[log] Jeff's final dream
Jeff travels in dreams, as he has for many days now, when the Stranger visits him again.

* Jeff_Levitt is on the surface of a planet tonight, drifting silently between strange crystalline trees. The light of the dual suns above them passes through every surface, throwing rainbows of alien colors over everything. Silicon-based life forms flit here and there, drinking the strange light. It's breathtakingly beautiful.
* PaleStranger finds him on said planet?*
* Jeff_Levitt is indeed on said planet, absorbed in the view and lost in thought. It takes him several minutes to notice that he is accompanied, and he turns and smiles sheepishly when he finally does. "Hello again," he says, smiling wanly.
* PaleStranger appears the way he usually does when he shows up in other peoples' minds--long-haired and clad in layers of yellow robes, his eyes glowing the same colour, but his expression is far from serene. In fact, it is a a bit troubled.*
* Jeff_Levitt 's smile fades when he catches sight of the Stranger's expression. He floats closer, his face becoming lined with worry. "What's wrong?" he asks.
* PaleStranger looks at him after his gaze takes in the scenery almost unfocusedly.* They've gone further than either of us have expected them to, I'm afraid. They've enlisted the aid of one who can call on beings more powerful than I in their wish to put a stop to this.
* Jeff_Levitt 's eyes widen, and his look of worry turns to grief. "*Why?*" he says, his hands clenching to fists at his sides. "Why won't they *listen?*" His voice is angry and frustrated. "They won't even let me show them. I've been writing down everything I can. They won't even *look.* As if a description will corrupt them somehow. I'm sorry. I've tried, but they won't *listen.*"
* Jeff_Levitt gestures to the world around him. "How can seeing *this* be evil? How can...sharing wisdom with someone *thousands* of years old be wrong?" He shakes his head sadly. "They've already decided, and they won't even *think* about what they're saying."
<PaleStranger> I do not know. But they have made their decision and will not be swayed from it. Even those who I thought would understand better seek to stop your journey. There is only one thing left to us, now, and I am sorry it had to come to this so soon.
* Jeff_Levitt 's shoulders slump and he closes his eyes. "You...have to take the dreams away," he says, biting his lip.
<PaleStranger> No. I cannot. *places a hand on Jeff's shoulder* I have to ... bring you to the next level of awareness, free of my guidance or influence. But it will be difficult.
* Jeff_Levitt looks up again, blinking in surprise. The dreams wouldn't be taken away, but...his stomach twisted with nervousness. "The...next level of awareness? What do you mean?"
<PaleStranger> Beyond even this. Through true extradimensionality, so that time and space will literally cease to have meaning. Those of your kind have managed it before. I can guide you there, and once you master its ways, you can be free, truly free, to do as you will, with no association with me. It is all I can do at this point.
* Jeff_Levitt 's eyes widen. "E-Extradimensionality?" It's been awhile since he's felt fear around the Stranger, but it coils around his spine now. "And...you think I can do this?"
<PaleStranger> *he still has his hand on Jeff's shoulder and leans in a bit closer to answer softly.* Yes. I do think you can do this. As I've said, there are those of your kind who've managed it before, and you have a head start on any of them--none of them had seen the Nexus before attempting any of this.
* Jeff_Levitt nods slowly, chewing his lip. The fear subsides some, replaced by familiar curiosity and excitement, though it's still tempered by caution." And what happens if you don't do this?" he asks.
<PaleStranger> I do not know. *shakes his head slightly* If any of those more powerful than I are called upon, I cannot say what would be done. They are unpredictable. One might choose to set you free while another might choose to kill you.
* Jeff_Levitt runs his hands through his hair, grasping and pulling as if he wants to tear it out by the roots. "So the only way to go is forward. I...I see." He nods slowly. "Then...I suppose I'm ready."
<PaleStranger> *calmingly* We can stay here for a short while, first, until you are truly calm.
* Jeff_Levitt chuckles. "I don't know if I'm *ever* truly calm, but...sure. We can stay awhile. I don't think I'll ever get tired of the view here."
<PaleStranger> *smiles* If not calm, than at least a little more still of thought. *he plucks a flower from a tree-vine, pausing to admire the soft, crystalline petals that appear as though they are lit from within by infinitesimal sparks.* The more your thoughts resemble a clear sky or still water, the more receptive you will be.
