Eric Lee Gardner’s
Theater of Dreams
Blog & Short Story Series
Cinematic Expressions of Unconsciousness©
“The Ascension Twins”
A YA | Young Adult Story
As I was searching my master dream journal for Dream Five, I stumbled upon this dream. I had completely forgotten I had this dream but was pleasantly surprised by the potential story within. For the past few years, I have been writing the first book of my Aretherra series and while the story of Aretherra is about two young people, I’ve never considered it strictly a YA novel.
The YA, or Young Adult, market exploded many years ago following the worldwide success of the Harry Potter books. Ever since, publishers were looking for the next great YA series, hoping to build an empire of books, films, merchandise, and spin-offs. It’s what everyone wants, a continual source of consistent income, generation after generation of readers.
Through the years I have seen many YA series come and go, some good, others okay and the rest were barely readable.
Many of them were simply pushed to the market to capitalize on the current trend of popular YA books and culture. Because of this, quality suffered, stories suffered and in the end, the readers and parents buying the books suffered the worst fate of all, a type of creative fraud.
Upon hearing that I am now a writer, having retired from my past life as an Avid Editing evangelist, many people through the years have asked if I planned on writing a YA novel.
To that, I simply replied, “I want to tell a good story. Age doesn’t matter. If it happens to be YA, so be it.”
I’ve maintained that position until today.
Almost two years ago I began my dream journal, at the time I had no plans on ever sharing my dreams with anyone, least of all the world.
However, when I revisited many of my collected, currently 733 and counting, dreams, I discovered a wellspring of possibilities. At the same time I had been wanting to begin a real blog, but with a strict emphasis on writing and creativity.
This is when my Theater of Dreams: A Dreamer’s Journal was born.
Now I look at this dream journal entry – which outlines the history of The States, how they established The Ascension Twins, and the introduction of the Redstone Twins, kind of like a mini synopsis.
Dream Journal Entry: 37 of 733Date of Dream: 06.03.2017Dream V“The Ascension Twins”
Dreamt and written in 2017
Reposted for Now | 2021
BEGIN DREAM
This dream took place in an alternate or parallel dimension, perhaps another timeline, or maybe on another world or place in the multiverse altogether.
Feel free to plug in your favorite version of this science fiction reality construct. Suffice to say, this dream does not take place in any country on our Earth.
Although I was not privy to the name of this country in my dream, I do know that it was a united group of states, similar to the United States of America.
However, this is where the similarities end, and something else entirely begins.
For this dream journal entry/story and to maintain the purity of what I remembered from this dream, I will call this place “The States”.
The States suffered through government “isms” of almost every kind, from socialism to communism. Every time these regimes took power in
The States and their radical dictators rose to assume control, the people of The States joined together to take them down.
Finally, the people of The States had their fill and rebelled against the last of their oppressors, a widespread uprising across the nation, lead to revolution.
Out of the ashes rose a new form of democratic monarchy, in some ways similar to the government of Great Britain.
Unfortunately, the new form of government was not a representative republic like the United States, instead, their leaders were elected and laws passed purely based on the Rule of Mob, or mob rule.
The newly elected governors of each state fashioned a set of laws. They hoped that with the passing of these laws, the old ways, all of the “isms” of the past would forever remain buried with the fallen soldiers of their revolution.
With the new laws and new government of The States came a new way of thinking, some would say a radical new way to “elect” their future leaders.
To promote equality between men and women, the law mandated that their leaders would be chosen based on merit.
They sought to establish a new form of monarchy, an idea meant to appeal to the most citizens as possible.
Their monarchy would not adhere to one sole bloodline, nor would race, sex, creed, religion or economic status have any bearing on the eligibility of potential leaders.
Twenty-one years after the laws were established, the first leaders of new States would be chosen. However there was one caveat, from that day forward, they would be lead by both a man and a woman.
Their law directed twins to be created, born, and raised with the sole purpose of one day ascending to the throne to rule The States.
At the age of 21, a pair of twins, of one boy and one girl, would be eligible to participate in the great culling, a series of trials meant to determine the most eligible pair of siblings from each group of potential candidates.
Once chosen, the twins will serve for a minimum of one year and a maximum of six. Each year the ruling twins must defend their throne against the next sets of eligible twins.
Since the people’s revolution and the new law, thirty-three years have passed.
The State governors ran the central government for the first twenty-one years until the first generation of twins came of age.
Nine years ago The States choose their first ruling brother and sister when the Smyth twins ascended to their thrones.
They were compassionate and book smart and dethroned the next year by the Rockford twins.
The Rockfords went on to rule for the next six years. Unlike the Smyths, the Rockfords were ruthless and eager for power.
Many state governors vied for term extensions, wanting the Rockfords to remain on their thrones for as long as they could defend them.
