I think about what Stack said. Not about Internet cats conspiring against me. The other thing. He does have a point in that if I can dreamhack, surely so can others as well. In Melodie’s dream the Creeper was in full colour. At first I took this to mean he was a figment of Melodie’s imagination, but only because I wasn’t keen to explore the possibility that it (he?) could be another dreamhacker. The way it works in my own dream logic, greyscale people are asleep and the only person in colour is me – and I’m lucid – so by that logic all I really know is that the Creeper is conscious. It could be some part of Mel’s consciousness. On the other hand, using Dougal’s Head logic, the fact that the Creeper appears in colour could be my subconscious’s way of telling me it is some kind of AR intrusion – but it acts too smart to be a bot. I’m much more worried about the possibility that the Creeper is a person who has managed to crash Mel’s dreams. Stupidly, I’ve never considered the possibility of another dreamhacker out there.

‘Predators avoid each other,’ the Creeper said.

I’m not a predator. The Creeper obviously is. I should probably trace the other participants in the study. Shandy prodded me over this months ago, but I was too sleepy and depressed and I guess I had my head in the sand. I know I have to do something about it, but the very thought is exhausting.

Poor me.

When I get to the hotel, I’m sodden and out of breath. Desperate for endorphins, I plaster a big, fake smile on my face as I march through the hotel lobby. If you hold a smile for twenty seconds you get a burst of endorphins. Twenty seconds is a long time unless you work on a game show, plus I have a feeling there’s pesto in my teeth.