<P><B>Chapter 2 - The Gift
<P>"Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me."
<P>-Morpheus, The Matrix
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<P>He slept blissfully for several hours. It was well into the night before he began to experience nightmares. Every so often he'd open his eyes and see things. First, the dark, unfamiliar room bathed in moonlight. Then, a man standing over him, watching silently. Again he'd wink back into sleep, then his eyes would open once more and he'd be surrounded by men dressed in white coats. Then, machinery. He became aware of attachments connecting him to the machinery, but he could not feel them.
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<P>This can't be real. I must be dreaming. What was the old superstition about pinching oneself?
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<P>He found he no longer had control of his muscles. Panic overcame him.
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<P>Come on, wake up! What's happening?
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<P>The last thing he saw before his consciousness sank back into the dark abyss was a man in a white coat standing over him, watching intently.
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<P>Upon awakening, he found it incredibly difficult to open his eyes. He was dizzy, and everything seemed quite blurry. Unaware of how long he had lay in bed, he finally struggled to sit up. Promptly, he fell forward, fearful that the world had suddenly spun off balance and was attempting to fling him into some far off region of space. When at last he could see straight, his senses were suddenly overwhelmed by what seemed to be another presence inside his head. As the voice began to speak, he jolted himself upright.
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<P>"Do not panic," the voice said. It was calm, calculating. A masculine voice, one that betrayed much intelligence. "You will recover shortly, I assure you. You will come to the master bedroom now. We must speak in person."