Mr. Sandman (3 page)

 

Stranger: If you say so. However, etiquette has little meaning in a dream, I should think.

 

 

 

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9
p
anel 4

 

Dream Lord: Even dreams need rules, though. I should know, after all. I had no idea what to expect from you, so I felt I should put my best foot forward. We get few visitors here of your nature, Mister...Duck, is it?

 

 

 

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9
p
anel 5

 

Stranger: Yes, "Duck." My friends call me Ron.

 

Dream Lord: Oh, I see. Well, Ron, welcome to...

 

 

 

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9
p
anel 6

 

Stranger:
You
may call me
Sid
.

 

Closeup of his handsome, pleasant, seemingly-menaceless face.

 

 

 

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9
p
anel 7

 

The Dream Lord is still in a silly mood, enjoying a strange new game, unaware of any deeper level.

 

Dream Lord: Very well. Sid it is! Perhaps, I shall soon be able to call you Ron.

 

Stranger: Or another name, yes. We'll see.

 

Narrator: The man and I talked and laughed. He was handsome and clever, and I had a great time!

 

 

 

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p
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Dream Lord: Anyway, welcome to Castle Dream Lord! Or, the Dream Base, if you like.

 

Stranger: Ah, then you must be
Kubla!

 

 

 

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9
p
anel 9

 

Dream Lord (puzzled): Excuse me?

 

Stranger (reciting a poem): "In Xanadu did Kubla Khan/a stately pleasure dome decree/Where Alph, the sacred river, ran/Through caverns measureless to man/Down to a sunless sea."

 

 

 

 

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Dream Lord: I'm afraid I still don't follow you.

 

Stranger: It's a
poem
, Adams! "Kubla Khan" by Coleridge. Don't tell me you've never heard it before! It's quite famous.

 

 

 

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10
p
anel 2

 

Dream Lord: No, I'm sorry. I haven't.

 

Stranger: Of course, I forgot! You're a
scientist
, aren't you? Or you were. Generally, textbooks and bar graphs don't quote extensively from Coleridge. You really should read it sometime, though, expand your horizons. It's quite good.

 

 

 

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10
p
anel 3

 

Wide shot of Dream Lord and the Stranger standing in center of the study. Emphasize the hugeness of the room, and its opulence.

 

Stranger (reciting again): "So twice five miles of fertile ground! With walls and towers girdled round! And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills, Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree." Heady stuff, Adams. It fits the mood here, wouldn't you say?

 

 

 

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10
p
anel 4

 

Dream Lord (suspiciously, the novelty of the visitor's game slowly wearing off): Who are you?

 

Stranger: Not only that, Adams...not only
that
, but the poem was called "A vision in a dream." The author purported to have written it while deep in a drugged sleep. I think maybe he was tuned in to something, something he didn't understand.

 

 

 

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10
p
anel 5

 

Stranger: Wouldn't it be funny, Adams, wouldn't it be
comical
, if he was tuned in to
you
? Ha ha ha ha ha!

 

Narrator: He had a wonderful sense of humor.

 

 

 

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10
p
anel 6

 

Dream Lord (pretending to be amused): Ha ha! That is a funny idea, isn't it? I have to admit, though...you have me intrigued. Where are you from, exactly?

 

Stranger: Aren't you going to offer me a drink?

 

 

 

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10
p
anel 7

 

Dream Lord: Of course. What would you like?

 

Stranger: What've you got?

 

Dream Lord: You name it. Everything.

 

 

 

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p
anel 8

 

Stranger: Oh, good. I'll take one of those. On the rocks, please, and a twist.

 

Dream Lord: Uh...you want
everything?

 

 

 

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10
p
anel 9

 

Stranger: Oh yes. All the time.

 

 

 

 

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Stranger: Shaken nicely, of course.

 

Dream Lord: Hmm. Just give me a minute. I'm not used to pouring everything into a single glass.

 

 

 

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11
p
anel 2

 

Stranger: Yes, that
could
be a problem. Do you need help?

 

Dream Lord (manifesting a tall glass, creating the drink): I'm the Dream Lord! How could
you
help
me?

 

 

 

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11
p
anel 3

 

Stranger: Words of encouragement. Removing thorns from your paw. Sending out for pizza. There are ways.

 

Dream Lord: Don't worry about it, Sid! Ta-da! The marvels of modern dream technology triumph again! A drink to end all drinks! You'll never taste anything like
this
again...every liquor known to man, mixed in a perfect balance.

 

 

 

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p
anel 4

 

Stranger (accepting the drink from Dream Lord): There is no such thing as a perfect balance, Kubla. The nature of the universe is fluctuation and inequality, dominance and submission. In any combination, one element invariably gains ascendancy, and all others recede.

 

 

 

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p
anel 5

 

Dream Lord (sarcastically): I don't think you would make a very good bartender, Sid.

 

Stranger: Oh, on the contrary! The power of mixology lies in knowing the
fascism
of alcohols...which ingredients are strongest, most overpowering, needing the dilution of weaker forces.

 

 

 

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11
p
anel 6

 

Dream Lord (creating his own drink in a chalice in the air): Are you speaking physically or philosophically?

