A Dream Year

A tale of neurotechnology, manipulation, and its consequences

Riding your bike you need to be alert, especially on a night like this. Holly remembered the advice of her friend Mike, an avid cyclist. He said to “ride as if you are invisible and assume they don’t see you.” This advice made her commutes to and from her job at Northern Arizona University much safer and saved her life at least twice in the past year.

A light rain started to fall as she got a few blocks from her house. If it was still April, snow would be falling but since it was mid-May it was just a chilly rain.

She pulled up in the driveway and saw the lights were on so her roommate Megan must have been home. Opening the door and pulling the bike through was always awkward. She needed to do it quickly while also making sure Megan’s cat did not run out into the night.

This time she only partly succeeded. She kept the cat inside. But her bike fell against a small table by the door. This sent a tray of keys and change flying. It did not help that she did not see the Amazon box at the door that she tripped over while coming in.

“Welcome home klutz!” said Megan from the living room sofa.

Holly sheepishly replied “hey, sorry” as she hung up her damp jacket. Then, she started picking things up from the floor and putting them back on the entry table.

“There’s a box here for you” Holly said and handed it to Megan, who set it aside and kept watching the TV.

“You hungry?” Holly asked. Megan smiled and nodded her head then went back to watching TV. Holly went into the kitchen and started to cook mushrooms and arborio rice. Their living arrangement seemed easier since both Holly and Megan were vegetarians.

Awhile later, Holly put down two big bowls on the coffee table. They began to eat and catch up on their days. Megan launched into a rant about her boss at the tech startup she worked for and how he never seemed to listen. Since she worked remotely, at least she seldom needed to see her boss face-to-face. But once she started describing the coding she wanted to use to improve the software, Holly held a hand up.

“Whoa, I’ve no idea what you are talking about” Holly said.

Holly often had to stop and ask Megan, the tech nerd, to explain what she was talking about since it went over her head.

“OK yoga dork,” laughed Megan.

Holly made a funny face and started to lift one foot as if to place it behind her head.

“Ooh, not warmed up yet. Maybe tomorrow morning.” Holly said as she lowered her leg back down.

“Shhh, Rachel Maddow is on now!” Megan said, and both watched intently.

“Oh gawd, this guy again?” Holly remarked as the program delved into the politics of Charles Pelley. He was the leading Christian Nationalist presidential candidate whose entire platform was about putting down women, demonizing immigrants, and attacking queer people.

“He’s such a tool” Megan hissed.

Later as Megan took the bowls back into the kitchen, Holly called out.

“What’s in the box?”

Megan put the bowls into the sink and started to rinse them. Over the sound of rushing water, she said “I think it’s my new pillow.”

“Who gets a pillow from Amazon?” Holly asked.

“Oh, it’s not just any pillow” Megan replied.

A few minutes later, Megan came back to the living room and opened the box to reveal her new brainwave pillow.

“I can’t wait to try this! I hope it get’s me over all that insomnia” Megan said.

“I thought you were just a night owl” Holly replied then asked, “how does it work?”

“It’s a smart pillow. It uses neurotechnology to sense your brain waves. Then, it sends the right signal to your brain to help you sleep,” Megan answered.

“Oh wow! Well, you do always have the latest of everything” Holly observed “I hope it helps.”

“I’m gonna sleep like a baby tonight!” Megan grinned and went to bed early. Holly stayed up late working on a painting she had been wanting to finish for weeks.

Late Saturday morning they always rode their bikes to meet a few friends for coffee at Macy’s near the NAU campus. The sun was out so they all sat out on the tables out front. Today they were joined by Cassandra, a PhD forestry student from Santa Fe and a local couple, Kelly and Tessie, who ran a shop that sells musical instruments, spiritual ornaments, and such.

Once they all sat down, Cassandra started the conversation.

“So, there’s a new band at Flag Brew tonight, wanna go?”

“Ugh, not me. After this I am going back to take a nap then work on my painting all weekend. I stayed up late working on it last night and it’s really coming together. Holly replied.

“I’m down!” Megan happily replied. “Unlike my roomie, I slept great last night.”

“So that thing worked, eh?” Holly asked.

“What thing?” Tessie inquired.

“An electric device?” Kelly asked impishly.

Megan smirked and responded, “no silly, an electronic device.”

“Ooh” everyone cooed.

Megan went on, “it’s a smart pillow that makes you sleep better.”

“So how does your bionic pillow make you sleep better, does it give you a massage?” Kelly asked.

