Mr. Sandman Read online

  Riggins: Shall I draw your bath, sir?

  Page 7 panel 5

  Dream Lord (still chuckling): Ha ha ha! Yes, Riggins, please. I didn't know there were any other beings in the Dream Zone, aside from myself and my creations. This stranger could be amusing.

  Riggins: May I take your cape and cowl, sir?

  Page 7 panel 6

  Dream Lord hands his cape and mask to Riggins, then walks briskly away to prepare to meet his guest.

  Dream Lord: In fact, this could change everything! I might have a neighbor I never knew about! Or there might be others! But how could I have missed him? I'm like a god here.

  Riggins: Yes, you are, sir. Your shirt, sir?

  Page 7 panel 7

  Dream Lord removes his shirt as he walks, handing it to Higgins, who follows him. They pass a cowboy with a guitar, who is leaning on a fence in the middle of the hallway.

  Dream Lord (casually to the singing cowboy): Hello, Gene.

  Gene: Howdy, Dream Lord.

  Dream Lord: This is very interesting, Riggins. I never expected anything like this.

  Riggins: Belt, sir?

  Page 7 panel 8

  Dream Lord unhooks his belt to hand it to Riggins, as they continue walking.

  Dream Lord: This could be the start of something big.

  Riggins: Quite. Your trousers, sir?

  Page 8 (7 panels)

  Page 8 panel 1

  Throughout the following scenes, there is a narrative similar to that at the beginning of the story. The words should again be set off in a box, colored differently from the boxes enclosing the first narrative. This same approach will be used through the entire mini-series, at different points--demonstrating how people on Earth are getting impressions of the Dream Lord's experiences in the Dream Zone, and are describing them as if they were their personal dreams and visions.

  Narrator: Dear Diary: Today was very terrible again. I do not know how long I can stand this miserable job or this place. They won't leave me alone.

  Medium shot of a dowdy girl, in her mid-20's, with big glasses, rushing around with plates in a crummy diner. She is dressed in a garish, typical waitress' uniform. The diner is full of rough, noisy guys, sitting at tables to laugh and shout at her.

  Page 8 panel 2

  Narrator: The men come in to eat every day, and they're awful. They tease me and grab me and get me in trouble with the boss. He hates me and makes me work harder than anyone there. Now, I have two strikes, and he says if I get one more, I'm out the door.

  The waitress is getting screamed at by her hard-headed boss.

  Page 8 panel 3

  Narrator: Nobody here likes me. The people on the pier just sneer at me and laugh because I'm ugly. I should've stayed home, but nobody likes me there, either.

  Show the girl, out of waitress uniform, sitting on a bench on an amusement pier.

  Page 8 panel 4

  Narrator: Yesterday was so bad, after work I ran out to the beach and cried. It was warm that night, though, and nobody was around, so I fell asleep in the sand after a while.

  The girl is crying on a beach.

  Page 8 panel 5

  Narrator: While I slept, I had a strange dream, and it has inspired me...

  Closeup of the girl's tear-streaked face, as she sleeps on the sand.

  Page 8 panel 6

  Large panel--the girl is now on the sidelines, a voice interpreting events she senses in the Dream Zone.

  There is a tall, slim, very handsome man with dark hair, and he stands in an elaborately-decorated room. It is the Dream Lord's study, and the man is the stranger. The man has a convivial, bemused look on his face as he waits for his host. He glances around at the paintings on the walls, the sculpture, the many rare books.

  Narrator: I dreamed there was a handsome man, waiting in a beautiful, big room.

  Page 8 panel 7

  The man turns his head and sees the Dream Lord enter, off-panel.

  Narrator: He was waiting for me.

  Stranger: Hello, Dream Lord.

  Page 9 (9 panels)

  Page 9 panel 1

  The Dream Lord appears. His costume is gone, and he is dressed in a shimmering black tuxedo. The Stranger is wearing a dark blue business suit, very tidy but not as fancy as the tux.

  Dream Lord: Mr. Ronald Duck, I presume?

  Page 9 panel 2

  Stranger: The very same. Though names can, of course, be deceiving. Some of us appear more bird-like than others at the moment.

  Page 9 panel 3

  Dream Lord: Ah, the penguin suit. I suppose I am somewhat overdressed.

  Stranger: If you say so. However, etiquette has little meaning in a dream, I should think.

  Page 9 panel 4

  Dream Lord: Even dreams need rules, though. I should know, after all. I had no idea what to expect from you, so I felt I should put my best foot forward. We get few visitors here of your nature, Mister...Duck, is it?

