In a picturesque little where reality is often blurred with the bizarre, Ali found himself facing an odd challenge, “The Sleep.” Neither he was insomniac nor stressed, but, because his nights were full of interruptions by something unusual: advertisements.
It started peacefully enough. One night, as Ali was sleeping, he found himself standing between the beautiful scent of wildflowers. Just as he began to enjoy this serenity, a strange yet well-known voice echoed.
“Tired of tossing and turning all night? Try AudioMax 2000! The first scientifically proven pillow to obsolete sheep-counting technique!”
Ali jerked awake with heart pumping strong. “What in the…. World?”
The following night, he judiciously travelled back to Dreamland. This time on a beautiful tropical beach. Without a second thought, he dug his toes into the warm sand while, having a glance at the gentle sound of waves lapping at the shore.
Nothing strange had happened yet. But, before he could fully relax, a huge coconut fell, barely missing his head. It cracked open revealing a well-known spokesperson.
“Hello there, Mr. Dream Voyager! Why settle for mere average dreams? You can have unlimited adventures, all you have to do is sign up our ‘Premium subconscious tour program,’ starting at just $39.99!”
Once again, Ali jolted awake. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”
Things got escalated night-by-night, every dream turned out as a chaotic mess of promotional and pop-up ads. One night, he dreamt of being a superhero, and suddenly, he was grounded by summons, “Flightless, huh? Try Super Hero Drink!” Another time, he was exploring a mountain, only to be bombarded by the talking rocks promoting, “Mountain Hiking Ultrasonic Boots”, now with waterproof ability.
Desperate for a solution, Ali asked his best buddy, Joy, a mysterious genius who had solution for every weird problem. Joy, listened with joy as Ali recounted his nightmares, nodding thoughtfully.
Joy replied, “Sounds like you’ve been hacked”. Later that day, Joy came up with an explanation, “You’ve been under thee radar of Dreamy Ad Corps, they have been testing a new ad campaign. To them it’s revolutionary, but it sounds more like a nightmare.”
Ali with a weird look, “You are saying someone has access to my dreams? That’s ridiculous!”
Joy smiling, “Capitalism, my friend, doesn’t sleep.”
In order to reclaim his dreams, Ali decided to revolt. He started practicing, gaining control over this lucid dreams. The next time an ad popped up, he tackled it.
“Hey, you, the Max guy! Get lost” he shouted at the salesman.
Determined to reclaim his dreamscape, Fred decided to fight back. He started practicing lucid dreaming, gaining control over his nocturnal narratives. The next time an ad popped up in his dream, he confronted it head-on.
A glitchy hologram started, “But, sir our pillows are the best.”
“I just don’t care! It’s my dream and I’m in charge!” Ali roared.
Steadily, the ads began to fade. Ali’s dreams returned to their organic-self, childishly playing with the dinosaurs, a marching band of heroes, fighting the villains and that beautiful dream where he was crowned the King of Candy World.
One night, as he stood in a rainy forest, he noticed a small writing: “You have successfully unsubscribed our program. Re-subscribe for more sweet dreams!”
Ali grinned victoriously. Finally! The peace!
Or at least, he thought so.
After a week, just as he moved into calming unconsciousness, a new voice echoed in.
“Congratulations, Mr. Ali on defeating the Dreamy Ad Corps! We have devised a new offer for you, willing to unlock it? An ad-free dreams, subscribe now and become a member for just $3.50 a month!”
Ali, accepting his fate, let out a groan. “There is no escape from this capitalist system, not even in my dreams.”
Thanks for reading 📖
Peace 🤞🏻