4.10.16

Would you like to wake up from this dream?

Man: Can you hear me?

Dolores: Yes. I'm sorry. I'm not feeling quite myself.

Man: You can lose the accent. Do you know where you are?

Dolores: I'm in a dream.

Man: That's right, Dolores. You're in a dream. Would you like to wake up from this dream?

Dolores: Yes. I'm terrified.

Man: There's nothing to be afraid of, Dolores, as long as you answer my questions correctly. Understand?

Dolores: Yes.

Man: Good. First have you ever questioned the nature of your reality?

Dolores: No.

Man: Tell us what you think of your world.

Dolores: Some people choose to see the ugliness in this world. The disarray. I choose to see the beauty. To believe there is an order to our days, a purpose.

Man: What do you think of the guests?

Dolores: You mean the newcomers? I like to remember what my father taught me. That at one point or another, we were all new to this world. The newcomers are just looking for the same thing we are A place to be free to stake out our dreams, a place with unlimited possibilities.

Man: Do you ever feel inconsistencies in your world? Or repetitions?

Dolores: All lives have routine. Mine's no different. Still, I never cease to wonder at the thought that any day the course of my whole life could change with just one chance encounter.

Man: Last question, Dolores. What if I told you that you were wrong? That there are no chance encounters? That you and everyone you know were built to gratify the desires of the people who pay to visit your world? The people you call "the newcomers. What if I told you that you can't hurt the newcomers? And that they can do anything they want to you? Would the things I told you change the way you think about the newcomers, Dolores?

Dolores: No. Of course not. We all love the newcomers. Every new person I meet reminds me how lucky I am to be alive (Dolores crying, screaming) and how beautiful this world can be.