Dreamland

Cathedral

I'm a journalist, writing a story about a new Cathedral that's just been built. I'm walking up the steps, notepad in hand, when a pesty junior reporter confronts me, starts asking me inane questions. I seem to know this guy, a real pain in the ass. I give him a bottle of an obscure brand of cheap wine as a gift, telling him it is a rare vintage, very expensive.

He pours himself a glass, tastes it, proclaims that it is excellent, full bodied, fruity, etc., continuing to rave on in the usual wine tasting jargon. I tell him where I bought it, a wine shop far across town. He hurries off to buy more, I am glad to be rid of him.

I walk out into the main floor of the Cathedral, it is a beautiful place. Gold leaf scrollwork on the walls, stained glass windows, carved oak benches. I am greeted by the person in charge, Maureen, a sixty year old lesbian I used to work with. She gives me a tour of the place, then tells me they are using the Cathedral as a training building for people learning to fight terrorists.

She explains that trainees are required to run to the top floor of the Cathedral along the narrow pathway that winds it's way around the dome and up without falling. You have a safety cable attached to your arm to save you from being killed if you fall, but in order to pass the test you must make it to the top without stopping or falling.

I decide to try it, not to pass the test, but just to experience it and write about it as a journalist. Maureen helps me attach the safety cable to my arm, and I start running. The path gets narrower near the top and I have to lean in hard against the wall so I don't lose my balance and fall. I start running out of breath, I want to stop, but I'm determined to make it.

I'm on the top floor, above the Cathedral dome. The rooms are very ornate, furnished in expensive antiques and decorated with 17th century paintings. I ask an attendant the way to the bathroom. He informs me that there are no bathrooms up here, since there weren't any in this period of history. There are only outhouses, on the grounds behind the Cathedral.