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Chapter 259: Stealing Dream And Truman (2)

Schiller, the representative of his dream, reached out his hand and snapped his fingers. A screen appeared overhead, allowing everyone to see the situation outside through his consciousness. He said, "You can see what's happening outside through my mental space, just like this..."

"This is Hugo Strange, and what you're seeing now is his first day in Gotham..."

The screen showed Hugo Strange's face, with a first-person perspective showing a sleeve of a white coat appearing, followed by an arm shaking hands with Hugo.

"Are we currently seeing from your perspective?" Victor asked.

"That's right. At this moment, I was engaging in small talk with him. Pay attention, as I'm about to introduce a topic related to psychology..."

Everyone became interested and focused on the screen. They watched as Hugo, from the first-person perspective, soon began his lengthy discourse while Schiller continued to engage with him. After a while, from the first-person perspective, Schiller took out a bottle of wine from his bag.

"Wait, isn't it strange to drink alcohol during an academic discussion?" asked Evans. "You're clearly discussing a serious academic topic, and now you take out a bottle of wine. Wouldn't he find it odd?"

"It's precisely because we're currently discussing serious academic topics that he won't pay attention to these details. His full focus is on how to refute my theories. Look at his expression, pay attention here..."

Schiller somehow acquired a whip and pointed to the screen, saying, "Do you see that? He glanced down at the hand I used to open the bottle cap, but at the same time, I posed another question to him. As a result, his attention was divided..."

In the first-person perspective on the screen, two hands took out two glasses and poured wine for Hugo and himself. They heard Schiller say, "I'm accustomed to having a drink after work. What about you, Dr. Hugo?"

Hugo seemed indifferent. He didn't look like someone who drinks excessively, but he didn't seem opposed to drinking either. When Schiller pushed the glass towards him, he seemed to do it to save face for Schiller and took a sip.

As the debate became more intense, Hugo frequently picked up the wine glass during moments of contemplation. Schiller, from Earth's Yitou, pointed at the screen and said, "He's starting to use secondary objects as pauses and transitions in his thinking, just like many people who like to spin pens, bite their fingers, or play with erasers in a classroom..."

Before long, from the camera's perspective on the screen, Hugo started feeling drowsy. Victor asked, "Is he falling asleep?"

"That's right. Can you guess where the first act will begin?"

"Just like us, waking up in the original setting and completely unaware that we're dreaming," Copperpot said in a deep voice.

However, Schiller shook his head and said, "That's a decent starting point, but it's somewhat mediocre. If the inciting incident of a script is too dull, the subsequent development might not be very exciting."

"Then where do you plan to start, Professor?"

Schiller snapped his fingers again, and all the items in the room began to retreat. The floor sections were removed one by one, the sofa layers disappeared, and the cabinets and tables folded magically into the floor and ceiling.

Then, various things emerged from the walls of space, forming another scene. The group stood in the center of this space, and Evans looked up and down, saying, "This seems like... a train carriage?"

"That's right. I believe a gradual opening would be a good choice. You might have seen it in some movies, where the protagonist sits on a train and travels to an unfamiliar city. They look at the scenery outside the window, fantasizing about their future life. Although this beginning may seem artistic, I really like it..."

Saying that, Schiller walked to the door of a compartment on the train and opened it, revealing Hugo Strange sitting inside.

"But I feel like something is missing," Evans said, rubbing his chin. "Oh, right! In dramatic creation, the protagonist needs a motive. With a motive, the protagonist can be driven to take action..."

"Of course, I have made preparations. However, I want to make it clear that I am not controlling his mind. Just like all of you, he also has the ability to think independently in the consciousness space."

"Now..." Schiller snapped his fingers, and the narrow corridor on the train and the layered compartment dividers unfolded like cardboard, transforming into a flat surface. Only Hugo and the chair he was sitting on, as well as the table in front of him, remained.

Following Schiller's footsteps, the group walked up to Hugo. Copperpot asked, "Can't he see us?"

"Good question," Schiller said. "I was just about to talk about that."

"Both the human consciousness space and dreams are divided into multiple layers, at least in my case. The different layers cannot communicate or interfere with each other."

"So, we are on different layers from him?"

"That's right. The place you are currently in is the 'theater' within my mental palace, specifically on the 68th, 69th, and 70th layers."

"What does that mean? Are there any differences between the layers?"

"Of course, there are differences. It's quite complicated to explain, as this mental palace wasn't built in a day. However, there are patterns to follow. Simply put, the lower the layer, the more chaotic it is, and the higher the layer, the more orderly."

"Hugo is currently on the 68th layer, which is the stage, and you are on the 69th layer, which is the audience seats."

"As for me, even though I'm standing next to you now, I am actually on the 70th layer of the theater, which is the control room or director's office."

"So, I can control everything on the stage, like this..." As Schiller spoke, he snapped his fingers, and a newspaper appeared on Hugo's table.

"A newspaper? What's written on it?" Evans tried to lean over to see, but seemed reluctant to get too close to Hugo. Schiller reminded him, "You can go closer to have a look. He can't see you."

"In my mental palace, each part has different rules. In the theater, higher layers of consciousness can see the lower layers, but the lower layers can't see the higher ones."

"So, you can see him, but he can't see you. In his vision, he should be sitting on a train, heading to Gotham as the train moves forward."

"But hasn't he already arrived? And he was chatting and drinking with you..."

"You ask too many stupid questions," Jack glared at Evans, and Schiller waved his hand, saying, "Don't be like that, Jack. I like people who ask questions."