Nothing became of the governors’ arguments for term extension, save for another planted seed of corruption in an already corrupt central government.
After six years, the Rockfords were dethroned during the next trials, when the current ruling twins, the Bynders, took control.
They have held onto their power for the last two years, but this year they must defend it again.
Since the new laws of The States, entire generations of children have been raised with one sole purpose, to become the next “Ascension Twins”
Each pair of siblings are, a boy and a girl, are dressed in red and blue shimmering cloaks to mark them as special.
All Ascension Twins were genetically designed, born, and raised with one sole purpose, to take part in the great trials.
Potential mothers of Ascension Twins are screened, chosen, implanted with the best possible design for a pair of human twins.
The fathers of the twins remain anonymous to this day. Many believe that the state governors are the fathers and others believe that a simple lottery of healthy, intelligent, strong men are chosen to contribute toward the creation of the twins. In either case, the fathers are a secret.
Neither the mothers nor the twins themselves ever find out the identity of the father.
All mothers are carefully monitored throughout their pregnancies. Mothers carrying twins marked for ascension are considered royalty in their own right. All of their housing, food, entertainment, and medical care are provided for. With this newfound “opulence” comes a high price tag, they are monitored every hour of the day.
Follow vehicles, cameras and onsite security are with the mothers throughout their pregnancy, there is no privacy.
When it’s time for the twins’ birth, a plan is set in motion and the mother is then brought before the best government surgeons and the twin boy and girl are then cut from her womb. Twins marked for ascension to the throne are never born naturally, by law, a cesarean is always the method.
After the twins are born, the mother is never seen again. People across The States whisper about the fate of the mothers, but no one knows what happens after the twins are born. The twins are royalty from their inception and the second they see light outside their mother’s womb, they immediately enter into the care of The States.
Many believe the mothers are sent to a special communal home, the ones who survive the birth of their twins by the cesarean. One would think that a medical procedure this common wouldn’t end with such a high mortality rate, but somehow in The States, it does. For the Ascension mothers that do survive, most are said to live with each other in a large, government-provided, estate by the sea.
Speculation and rumors across The States have risen to a boiling point over the past few years. After a high-profile mother’s death, suicide was caught on camera and her twins barely survived. This has spread light on a hidden secret surrounding the Ascension Mothers and Twins program in The States. The truth about the Ascension Mothers is much more sinister and far darker than anyone can imagine.
After birth, the Ascension Twins are raised by the state, teachers, and nannies, robots, and mechanisms of the all-powerful central government raise and ensure the very best outcome of every set of Twins heading toward their eventual participation in the great trails.
Each generation, 21-35 sets of twins are tested, hoping and dreaming to ascend to the throne and rule The States.
The world watches as the twins vie for their chance to claim the throne. The Twin selection process was established long ago to hone and test each brother and sister to ensure that they were honorable, brave, and kind.
The gauntlet testing ensured that they had valor, integrity, honesty, and virtue.
Unfortunately these days it’s become more of a popularity contest and on the rare occasion, a bloodsport, than a battle of the mind, of will, or based on their true hearts and merit.
Gambling has become rampant, as betting on the trials reaches through every state and across the world. Political favoritism and posturing influence decisions and determine outcomes, it happens, but none of it is legal.
One set of twins will vie for the throne this year. They were born off the grid, by a mother who escaped her government oversight. The twins were born naturally and their mother raised them to be good and decent. She taught them mathematics, languages, science, music, and strategies.
A year ago their mother was captured by government agents and they were forced to turn themselves in to take part in this year’s trials.
They are the Redstone Twins, Mandy, and Mack and they must face a fierce field of challengers for this year’s chance at the thrones. If they get past the gauntlet of trials, they will face the current rulers, the Bynder Twins.
Growing up, Mandy and Mack’s mother told them that they would never have to take part in the trials, that they would never have to be labeled Ascension Twins.
Their only hope of finding and saving their mother, if she’s still alive, is to ascend to the thrones of The States.
Woke up at 4:45 AM
End Dream
So that’s it, the dream ends there. I know, it ends just as you’ve met the main characters, just as you’re wondering if Mandy and Mack will ever ascend to the thrones of The States or find their mother and father.
Unfortunately, those are the rules. I can not add to a dream journal entry, what you read is what I typed after I woke up.
Regarding influences, please don’t say The Hunger Games. I know you want to. But this dream/story is NOT like the Hunger Games. Young people will not be murdering each other on live television for sport and the collective jollies of the elite. The Ascension Twins is something else.
Dream Five was influenced by my continued interest in world history, United States history, and various political movements throughout the ages. I find the rise and fall of nations and entire civilizations fascinating and I’ve spent time studying this subject.