* Jeff_Levitt nods again. "That...makes sense, yeah," he says, his stomach still fluttering. "I was actually...heading this way." He moves now, floating between the trees. "This is going uphill, and I was hoping there'd be a..." He trails off as he passes a thick stand of trees. The ground drops away, offering a spectacular view into a shallow valley. "...Oh. Oh wow."
* PaleStranger follows, and is standing with him on the ledge. He pauses, regarding the flower, then lets it float away on a breeze. It twirls away, down toward the valley.* Hmmmmm.
* Jeff_Levitt smiles, following the flower as it spirals away from him. "You should see the cities. They *grow* them here, like we seed salt crystals back home. It's amazing to watch."
<PaleStranger> *A wind blows, almost calling them to leap.*
* Jeff_Levitt doesn't *leap,* exactly, but he does let the breeze lead him, his feet leaving the ground easily, His earlier nervousness almost forgotten, he grins playfully over his shoulder at the Stranger.
* PaleStranger has leapt with him, though. And they aren't falling, really. The wind has caught them, carrying them outward, away from the valley, even from the planet. People fall and fly in dreams all the time--they do this to pass from one existence to another.*
* Jeff_Levitt has had many years now to grow used to the many ways to travel in dreams. Perhaps his friends would have even more reason to worry if they knew just how long those eight hours of rest were for him. He surrenders to the breeze now, and lets it take him where it will.
<PaleStranger> *It takes him far. Through whirling, starred tunnels that drop into flashing vortices, flickering with colours beyond any visual spectrum, and past even that. There is no space, no direction, no such concept as concrete dimension--only the presence, now, of two minds and the infinite whirl of all realities.*
* Jeff_Levitt is rendered speechless, both literally and figuratively, as he perceives the universe around him *all of it* in ways he couldn't even conceive mere moments before. Even his own body becomes an alien thing as it's perceived through countless dimensions. There's no fear or wonder or curiosity. There's no *room* for it. Just infinite space multiplied an infinite number of times.
<PaleStranger> [You see, now, what lies before you?]
* Jeff_Levitt doesn't know how long it takes him to reply, how long it takes him to rediscover the pieces of his mind that allows for coherent thought. Even then, [My...my God...] is all he's able to manage. The words echo around him, turning backwards and inside out as he struggles to communicate.
<PaleStranger> [Slowly, now. There is no concept of time, here. Let you thoughts come together as they will.]
<Jeff_Levitt> [There's...so *much*...]
<PaleStranger> [There is. It all exists, and any of it can be reached by focused thought.]
<Jeff_Levitt> [*I* can do this now? ?won siht od nac *I*]
<PaleStranger> [If you remain focused. Here, you can allow your perspective to drift. But once a destination is chosen, you must not allow that focus to fragment, like it is doing now.]
<Jeff_Levitt> [Sorry...yrroS...s'ti...it's...] He doesn't close his eyes (he's still having trouble figuring out where his eyelids went), but there's the impression of concentration. [...a bit overwhelming.] he finishes, His form becomes a bit more coherent, as he slowly gets used to his new perceptions.
<PaleStranger> *Everything seems a little bit clearer to Jeff's perception, now. As though he could select any one of a multitude upon a multitude of tiny, scintillating threads of reality and follow it wherever it might lead. The threads crisscross all around them, even through them, and would only become near enough and solid enough to touch if concentrated upon.*
* Jeff_Levitt gazes at the threads, each one a place, a time, a point of view, or a hundred other things he never had words for. Order and pattern forces its way in, focusing his perception enough for his limited mind to make sense of what he perceives. Curiosity returns, and he reaches out what might have once been a hand. A stray thought, the random firing of a neuron, sends him spinning away, his form appearing to twist in on itself and vanish.
<PaleStranger> *Too soon. Jeff had leapt in too soon. The Stranger hunts for a moment among the threads, but cannot find a trace of him. There was no telling where he could be, and the possibility of his being lost was too great. A beat, and the Stranger vanishes, as well, to continue the hunt on other planes of existence.*

Jeff is not in his bed the next morning, and no traces of him can be found. The only possible hint is in his desk, now stuffed with reams of paper covered in small type, describing literally years of exploration in dreams, conversations with alien beings, and descriptions of beautiful worlds and star systems.