“It reads your brain waves and then sends signals to help you relax and sleep better.” Megan said.

“That sounds more like voodoo” Holly giggled.

“Said the girl who still uses a prehistoric phone” Megan replied.

Holly made a face and responded, “It’s not that old, and it’s an iPhone!”

“Yeah, but it’s like an iPhone from 2005” Megan quipped.

Feeling a bit smug, Holly replied “Its works and it’s paid for!”

Turning back to the group, Megan said “You guys should totally try it.”

Tessie replied, “Not my thing, too weird and probably expensive” and Holly chimed in with “ no thanks.” Kelly just made a face and shook his head.

Getting back to the subject of Saturday night plans, Cassandra asked “so who else is going to Flag Brew tonight?”

A few weeks later, while watching TV one night, Megan told Holly she was having strange dreams. The dreams involved immigrants. She was still sleeping well but wondered if it was all the campaign ads on TV that were doing it to her.

“Probably, I mean maybe we should watch less TV because those ads are everywhere, and they make me sick.” Holly said.

“Yeah, me too. Plus, its summer now so we should be out having fun instead!” Megan replied.

Holly smiled and said, “Oh yeah.”

They spent June going bouldering after work. It was easier now with warmer weather and longer days. Holly finished another painting and was almost ready for her opening at a downtown gallery in July. Maybe she could get lucky, and some tourists would buy up all her new pieces.

Megan’s work started to slack off after finishing a big project for a Tucson customer. But, instead of doing like most people in Flagstaff and spending more time outside, she spent more time watching TV and scrolling online.

One night Holly came home and found Megan watching Fox News.

“Dude, seriously?” Holly said.

Megan, looking embarrassed replied “I just wanna see what they’re saying. Besides, we can’t just live in our own bubble.”

Not convinced,” Holly responded. “They’re against our right to choose what happens with our bodies. They’re against equal rights for women, people of color, and queer people. They always support the billionaires. What more is there to learn?”

Megan sheepishly replied, “I just wanna see why they are so worked up about immigration.”

“It’s because they are brown, we know that. Holly said. “If they were Danish, I’m sure they wouldn’t care.”

Feeling frustrated, Holly went into the kitchen, made some soup, and ate it in her room.

By the end of the week, Holly and Megan had put that behind them. Megan came to Holly’s Friday yoga class. Noticing Megan’s increasing isolation at home, Holly was trying to pull her roommate out of the house more often.

Afterwards, they went to a friend’s party. Soon, it seemed everyone started talking about the upcoming election. They had to almost shout to hear each other over the music and loud chatter in the house.

“But maybe they have a point” Megan was overheard saying to a small group in the kitchen. One of them walked out of the kitchen and brushed past Holly in the living room saying, “what the hell is with your roommate?”

Holly entered the kitchen to the sound of shouting voices, most of them aimed at Megan. She then heard Megan reply to the group. “I mean, look at all the crimes by these immigrants. We can’t just ignore that.”

“No!” Said Mike, still in his cycling clothes and standing by the stove. “Every study shows that immigrants commit crimes less than we do!”

Megan shrugged in response. The rest of the group shuffled out past Holly until she was alone with Megan.

Aghast, Holly blurted out “dude, whoa!”

Feeling defensive, Megan replied “oh you wanna to pick on me too?” as she crossed her arms.

“So, you support Pelley now?” Holly asked.

Letting out a long breath, Megan answered “not really, I just think we need to be more open minded.”

“About what, racism?” Holly spat out.

Megan set her jaw and replied, “It isn’t racism, these are real concerns.”

Holly shouted, “Since when do you believe Fox News?” her Queens accent becoming more pronounced.

“I don’t watch them” Megan replied, “I’ve been doing my own research.”

Holly sighed and said “OK, I want to see that research.”

Megan asked, “can we just go home now?”

“OK,” Holly replied. They walked out through the party, past many staring eyes and shaking heads.

The next day, Holly woke up. She wondered how to talk to her friend and roommate about her obvious shift in political views. She thought back to how they first met three years before at a meeting during a weekend trail cleanup that autumn. Each year, tourists from around the world leave garbage along the trailheads. And every year, the locals picked it up. Well, at least some of them.

Megan and Holly got put into the same group. They spent a September day filling garbage bags with soiled diapers, beer bottles, toilet paper, plastic bottles, and more. At some point that morning, a few of them started to make up stories behind some of the more egregious trash piles, each on adding a funnier detail to the story until they were bent over laughing.

