They were too specialized, and dealt only rarely with human things. There was little imagination in them at all. Parker's dreams were not offensive, but they were less pastoral than Kane's. But prodreaming requires a certain extra energy, and Kane had barely enough for day-to-day living. His dreams were translucent, formless shadows compared to those of Dallas, just as Kane was a thinner, less vibrant echo of the captain. That requires a certain drive coupled with the ability to command others, neither of which Kane had been blessed with. Kane was less controlled in thought and action than was Dallas, and possessed far less imagination. Dallas was no more realistic prodreamer material than Ripley. But a professional dreamer requires a deal more than a modicum of the last, and that's a deficiency that can't be compensated for by a disproportionate quantity of the first. So he had the regulatory capability, and a modicum of imagination. Both would remain intact in dreaming as well as when awake. Captain of two ships Dallas was: the interstellar tug Nostromo, and his body. He'd no more part with the antique facial fuzz than he would with any other part of his anatomy. It was a part of his personality, he'd explained to more than one curious shipmate. Or so she occasionally thought.Ĭaptain Dallas now, he appeared lazy while being the best organized of all. A little more effort, a greater intensity of self-recognition and she would have made a pretty good prodreamer. The raw, rococo thoughts lay waiting to be tapped, just below the surface of realization.

Warrant officer Ripley needed more self-control. Hopes and fears, speculations and half creations slipped haphazardly from compartment to compartment. It was in the warehouse of the mind that her filing system went awry. She was very good at organizing stores and cargo, at pigeonholing carton A in storage chamber B or matching up manifests. But she lacked real inspiration and the powerful maturity of thought characteristic of the prodreamer.

She had a little ingrained dream talent and more flexibility of imagination than her companions. Of them all, Ripley came closest to possessing that special potential. A subtle weaver of speculation, not straightforward and clumsy like you or I. A professional dreamer is simultaneously the most organized of all artists and the most spontaneous. It requires the ability to regulate semiconscious creative impulses and to stratify imagination, an extraordinarily, difficult combination to achieve. Dreaming professionally, so that one's dreams can be recorded and played back for the entertainment of others, is a much more demanding proposition. Like the majority of us, these seven dreamt without effort or discipline. Professional dreamers are highly paid, respected, much sought-after talents.

You must understand that they were not professional dreamers.

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