Dreamer's World

"Dreamer's World" by Bryce Walton is a science fiction story set in a future where people use anesthesia to escape reality, creating a peaceful but passive society. The story centers on Greg Dalson, whose world is turned upside down when Pat Nichols, a woman who rejects this anesthetized existence, plans to join colonists fleeing to Venus. Greg sees this one-way trip as a form of suicide and sets out to rescue her, challenging the Controllers who maintain the anesthetic-based society. His journey to the Outside forces him to question sanity and destruction, leading him to understand the importance of free will and accepting reality. The story reaches its peak with a confrontation that forces Greg to confront his understanding of sanity in a society that values anesthesia. The ending transforms Greg as he rethinks his perceptions of reality, choice, and what it means to truly live.