Reverie Recap: Altum Somnum S01E05
Last week, we had a heist for medicine. What’s next? Will Mara keep seeing things?
“I’m running a little late.”
We begin seeing an explosion in a busy building. We find out from Monica that the DOD owns 30% of OniraTech. She wants their help to stop another terror attack. Apparently the explosion was at a building where contractors for the Department of Defense work, and they received a recording stating that more explosions will happen. One person survived, and they’ve hooked her up to Reverie. She’s unconscious, but they saw on film that she saw the bomber. They want Mara to go into the survivor’s mind before the survivor dies.
Paul thinks its a horrible idea, since the victim can’t consent and they don’t know what will happen if the victim dies while Mara is in there. Alexis is strangely supportive of Mara going in, because they’ll get more information on things Reverie can do.
Basically, Mara isn’t supposed to tell the woman what’s really happening because it may freak her out, they’re just going to have the memory replay and see if they can see the bomber’s face simply because the victim could.
“So I’m the sneaky neighbor stealing the cable.”
We find out the victim was a security guard in the building, and the ID says her name is Denise. Mara goes into her Reverie, and Denise is pretty confused.
Monica and Charlie talk about what Mara’s doing, and we learn that aside from PTSD therapy, the DOD is likely to want to use Reverie for intelligence gathering. Ew. We also find out that the victim, Denise, isn’t actually Denise. She’s someone who stole the ID. So who is she? Is she with the bombers?
Yes, apparently she is. Her name is Ashley, and she knows the bomber, Silas. She was there to make sure Silas got into the building. Mara is convinced after meeting her, however, that she’s not a killer.
Alexis isn’t supportive of Mara using Reverie to get more information from Ashley. She thinks anything further is the DOD’s business. She also gets pretty mad at Charlie when she finds out that the DOD has Reverie’s source code. Charlie tells her that she should have known better when they partnered with them to get more money, and that she needs to see the people, not just the tech.
Mara talks to Ashley’s mother to find out more about her. Ashley had recently become more angry and ideological. When Ashley was 13, her father had been put in jail for embezzlement. That’s when her and her mother started to grow apart.
“I thought we’d talk to her.”
Charlie takes Alexis to talk to a friend of Ashley’s. He insists she comes with him so she takes more responsibility and connects with people. However, when they knock at the door, the friend, Edith, runs. Charlie goes after her, and when cornered, Edith spouts a bunch of terrorist propaganda and kills herself. Alexis is horrified. Looks like that backfired.
Mara goes back in Ashley’s head, disguised as Edith to try to get Ashley to talk. Ashley is freaking out, and she’s starting to realize that something is wrong. Mara opens a door in the building, and sees a cabin. She shuts it quickly. Ashley gets upset and faints, and it kicks Mara out of the Reverie.
Monica gets an outside tip about another bomb, and sends a team to look for it.
Mara talks to Paul about what she saw behind the door. Ashley’s brain built her own Reverie to escape, so the place must be somewhere from her past. Mara talks to Ashley’s mother, and finds out more about the cabin before going back in. Ashley always felt exploited and lied to, so Mara uses that to talk to Ashley.
Monica calls Charlie to tell him the tip was a hoax.
When she goes back in, she opens the door and finds Ashley in the cabin. She tells her the truth, and Ashley tells her where the other bomb is. Mara has to rush to get out before Ashley dies.
Charlie checks in with Alexis, because he’s worried about her after she saw Edith die. She says Edith wasn’t the first person she’s seen die. I assume she’s talking about Dylan (the real Dylan).
Well, that was tense. What’s next?
Previous Episode: Blue is the Coldest Color
JL Jamieson is a strange book nerd who writes technical documents by day, and book news, reviews, and other assorted opinions for you by night. She is working on her own fiction, and spends time making jewelry to sell at local conventions, as well as stalking the social media accounts of all your favorite writers.