3.4 First System Error

The first class of the day was always the hardest for Raymond. Even though he had the highest grade in the class, recently he was always very tired and fought to stay awake. Today he lost that fight and for the first time since kindergarten, he fell asleep sitting straight up in his chair. Raymond wasn't much of a dreamer but this short nap was different. The lucidity of the dream was intense and almost felt as if it was an out of body experience. The dream took place in the future, robots ruled supreme over human life. They seemed to have completely taken over and a humans only purpose was only to ensure that the robots would not malfunction. Raymond's job was to ensure the minds of each robot was not infected with any virus. He would spend every day watching the network control panel for any sign of a hack or penetration to the core systems. As he watched, the screen flashed red for the first time, "ALERT, INFECTION FOUND. NETWORK BREACHED" the sound rang over the PA system. As Raymond went to get up from his chair to alert the authorities, he did so in real life. Almost bringing himself to a full stand before he collapsed onto the floor. The impact of hitting the ground woke him up.

As Raymond awoke, his eyes opened slowly and he glanced around. Dizzy as a kid fresh off a tea cup ride that had malfunctioned, Raymond knew something wasn't right. Everyone was looking at him except the teacher, she was on the phone. "Yes, class room 203. He just collapsed. I don't know, I'll ask him" Ms. Perkins said with a frightened but fragile voice. Raymond was in a haze, everything around him was starting to blur. He could barely see Ms. Perkins as she began to approach him. "Raymond, are you -" he blacks out.