"Generally, when people dream, they are not aware that they are dreaming. Just like when you first arrived here, everything was incoherent and strange, but you were completely unaware."

"A small portion of people can become aware that they are dreaming and use the principle of 'taking it as true' to the extreme. They can achieve things in dreams that are impossible in reality. We usually call these dreams 'lucid dreams.'"

"But obviously, Hugo, who just entered the dream, is not aware that he is dreaming. In his perception, he just received a job offer, boarded the train to Gotham, and then saw a newspaper on the train..."

"So, where is the motive you mentioned earlier?"

Schiller waved his hand again, and another newspaper appeared in Hugo's hand. This newspaper seemed to be older. Victor leaned over and said, "Is this a report about you?"

"That's right. I'm hinting to him that he noticed me before coming to Gotham and investigated some information about me. This should pique his curiosity and accelerate his journey to Arkham Hospital, setting the stage for the upcoming plot..."

"And then..." Schiller snapped his fingers, and the table and newspaper in front of Hugo disappeared. Hugo stepped directly into the office of the attending physician at Arkham Hospital.

"Why the direct transition?" Victor asked him. "Won't he find it strange?"

"Isn't that how dreams work? One fragment jumps to another, from having breakfast to attending class, to lunch break, and then coming home after school. You wouldn't complete a whole math class in a dream, would you?"

"What's next? Is he going to start working?"

"No, his motive is not strong enough yet. I need to add fuel to the fire."

Immediately, Schiller waved his hand, and another person identical to him appeared by his side. However, this person had a normal Schiller head instead of an Earth globe.

"What's this? Your doppelgänger?" Copperpot asked.

"He's the next actor to appear..."

With Schiller's words, the other him walked into the office at Arkham Hospital and warmly shook Hugo's hands, saying, "Thank goodness you're finally here."

Then, Schiller started to interact with Hugo politely. Victor commented, "You're really playing the role of an irresponsible and unethical doctor."

"That's exactly what I want. If I leave him with the impression that I'm highly incompetent and eager to shift responsibility, he will think I'm not as capable as I claim. That way, he will have a stronger motive to expose and overthrow me and my theories."

"I'm still a bit confused," Victor crossed his arms and said, "What's the ultimate goal of this play you've arranged? It can't just be for the sake of amusement, right?"

"Amusement is one aspect, considering the long nights and sleeplessness. It's not bad to direct and act in a play by myself. But indeed, there is another purpose. You'll see as the story unfolds."

Then, Schiller's character exited the scene, and Brand's character entered. Before they could ask, Schiller explained, "This is just a puppet manifested by me. Brand hasn't actually come here since his focus is on pathology, and he's not interested in these things."

Then, Hugo began his speech about how the mental palace doesn't exist. During this process, Jack laughed happily, almost bursting into laughter. He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and said, "It's like someone in a dream saying, 'People don't dream.' It's such a funny joke! It replaces the joke of Schiller being an ordinary person in my heart..."

Since Schiller's head was an Earth globe, others couldn't see his expression, but Victor joked, "What did I just see? Did you roll your eyes at Texas?"

Then, they saw Hugo walking out with an egg-shaped machine in his arms. Copperpot frowned and asked, "What's that?"

"It should be something he materialized with his own thoughts, just like the chicken head and ice spear you just created. He believed he made this thing, so it actually appeared."

Then they saw Hugo pick up the medical records and start flipping through them before walking over to the telephone and making a call.

Suddenly, a piercing ring echoed in the space, and Copperpot lowered his head in confusion, seeing a continuously ringing phone floating in front of him.

"It's your phone," Schiller said with a smile.

"What's going on? He called me in the dream, and now he's really calling me here?"

"I allowed him to reach you here. Otherwise, it wouldn't be interesting for us to just watch. I've always believed that immersive theatrical performances have great potential for development, and the interaction between actors and the audience is crucial..."

"So what do I do now?"

Victor patted Copperpot's shoulder and said, "Answer the phone."

Copperpot picked up the phone, and he actually heard Hugo's voice. At this moment, the two of them were facing each other in the office, with Hugo holding the phone on the left side of the table and Copperpot holding the phone on the right side.

"Hello, is this Mr. Copperpot? This is Arkham Mental Hospital. According to your medical records, you need to come for a follow-up appointment. Are you available tomorrow afternoon?"

Copperpot stood there stunned, but he still agreed to the follow-up request. Then he looked at Schiller and asked, "What do I do next? Should I really go for the follow-up appointment?"

"Didn't you see what I just did? Imagine a virtual persona and materialize him to participate in this performance on your behalf."

Schiller explained to Copperpot how to materialize another version of himself in the consciousness space, emphasizing, "The key is not to give it a higher-dimensional perspective, just like a real Copperpot who received the follow-up notification, didn't understand why, and intends to go for it..."

"Are you suggesting creating a virtual memory for him?" Copperpot frowned and asked.

"Yes, you can arrange a reasonable justification for him. For example, in his memory, he doesn't know that I've resigned and thinks the follow-up is just routine. Going there wouldn't matter much. This will help him become more immersed in the upcoming performance..."

When the other Copperpot was created, the others were amazed. As he entered the examination room and sat on the chair, Hugo brought out the machine. The Copperpot in the audience seats asked, "What is he trying to do?"

"He might be trying to enter your subconscious world."

"But wasn't he already in the subconscious world?"

"Do you remember the rules here? 'Believing it's true makes it true.' He believes this is the real world, and as a psychologist, he intends to enter your mind."

"And this is what I mentioned earlier, my other goal, which is also the topic I've been focusing on recently..."

"What is it?"

"Dream within a dream."

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