Afterwards, they all went for coffee. There, Holly and Megan kept inventing stories and laughing so much that they made a scene. Once the laughter died down, they talked about their concern that tourism was ruining their local environment which led into politics, dating, and food.

They hung out almost every week that fall. When Megan’s roommate moved out in January, she asked Holly if she wanted to move in. After that they were inseparable, and half their friends wondered if they were in a romantic relationship.

Holly pondered their relationship over her coffee that morning. She kept reminiscing about the past and wondering how she can see what was going on with her friend and to hear why she had shifted so much. Since Megan was a techie who loves to deal in science and facts, Holly figured it would be easy. Just show her the facts and Megan would snap out of it.

So, Holly pulled out her laptop and began searching for information on immigration. She found data on their good impact on communities. Their crime rates were lower than citizens’. She also read a few articles about why Pelley and the far right like to blame immigrants. And, why so many people believed it.

Megan was sleeping late. So, Holly wanted to ride her bike downtown to get a smoothie and a breakfast burrito. She went to pull her bike from a rack in the hallway when she noticed the back tire was low on air. She looked around for the air pump. Then she remembered it was out in the garage, a place she avoided since it always smelled rotten.

Holly went to open the door to the garage and for some reason it would not open all the way. She had to put her shoulder against it to push something out of the way that was blocking it. Once she managed to step inside, she saw the reason why.

The garage was half-filled with Temu boxes. Soon, they could look like the end scene from the first Indiana Jones movie. They must have been stacked 4–5 feet high and most of them were not even opened. Holly let out a long sigh and shook her head. She saw the pump on the near wall and shimmied her way between stacks of boxes to get it, then had to shimmy out the same way.

She pumped up her bike tire and left the house.

Later that afternoon Holly returned and found Megan sitting on the couch with a bowl of cereal in her hand.

“Hey” Holly said as she hung her bike and helmet on the wall.

“Hey” Megan mumbled.

“How are you feeling today?” Holly asked.

“I keep having these vivid dreams but I slept great. So, does everybody hate me now?” Megan replied.

Holly scrunched her face and said, “aw c’mon, nobody hates you.”

“Even you do now” Megan said,

“Dude don’t be ridiculous. We’ve been through too much for me to ever hate you. OK, maybe when you leave a sink full of dirty dishes but that’s it.” Holly replied, trying to lighten the mood as she sat on the couch next to Megan.

Megan mumbled something unintelligible.

Holly then changed tack and asked, “how about we go down to Oak Creek Canyon and do a soak?”

Megan said nothing and kept eating her cereal.

Feeling frustrated, Holly said “OK, then can we talk about last night?”

“What about last night?” Megan said. “You mean everyone picking on me for having different ideas?”

“No, we’re just not used to hearing you agreeing with Pelley and Fox News.” Holly replied and motioned over to where the cat was rustling inside of a box. “And what’s with all the Temu boxes? What’s going on with you?”

Feeling defensive, Megan said “I am trying to keep an open mind. You know, maybe that last election was stolen. I mean, think about it.”

Holly gasped and said, “There’s no evidence that says that could even remotely be true. Jeez!”

Holly continued “I remember this friend who always had so much compassion for people who are on the margins. What happened to her?”

“Of course, I still care, but who cares about us? Aren’t we the ones paying for them?” Megan retorted.

“Paying what?” Holly responded. “They work for sub-minimum wages and do all the hard dirty work no one else wants to do!”

Holly then proceeded to quote the various facts and studies she found on the positive impact of immigration, but Megan would not hear it. She showed her the numbers and studies on her laptop screen, but Megan only became more agitated and kept reciting talking points from Pelley and his followers.

Finally, Megan blurted out “why are you attacking me? This is how I feel.”

Holly closed her eyes and said, “It’s like I don’t even know you anymore.”

Then she closed her laptop, went to her room, and laid down.

The next few weeks of July passed, and they did not talk about politics. In fact, they barely spoke at all. Holly stayed active outside. Megan mostly stayed inside, watching TV and reading on her laptop. An uneasy tension filled the house. More gadgets and white elephant items arrived in Temu boxes. Holly even wondered if this friendship was worth saving and whether she should find a new place to live.

One day in early August after Holly finally dragged Megan out for a hike, they both sat down and turned on the TV. The announcer was talking about the impact of dream advertising. It was influencing people all over the country and making them change their minds about all sorts of things. The screen then showed a picture of various “smart pillows.” It included the one that Megan bought months before.

“Oh my God Megan, that’s your pillow!” Holly shouted. “That explains so much!”