 

 

 

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11
p
anel 7

 

Stranger (sipping his drink): Ambiguously, of course. (He smiles pleasantly.)

 

 

 

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p
anel 8

 

Dream Lord: I see. Sid, I hope you will forgive me, but I am dying of curiosity. I've got to know: where did you come from? How did you get here? I would've known if there was another living being in the Dream Zone...but I've never sensed you. I'm very powerful, you know. In this dimension, I'm...

 

 

 

 

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Stranger: ...like a god. So I've heard. You're "remarkable," too, aren't you?

 

Dream Lord (embarrassed): Well, that's a matter of opinion.

 

 

 

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12
p
anel 2

 

Stranger: No, I'm sure it's true. You do indeed seem to be a unique and talented fellow. I trust my sources.

 

Dream Lord: What are your sources?

 

 

 

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12
p
anel 3

 

Stranger:
You
, of course! And your clever horde of dream servants. Do you enjoy them, Kubla? Do you like having an army of brainless sycophants to feed you platitudes on a silver tray?

 

 

 

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12
p
anel 4

 

Dream Lord (very annoyed): You haven't answered my questions yet. What's your

story? Why didn't I sense you before?

 

Stranger: Does it matter? Can't you simply
entertain
me? This is certainly no way to treat a guest. I'm afraid I may have to advise all my friends against visiting you in the future.

 

 

 

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12
p
anel 5

 

Dream Lord: What friends? Are there
more
beings like you, somewhere in the Dream Zone?

 

Stranger: Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe I'm not even here. Did you think that perhaps I am simply another of your creations, an accident, a slip of your mighty subconscious?

 

 

 

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12
p
anel 6

 

Dream Lord: I don't know. You tell me.

 

Stranger: In due time, Kubla. We don't want to ruin all the surprises, now, do we? It would spoil the game, take all the fun out of my visit.

 

 

 

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12
p
anel 7

 

Stranger: Besides, I detest making revelations on an empty stomach. Are there hors d'oeuvres, or a dinner of some sort?

 

Dream Lord: Well, I suppose I could create something. I'll have Riggins serve it to us in the dining hall.

 

Narrator: After we talked for a while, the man and I decided to have supper.

 

 

 

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12
p
anel 8

 

Dream Lord: How about filet mignon and a pilaf?

 

Stranger: By all means! Let's go eat, and catch up on old times!

 

 

 

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12
p
anel 9

 

Dream Lord: What do you mean, "old times?" I've never met you before.

 

Stranger: Oh,
your
old times, of course! I'm still young, you know.

 

 

 

 

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13
p
anel 1

 

Stranger: I've still got my whole life ahead of me.

 

The Stranger and Dream Lord leave the study, heading through the ornate doorway toward the dining room.

 

 

 

Page
13
p
anel 2

 

NOTE: The following sequence deviates from the main body of the story, and takes place on Earth, outside the Dream Zone. The narrative should be enclosed in boxes of a color which is different from the colors of the other narrative in the story.

 

Narrator: Reality interlude: Outside the Dream Zone, yet tightly connected to it in every way, lies the world of the waking, the conscious plane. Here, humanity spends half its time, moving through lives which some would claim are more dreamlike and insubstantial than the misty realms of the Dream Lord.

 

Scene: People walking along a city street in the afternoon.

 

 

 

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13
p
anel 3

 

Narrator: These are the Fultons. They are not well-off, but they manage to pay the bills.

 

An African-American family is seated around a table in a restaurant, enjoying themselves at dinner. There is a father, a mother, and three kids--a baby, a seven-year-old, and a fifteen-year-old girl.

 

 

 

Page
13
p
anel 4

 

Narrator: They are on vacation in Wildwood, New Jersey. They have to watch the money, but they are having a wonderful time. The whole family is in tune, relaxed, happy to get away from their routines. Even the kids are behaving, for once.

 

The family is outside, walking along the boardwalk. Everyone looks peaceful, having a good time.

 

 

 

Page
13
p
anel 5

 

Narrator: Of course, into each life, some rain must fall.

 

The family is screaming and recoiling in their car from the headlights of an onrushing truck.

 

 

 

Page
13
p
anel 6

 

Narrator: So much for a little peace and quiet.

 

Narrator: The driver of the truck was asleep when he met the Fultons, and to be honest, Mr. Fulton was pretty drowsy himself.

 

Exterior view of the 18-wheeler colliding with and crushing the family's small car.

 

 

 

Page
13
p
anel 7

 

Narrator: In fact, while he waited the four and a half minutes to die, Mr. Fulton thought that it was all a bad dream.

 

Amidst the debris, the father lies dying, gazing unbelievingly around him.

 

 

 

Page
13
p
anel 8

 

Narrator: It was
not
a dream. For no good reason, the Fultons had to go home early, their vacation cut short in the worst way. The family is
all gone
now.

 

Show the dead family being loaded into an ambulance.

 

 

 

Page
13
p
anel 9

 

Narrator: Almost.

 

The fifteen-year-old girl is now lying in a hospital bed, the only survivor of the crash. She is surrounded by machines and monitors and I.V.'s, stuck with hordes of tubes and electrodes. She is in a coma, from which she will emerge in the Dream Zone as
Lullaby
.

 

 

 

 

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