I dreamt I was back in the Navy. At the start of the dream I was aboard a Submarine with my friend Brad. There was a particular scene where we watched as a sailor went up a ladder and as the ship rolled the sailor smoothly went from one face of the ladder to the other face traversing a complete 180 degrees.  It would literally be like if the ship rolled upside down and you had to use the reverse side of the ladder. My dreams can often seem very real at the time but have the most unreal events in them. I showed Brad around the ship a bit, explaining how the layout worked; we even passed a rather large open elevated compartment with a placard indicating it was the “Imperious Flying Bridge.”

Soon it was morning and by this time the ship was no longer a submarine but a surface ship, a very large one like a battleship.  I started to be very concerned because I had no idea where to find my division, and I had to find them and stand with them at muster. At this point I awoke.

For those not in the know I was in the U.S. Navy from 1979 to 1982. I did not make a very good sailor; the military life was not for me, though I have a deep and sincere respect for those who do serve. It is part of why I write military SF.

It seems every four or five years I have a dream where I am back in military service, rarely does the discomfort in these dreams rise to a nightmare, but usually there is the element that I don’t belong. Like last night’s dream when I was lost at muster. There can be no doubt that the service left an enduring mark upon me.

I think this is the first time a friend of mine who had never served was somehow in the Navy with me.  I guess that’s an example of a phantom pressganging. Hmm is there a fantasy. horror, or an RPG adventure in that concept? I’ll have to think about it.