Offended and defensive, Megan replied “No it doesn’t, it helps me sleep but has no impact on how I think.”

“Are you sure?” Holly asked. “Have you been to the garage lately?”

“Ugh” Megan whispered as she shook her head.

“And what else explains the most progressive person I know suddenly being against immigrants and becoming a hoarder?” Holly asked.

“I’m not against anyone. I just think we need to get these things under control.” Megan replied.

“With detention camps and deportations? Because that is what Pelley promised to do.” Holly spat out.

Megan sat in silence and would not even look at Holly. This silence between them lingered on as they barely spoke during the next two weeks. Holly feared their friendship was permanently ruptured. But now she had a much better idea of what happened to her friend that summer.

Holly read more about dream advertising and how it worked. It used smart pillows to read brain waves with a built-in EEG. Then, they sent soothing waves to help someone sleep.

The smart pillow was also connected to Wi-Fi. This allowed the device to exchange data with the company server, which helped monitor sleep trends and tweak the signals that help someone sleep. This connection also let them do product placement in someone’s dreams. It was buried in the user agreement which no one reads anyway.

The more Holly read, she also learned that political action groups and campaigns were also using dream advertising. “Holy shit” she thought. “That is what happened to Megan.”

The last few times she tried to face Megan with facts, it failed. Even watching the news report on dream advertising together did not convince her. Since they were barely speaking now Holly did not see how she could even broach the subject.

She also wondered if she could go into Megan’s room and break the smart pillow so it would not work anymore. Of course, Megan may never forgive her. Plus, Megan had started to lock her bedroom door the few times she did go out. A weird development for someone who has always been so open and free.

Instead, Holly thought her last hope was to get Megan out of the house and back into nature — and a social life.

Neither had much work the next few weeks. So, Holly tried to make plans for hiking, yoga on the red rocks of Sedona, concerts, and pub crawls. Megan did not go to all of them, but she was getting out of the house 3–4 times per week now.

They did not talk politics although Holly planned to volunteer for the Democratic presidential candidate Gloria Swindon. She would knock on doors and talk to people about the importance of voting. Arizona was a swing state where every vote counted and she knew it could even sway the entire national election.

As Megan got out of the house more, tensions in the house seemed to lift and things started to at least feel more normal. Perhaps the friendship was back on more solid ground.

One night toward the end of August, Holly came home to find Megan sobbing uncontrollably on the couch.

“What happened? What’s wrong?” Holly asked.

Megan only cried louder and more intensely now.

“Please tell me”. Holly pleaded.

Megan reached for a paper on the coffee table and handed it to Holly.

Holly saw it was a credit card bill and gasped. Her eyes grew open wide when she read the number; $27,649.

“Oh my God Megan.” Holly said, her eyes still open wide.

“Is it all those Temu boxes?” Holly asked.

Megan cried even harder and nodded her head. Her sense of shame and anguish were palpable.

Holly sat next to her on the couch and hugged her roommate tight. Holly began crying too.

They sat and hugged for the longest time.

Finally, Megan tried to speak and sobbed. “What am I going to do? I don’t know how I can ever pay that off.”

Holly thought for a moment and said “you can send it all back. At least most of it. I mean, you haven’t even opened half of these.”

“You think?” Megan asked.

“It’s gotta be worth a shot” Holly said.

“I’ve never had debt in my life, why would I even do this? Megan asked.

“Megan, it’s not your fault. It’s that damned pillow” Holly said.

“Yeah?” Megan asked.

“This all started after you bought that stupid pillow. They have been advertising to you in your dreams and this is what happens.” Holly said softly, trying to soften the blow.

Megan stared at the wall.

“You need to throw that thing away” Holly said. “Otherwise, the next bill could be twice that much.” She wanted to mention Megan’s changed political views as well but figured that would be too much for her to take right now.

“OK, but how will I get to sleep?” Megan asked.

“The same way you did before, by getting exercise and laying off the electronics before you lay down or smoke some weed. Anything but using that manipulation pillow.” Holly answered.

Megan went to her room and brought the smart pillow back to the living room. “Wanna help me wreck this thing?” She asked. Holly smiled and nodded.

They put the pillow on the floor. Then, they took turns stomping on it until they were sure the electronics inside were broken. They laughed and stomped and then opened a bottle of wine.

The next day, Megan started to print return labels for the Temu boxes. She felt overwhelmed because it would take weeks to send most of it back. And well into September the delivery trucks arrived to take things away and not to deliver them. After a few weeks, she was able to reduce her credit card debt to $16,000 since not every item could be returned.

