Impossible Dreamers

Chapter 6 (nay): Scanning the Grabblers

Another night, and yet again Sleech could not sleep. And again, Pring was operating the thought-scanner.

What Sleech saw tonight was a little more interesting than last night. Many people were awake, and, though it wasn't possible to see exactly what they were thinking, everybody seemed to be quite worried, which was as it should be. The more the people worried, the more Sleech could relax.

And then there were those who were asleep and dreaming. If anybody had thought that they could escape from worry by falling asleep, they were mistaken, much to Sleech's satisfaction. For a while Sleech watched the dream of a man who saw himself in a house with glass walls, with faces staring at him from outside. The faces looked stern and disapproving. Every face was the face of Sleech. Another citizen, a lowperson who lived in a habitation far from the palace, was running through corridors, looking for a way out of a building in which she was trapped. One long corridor after another appeared before her, and she got faster and more frantic in her attempt to escape. And there, at the end of each corridor, stood a figure remarkably like Sleech. When she turned her head and looked behind her, Sleech was there too.

And so he appeared, over and over again, in the dreams of the people of the city, always a frightening or menacing figure. Occasionally Tyro would also appear, usually as an enormous statue, but even then, Sleech would be at his side. It seemed that there was hardly a person within hundreds of miles who didn't spend a part of their sleeping hours dreaming about Sleech's fury.

Sleech smiled as he watched these visions, but looking over at Pring, he saw that she took no pleasure in the fear that was on show. In fact, she looked quite perturbed. Perhaps she had similar dreams. She looked like that sort of person.

Gratifying as all this was, after a while it got a bit boring. Once he had seen himself twenty or thirty times as a scary ogre, Sleech tired of this theme. It annoyed him, too, that he was always so ugly. Why? He took great care with his appearance. His hair was perfectly combed, his teeth were straight and square – quite beautiful. But the Sleech in other people's dreams, though recognisably him, was untidy and monstrous. Was there nobody in Bartyronis who thought of him with any pleasure? Apparently not. As another crooked-toothed, straggly haired picture of himself appeared on the screen, Sleech suddenly had a new idea.

'I wish to see the thoughts of the Grabblers,' Sleech announced.

Pring looked confused.'The Grabblers?'

'The Grabblers. Those people hidden in the Grabble mountains'.

'That will need a lot of power, High Master. Their thought-signals are behind an enormous mass of rock.'

'You have no right to question my orders,' Sleech said.' I don't care how much power it takes. Point the machine at the Grabblers!'

'Yes, High Master.'

At last, he would be able to see the dreams of people who'd never heard of him. What was it that frightened them, as they slept? It would be useful to know. It would make them easier to conquer.

Pring moved the probe so that it pointed away from the city of Tyropolis, and out towards the mountains. She turned some dials. The low hum issuing from the thought-scanner got much louder and higher in pitch. The lights in the room started to dim.

'What's happening?' Sleech was alarmed.

'The scanner is going into its high energy mode,' Pring explained.' It will settle once it has locked on to a signal.' After about half a minute the humming died down. The scanner continued to make a noise, but now it was soft and musical, as though the machine itself was calmer and happier.