  Page 9 panel 5

  Stranger: Yes, "Duck." My friends call me Ron.

  Dream Lord: Oh, I see. Well, Ron, welcome to...

  Page 9 panel 6

  Stranger: You may call me Sid.

  Closeup of his handsome, pleasant, seemingly-menaceless face.

  Page 9 panel 7

  The Dream Lord is still in a silly mood, enjoying a strange new game, unaware of any deeper level.

  Dream Lord: Very well. Sid it is! Perhaps, I shall soon be able to call you Ron.

  Stranger: Or another name, yes. We'll see.

  Narrator: The man and I talked and laughed. He was handsome and clever, and I had a great time!

  Page 9 panel 8

  Dream Lord: Anyway, welcome to Castle Dream Lord! Or, the Dream Base, if you like.

  Stranger: Ah, then you must be Kubla!

  Page 9 panel 9

  Dream Lord (puzzled): Excuse me?

  Stranger (reciting a poem): "In Xanadu did Kubla Khan/a stately pleasure dome decree/Where Alph, the sacred river, ran/Through caverns measureless to man/Down to a sunless sea."

  Page 10 (9 panels)

  Page 10 panel 1

  Dream Lord: I'm afraid I still don't follow you.

  Stranger: It's a poem, Adams! "Kubla Khan" by Coleridge. Don't tell me you've never heard it before! It's quite famous.

  Page 10 panel 2

  Dream Lord: No, I'm sorry. I haven't.

  Stranger: Of course, I forgot! You're a scientist, aren't you? Or you were. Generally, textbooks and bar graphs don't quote extensively from Coleridge. You really should read it sometime, though, expand your horizons. It's quite good.

  Page 10 panel 3

  Wide shot of Dream Lord and the Stranger standing in center of the study. Emphasize the hugeness of the room, and its opulence.

  Stranger (reciting again): "So twice five miles of fertile ground! With walls and towers girdled round! And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills, Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree." Heady stuff, Adams. It fits the mood here, wouldn't you say?

  Page 10 panel 4

  Dream Lord (suspiciously, the novelty of the visitor's game slowly wearing off): Who are you?

  Stranger: Not only that, Adams...not only that, but the poem was called "A vision in a dream." The author purported to have written it while deep in a drugged sleep. I think maybe he was tuned in to something, something he didn't understand.

  Page 10 panel 5

  Stranger: Wouldn't it be funny, Adams, wouldn't it be comical, if he was tuned in to you? Ha ha ha ha ha!

  Narrator: He had a wonderful sense of humor.

  Page 10 panel 6

  Dream Lord (pretending to be amused): Ha ha! That is a funny idea, isn't it? I have to admit, though...you have me intrigued. Where are you from, exactly?

  Stranger: Aren't you going to offer me a drink?

  Page 10 panel 7

  Dream Lord: Of course. What would you like?

  Stranger: What've you got?

  Dream Lord: You name it. Everything. />
  Page 10 panel 8

  Stranger: Oh, good. I'll take one of those. On the rocks, please, and a twist.

  Dream Lord: Uh...you want everything?

  Page 10 panel 9

  Stranger: Oh yes. All the time.

  Page 11 (8 panels)

  Page 11 panel 1

  Stranger: Shaken nicely, of course.

  Dream Lord: Hmm. Just give me a minute. I'm not used to pouring everything into a single glass.

  Page 11 panel 2

  Stranger: Yes, that could be a problem. Do you need help?

  Dream Lord (manifesting a tall glass, creating the drink): I'm the Dream Lord! How could you help me?

  Page 11 panel 3

  Stranger: Words of encouragement. Removing thorns from your paw. Sending out for pizza. There are ways.

  Dream Lord: Don't worry about it, Sid! Ta-da! The marvels of modern dream technology triumph again! A drink to end all drinks! You'll never taste anything like this again...every liquor known to man, mixed in a perfect balance.

  Page 11 panel 4

  Stranger (accepting the drink from Dream Lord): There is no such thing as a perfect balance, Kubla. The nature of the universe is fluctuation and inequality, dominance and submission. In any combination, one element invariably gains ascendancy, and all others recede.

  Page 11 panel 5

  Dream Lord (sarcastically): I don't think you would make a very good bartender, Sid.

  Stranger: Oh, on the contrary! The power of mixology lies in knowing the fascism of alcohols...which ingredients are strongest, most overpowering, needing the dilution of weaker forces.