Holly had started canvassing for the upcoming election. She hoped Megan would join her, as she had in the past.

“Hey, do you want to help me cover Sunnyside tonight?” Holly asked.

Megan pondered the question and replied “ah, not feeling it this year.”

“C’mon, they want to roll back women’s rights and put migrants in cages. We need to do what we can.” Holly said.

“Oh, I’m not sure its that bad.” Megan replied.

Stunned, Holly replied. “So, you still think that way?”

“Kinda, yeah. It’s all so confusing now and I’m not sure what to believe” Megan replied.

Crestfallen, Holly took her bike and outside and headed for the Sunnyside neighborhood.

As autumn progressed, the presidential election became all that anyone could talk about. Pelley and his surrogates kept making outrageous statements about immigrants. They even said that God did not want them in the country.

Holly gently tried to work on Megan, whose radically changed beliefs seemed to be softening but there still seemed to be a lingering distrust of immigrants. Megan and Holly still went to the same parties. Megan again voiced support for women’s issues. But, she no longer spoke up about immigration.

By early November, the election was at a fever pitch. Everyone in deep blue Flagstaff was hoping the Democratic strongholds of Tucson, Flagstaff, and Tempe could sway Arizona for their candidate, Gloria Swindon. The polls showed her neck and neck with Pelley.

Election night came at last. Holly went to a rally to watch the results with Cassandra, Kelly, and other party volunteers. Megan stayed home. The group sipped on beer and watched the east coast results start to roll in which showed a very tight race. Swindon was clearly winning the popular vote, but Pelley had an edge in the Electoral College. The central time zone results mostly favored Pelley with Texas, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and others voting red. Swindon picked up Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

Everyone knew the big west coast states would all go blue. So, Swindon still had a chance. She’d need to win swing states Colorado, Nevada, and Arizona to pull it off. The race was down to the wire. The gathering of Coconino County Democrats hoped they had done enough this time to deliver a strong showing to help Swindon win.

Then the TV announcer said that Colorado and New Mexico were called for Swindon and cheers rang out in the hall. There was still hope.

The Arizona returns were very tight. The lead changed by tiny margins as each county’s returns came in. The more populated Phoenix area took the longest to count. Almost every county had already started a mandatory recount since the margins were so close. By now Holly and her fellow volunteers were exhausted. This would take all night.

Later, Nevada was called for Swindon by a tiny margin. This left Swindon and Pelley within five electoral votes of each other. Whoever would win Arizona and its 11 Electoral College votes would be the President of the United States.

Finally, by 2am the finally tally came in and the hall went silent. Pelley had won Arizona by just 16 votes and with it, victory in the 2024 US Presidential election. The Christian Nationalist Party got nine million fewer votes overall. But, they won control by a small margin in the Senate and the House of Representatives. They did so thanks to heavily gerrymandered districts in several states.

Sobs and tears filled the hall, and Cassandra started to talk about her worst fears of what would happen next. Pelley had promised a nationwide abortion ban. He also planned to deport over 11 million immigrants. He would put them into camps before shipping them out. Some of his party leaders even talked about banning birth control.

Pelley’s plans also included firing most federal civil servants. He would replace them with his own loyalists. He would also change the US legal code to better fit “Christian ideals.”

Holly sat stunned and could barely move. What would she do now? Would any woman in America feel safe now? She, Kelly, and Cassandra all shared teary hugs then Holly sat with her own grief.

She lacked enough money to move to Europe. Even though her friends in the UK and Greece were always asking her to come over. Maybe she could live in Mexico?

Kelly asked her if she needed a ride, but she declined while sitting in a daze. At around 3:30AM she picked herself up and started a long walk home. The cold mountain air bit at her ears and eventually she made it to her street and saw the lights on in the house.

She opened the door, shook off the cold, and hung up her coat. She then walked into the living room. Megan was sitting in stunned silence with tears running down her cheeks. Pundits on the TV were talking about the election and what they think will happen next.

Megan looked up at Holly with a pained look on her face and said,

“I didn’t even vote.”

In 2013, the first patent for a pillow to monitor brain waves was granted to a Chinese company.

In 2020, the Dormio study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) successfully proved methods to alter the content of dreams.

In 2021, an American Marketing Association survey indicated that 75% of US marketing firms aim to deploy dream advertising technologies by 2025.

In 2023, Apple was granted a patent for placing EEG monitors in Airpods.

Today, neurotechnology enabled sleep aid wearables and smart pillows are already available to consumers.