Dreamcatcher

As soon as I walked away from the polling station, I began to question what I’d done. I’d just put my cross next to the candidate from the independence party, the right wing group who wants the UK out of Europe, the group whose leader says he doesn’t want to live next door to Romanians or hear foreign languages on public transport. I’d just voted for the type of right wing thuggery I’d despised all my life, the bigotry and hatred party. And this wasn’t just a protest vote, it was more than that. I believe in what they are saying, I do believe that there are too many immigrants coming to the UK, that those eastern Europeans are coming over here stealing our jobs. As I walked to the pub I reflected on this, how had I drifted from red to blue? Where had my radical, socialist former self disappeared? How had it come to this? I couldn’t quite put my finger on when this change occurred; I mean it was only 6 months ago I was throwing a tissue box at my television in disgust at some right winger talking about immigration. So somehow, somewhere  in the 6 months my politics had  completely flipped around.

Jase was already in the pub and had bought me a pint of Guinness. We clinked glasses and I took two healthy mouthfuls. Just what I needed after a long week - a beer and a chat with an old friend. Of course I didn’t tell him how I’d voted, I was too embarrassed for that. I might be becoming an old bigot on the inside, but I’d never tell the friends I grew up with. Instead we talked rugby, women and apps.

‘Hey have you used that Dreamcatcher app?’ I asked.

‘What’s that?’ He said.

‘It’s an app that you set when you go to bed, and it’s supposed to influence your dreams. Somehow it senses when you are about to go into dream mode and plays ambient music or something to encourage you to dream in a certain way.’ I showed him the app on my phone.

‘Get out of here, that can’t work, what a load of nonsense,’ he said

‘No seriously, download it, it’s great, I’ve been using it for about 6 months. Brilliant it is. I’ve been having the weirdest, wackiest dreams. I don’t know how it works, but it does.’

‘Nah sorry, I just can’t see it.’

‘Well lots of people would disagree with you. It’s the 3^rd most popular app in the UK.’

Jase put my phone back on the table.

‘Try it.’ I said again but I could see from the look on his face he never would.

‘How do I know it is not feeding me some adverts or something?’

‘Don’t be daft.’ I said ‘You’re always looking for a conspiracy.’

Jase smiled and we changed the subject.

I didn’t care what Jase said, he was always negative, a real non believer but

 I liked my Dreamcatcher app and set it up as I climbed into bed that night, knowing that the app combined with alcohol made the dreams even better. But that night something strange happened. I dreamt of being back in the pub with Jase. Our conversations went back and forth but it was the same two lines over and over again.

‘6 months I’ve been using it’

‘How do I know it is not feeding you some adverts or something?’

‘6 months I’ve been using it’

‘How do I know it is not feeding you some adverts or something?’

‘6 months I’ve been using it’

‘How do I know it is not feeding you some adverts or something?’

But then Jase changed, it was still his clothes, his body but his face had morphed into that of the leader of the Independence party that I’d voted for earlier in the day.

‘6 months I’ve been using it’

‘They’re  coming over here stealing  our jobs.’

‘6 months I’ve been using it’

‘They’re  coming over here stealing  our jobs.’

I woke myself  up. Was there a voice in my room?

‘They’re  coming over here stealing  our jobs.’

It wasn’t Jase’s voice or the leader of the party it was coming from the phone.

6 months I’d been using it. 6 months of sub-conscious propaganda from the 3^rd most popular app in the UK - no wonder the independence party had  just swept the Euro elections.