  Page 11 panel 6

  Dream Lord (creating his own drink in a chalice in the air): Are you speaking physically or philosophically?

  Page 11 panel 7

  Stranger (sipping his drink): Ambiguously, of course. (He smiles pleasantly.)

  Page 11 panel 8

  Dream Lord: I see. Sid, I hope you will forgive me, but I am dying of curiosity. I've got to know: where did you come from? How did you get here? I would've known if there was another living being in the Dream Zone...but I've never sensed you. I'm very powerful, you know. In this dimension, I'm...

  Page 12 (9 panels)

  Page 12 panel 1

  Stranger: ...like a god. So I've heard. You're "remarkable," too, aren't you?

  Dream Lord (embarrassed): Well, that's a matter of opinion.

  Page 12 panel 2

  Stranger: No, I'm sure it's true. You do indeed seem to be a unique and talented fellow. I trust my sources.

  Dream Lord: What are your sources?

  Page 12 panel 3

  Stranger: You, of course! And your clever horde of dream servants. Do you enjoy them, Kubla? Do you like having an army of brainless sycophants to feed you platitudes on a silver tray?

  Page 12 panel 4

  Dream Lord (very annoyed): You haven't answered my questions yet. What's your

  story? Why didn't I sense you before?

  Stranger: Does it matter? Can't you simply entertain me? This is certainly no way to treat a guest. I'm afraid I may have to advise all my friends against visiting you in the future.

  Page 12 panel 5

  Dream Lord: What friends? Are there more beings like you, somewhere in the Dream Zone?

  Stranger: Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe I'm not even here. Did you think that perhaps I am simply another of your creations, an accident, a slip of your mighty subconscious?

  Page 12 panel 6

  Dream Lord: I don't know. You tell me.

  Stranger: In due time, Kubla. We don't want to ruin all the surprises, now, do we? It would spoil the game, take all the fun out of my visit.

  Page 12 panel 7

  Stranger: Besides, I detest making revelations on an empty stomach. Are there hors d'oeuvres, or a dinner of some sort?

  Dream Lord: Well, I suppose I could create something. I'll have Riggins serve it to us in the dining hall.

  Narrator: After we talked for a while, the man and I decided to have supper.

  Page 12 panel 8

  Dream Lord: How about filet mignon and a pilaf?

  Stranger: By all means! Let's go eat, and catch up on old times!

  Page 12 panel 9

  Dream Lord: What do you mean, "old times?" I've never met you before.

  Stranger: Oh, your old times, of course! I'm still young, you know.

  Page 13 (9 panels)

  Page 13 panel 1

  Stranger: I've still got my whole life ahead of me.

  The Stranger and Dream Lord leave the study, heading through the ornate doorway toward the dining room.

  Page 13 panel 2

  NOTE: The following sequence deviates from the main body of the story, and takes place on Earth, outside the Dream Zone. The narrative should be enclosed in boxes of a color which is different from the colors of the other narrative in the story.

  Narrator: Reality interlude: Outside the Dream Zone, yet tightly connected to it in every way, lies the world of the waking, the conscious plane. Here, humanity spends half its time, moving through lives which some would claim are more dreamlike and insubstantial than the misty realms of the Dream Lord.

  Scene: People walking along a city street in the afternoon.

  Page 13 panel 3

  Narrator: These are the Fultons. They are not well-off, but they manage to pay the bills.

  An African-American family is seated around a table in a restaurant, enjoying themselves at dinner. There is a father, a mother, and three kids--a baby, a seven-year-old, and a fifteen-year-old girl.

  Page 13 panel 4

  Narrator: They are on vacation in Wildwood, New Jersey. They have to watch the money, but they are having a wonderful time. The whole family is in tune, relaxed, happy to get away from their routines. Even the kids are behaving, for once.

  The family is outside, walking along the boardwalk. Everyone looks peaceful, having a good time.

  Page 13 panel 5

  Narrator: Of course, into each life, some rain must fall.

  The family is screaming and recoiling in their car from the headlights of an onrushing truck.

  Page 13 panel 6

  Narrator: So much for a little peace and quiet.

  Narrator: The driver of the truck was asleep when he met the Fultons, and to be honest, Mr. Fulton was pretty drowsy himself.

  Exterior view of the 18-wheeler colliding with and crushing the family's small car.

  Page 13 panel 7

  Narrator: In fact, while he waited the four and a half minutes to die, Mr. Fulton thought that it was all a bad dream.

  Amidst the debris, the father lies dying, gazing unbelievingly around him.