as the train moves forward,"

"But didn't he already arrive? He even chatted and drank with you..."

"You sure ask a lot of stupid questions." Jack glared at the question-asking Evans, while Shiller waved a hand, saying: "Don't do that, Jack, I like people who ask questions."

"Generally speaking, in dreams, people don't realize they're dreaming. Just like when you guys first arrived here, even though every thing was out of place and bizarre, you were completely oblivious,"

"A small group of people can realize they're dreaming and exploit the principle of believing the dream to the extreme, accomplishing things in their dream that they can't accomplish in reality. We generally call this type of dreaming 'lucid dreaming.'

"But clearly, Hugo, who just entered his dream, is unable to realize he is dreaming. As far as he's concerned, he just received his offer letter and embarked on the train to Gotham. Then, he read a newspaper on the train..."

"Then what about the motivation you mentioned that you wanted to implant in him?"

With another wave of Shiller's hand, another newspaper appeared in Hugo's hand. This newspaper looked somewhat old, and Victor leaned over to get a better look, saying: "Is this a news article about you?"

"Indeed. I'm implying to him that even before he came to Gotham, he had noticed me and investigated some information about me. This should pique his curiosity about me, thereby hastening his arrival at the Arkham Hospital, and serving as a setup for later events..."

"After that..." Shiller snapped his fingers, and Hugo's table receded from him, the newspaper fluttering up into midair and disappearing. Hugo stepped directly into the office of the Chief Physician at Arkham Mental Hospital.

"Why the abrupt transition?" Victor asked him, "Won't he find it odd?"

"Isn't that the way dreams work? One scene follows another; from breakfast to class to lunchtime then to going home after school. Surely you wouldn't expect to sit through an entire mathematics lesson in a dream?"

"What happens next? Is he going to start working?"

"No, his motivation isn't strong enough yet. I have to add some fuel to the fire."

Immediately after, Shiller waved his hand and beside him appeared a man identical to himself, except in place of the Globe that was his head, was a normal-looking one.

"What is this? Is it your doppelgänger?"

"He is the actor who will be appearing next..."

Following Shiller's words, the other him walked into the Chief Physician's office in Arkham Mental Hospital and enthusiastically shook Hugo's hands, saying: "Thank God, you're finally here."

Shiller then started making polite conversation with Hugo. Victor commented, "You really do act quite convincingly like an irresponsible quack desperate to shirk his duties."

"That's exactly what I want. If I leave him with the impression that I'm an incompetent but eager to shirk responsibility, then he'll think I'm a fraud. Thus, he'll have a stronger motivation to unmask me and topple my theories."

"I really don't understand," Victor said, crossing his arms. "What's the ultimate aim of this charade you've orchestrated? Don't tell me it's just for your own amusement?"

"The amusement is part of it. Since it's a long night with no sleep in sight, staging a self-directed play isn't a bad idea, but there indeed is another purpose. You'll understand in good time."

Next, Shiller's character exits the scene and Brand's character steps in. Before they can ask any questions, Shiller explains, "This is just a puppet I've manifested, Brand did not come here, after all, his field is pathology, he is not interested in these kinds of things."

Then, Hugo commenced his lengthy discourse on the non-existence of the "Thought Palace".Throughout the process, Jack laughed heartily, ending up in a fit of belly laughter. He wiped away a tear from the corner of his eye, saying, "It's like a person in a dream saying, 'people don't dream.' What a hilarious joke, hahaha! It's replaced the joke about Shiller being an ordinary person in my heart..."

Since Shiller's head is a globe, others couldn't read his expression, but Victor jokingly remarked, "What did I just see? Was that Texas rolling its eyes?"

Then, they saw Hugo step out holding a machine that was shaped like an egg. Cobblepot furrowed his brows and asked, "What's that?"

"It should be something he manifested from his mind, just like the chicken wing head and ice spear you guys just conjured. He believes that he has created this thing, and so it appears."

Then they see Hugo pick up a medical record and flip through it, before going to the telephone to make a call.

Suddenly a shrill ringing fills the space. A little perplexed, Cobblepot looks down to see a ringing phone floating in front of him.

"Your phone," Shiller said, laughing.

"What's going on? He called me from within his dream, and it actually got through to me?"

"I made it possible for his call to be received here, otherwise, we'd just be sitting here, watching with nothing to do. I've always believed that immersive theater has great potential, and audience participation is key…"

"So what am I supposed to do now?"

Victor gave Cobblepot a pat on the shoulder and said, "Answer the call."

Cobblepot picked up the phone, and he heard Hugo's voice. The two of them were now face-to-face in the office, Hugo on the left side of the desk holding the phone, and Cobblepot was on the right, also holding a phone.

"Hello, is this Mr. Kopot? This is Arkham Mental Hospital. According to your record here, you are due for a follow-up appointment soon. Is tomorrow afternoon convenient for you?"

Cobblepot was taken aback, but he agreed to the request nonetheless. He then turned to Shiller and asked, "What should I do next? Do I go for the check-up?"

"Didn't you watch how I did it early on? Project a virtual personality, and then have it materialize to participate in the performance on your behalf."

Shiller explained to Cobblepot how to materialize another version of oneself in the consciousness space. He emphasized, "The trick is, best not to give it a higher dimensional perspective. You could imagine, a Cobblepot who's really been asked for a follow-up appointment, and have him be clueless as to what is happening…"

"So you're saying create a false memory for him?" Cobblepot asked, frowning.

"Exactly, you can arrange a plausible back story for him. For instance, in his memory, he's not aware that I've resigned. And he believes that this is just a routine check-up; therefore, he thinks there's nothing wrong with just going along with it. This can help him to be more involved in the forthcoming performance…"

As the other Cobblepot was being crafted, the other spectators found it extraordinary. When he walked into the clinic and laid down on the chair, Hugo brought out the machine. Cobblepot, now in the audience, questioned, "What's he trying to do?"

"He might be attempting to enter your consciousness."

"But isn't he already in a consciousness space?"

"Remember the rule here? If you believe it to be true, then it is. He believes this is the real world, and that he is a psychologist, so he's intending to delve into your mind."

"And this is what I meant when I said I had an alternative aim, a topic I've been heavily researching recently…"

"What is that?"

"A dream within a dream."