I was in a large old city with an European air; the buildings were old, but not tall. I didn't see any skyscrapers, but did notice some large plazas paved with dark brown bricks. Suddenly the area around me filled with commotion, and I felt the ground coming apart as if from an earthquake. However, I knew this commotion was man-made and not a natural phenomenon. I closed my eyes and envisioned an atomic bomb exploding in the middle of the city. The blast area only covered an area approximately the size of a city block. People were running in all directions from the area.

When I opened my eyes, I had an aerial view of the city below me. I focused on one particular plaza where people were running in all directions. At one end of the plaza the street was rising as if something were tunneling underneath it, heading toward the plaza. Buildings on both sides of the plaza began falling, obviously killing people.

The thing beneath the surface continued tunneling through the plaza, causing bricks to be raised and flung into the air. One police officer, dressed like a London Bobbie, trying to maintain calm in the chaos, walked to the center of the plaza. When the earth and bricks rose up around him, a fissure was created, as if from an earthquake, and he fell into it. The fissure closed back, crushing the Bobbie, who didn't even scream.

As I stood on the street amidst the surrounding chaos and confusion, I finally realized what was happening. The government itself was testing a new device, using all the people as guinea pigs, sacrificing their lives. At first I had difficulty understanding how the government could do this to its own people, but then I realized this was the simple reality of the future age in which I was living.

A woman stepped up and began complaining. I listened but I didn't say anything, realizing the government had spies everywhere; anyone who complained would be summarily punished. The woman herself might even be an agent trying to elicit complaints against the government.

Afterwards I found myself at a nice large adobe house, painted in fading white, the home of my wife's parents. The house had many rooms, some of which I'd never entered. The house had been damaged by the tunneling device. Walking into the back yard, I saw a pale white Cadillac precariously perched on the side of a crevice, almost ready to topple in. When I walked back into the house, my wife, obviously upset, approached me, but wouldn't tell me what was bothering her. I pulled her close to me, hugged her and told her to tell me the problem.

She explained that her parents (who I had thought were quite wealthy) were having problems collecting insurance for the damage to the house. I was unsure, but I thought the total damage was around $2,400. At any rate, the man who had sold them the insurance had returned and told them he had obtained the insurance from the wrong company. He had told my in-laws that he should have informed them of this fact when they had first bought the insurance, but that he had failed to do so. The man had explained that now they would have difficulty being paid for the damages.

I immediately told my wife to gather all the papers and bring them to me. I had some legal skill. Although I no longer charged people for legal help, I did occasionally help people who needed such help. In this particular case, I would need to look at the papers to determine exactly what the insurance covered. I would ask my in-laws if they had read their policy; but since most people didn't read their policies, they probably wouldn't know what was in it. I, however, would be able to understand it. I would be able to determine if the man who had sold them the insurance had breached any duty. However, I sadly realized if the man who had sold the insurance was liable, his liability would probably not benefit my in-laws, since he was probably insolvent. My in-laws needed to be protected by the insurance company. At least I would be able to tell them where they stood.

My wife and I were standing in a room apparently in the basement – stairs leading up were on two opposite sides of the room. When my wife finally left, I walked into an adjoining bedroom. I couldn't remember if I had ever been in the room, but I thought perhaps I had been in it a long time ago. I just wanted to look around and see what was there. The room was dark and I didn't turn on any lights. However, I did notice on one wall a small, ornamental animal head designed for hanging clothes on.

The room somehow seemed to portray the state of my wife's parents. Although still nice, the room was clearly beginning to deteriorate.