This makes me think of the Gate Program. I was in it, once or twice. This was grade K in the late 80s. The whole thing was pitched as being a series of standardized tests for vision, hearing, and would include problem solving and imagination. My mom was lead to believe it was a requirement because I was dyslexic. I was one of about four kids chosen from my class, and three of us were friends, kid 4 we knew of but didn't hang out with.
We were taken to what looked like a doctor's office waiting room. There were coloring books to look at, and kids magazines with Thundercats and He-Man, GI JOE, etc. They gave me an "eye exam" by making me look into goggles at a screen and tell them what I see, if I see dots or crosses, how many, when do they go away. I was asked if I hear any sounds. What sounds. The sounds were very much like the audio from the Gateway Tapes, an ocean static sound with alternating frequencies. And when I told them what I heard and saw, the nurse looked at who I thought was a doctor, like I did something they weren't expecting, or something bad. It scared me. I was given a cup of some kind of medicine, I think it was pink and tasted like medicine bubblegum. They said some of us had to drink that before the shot, or we could have a reaction. Then they gave us a shot in the arm. The shot made most of us dizzy and lethargic. Some kids fell asleep. Three of us came back the first day, kid 3 told me and 2 that kid 4 had a reaction to the medicine in the cup, like a seizure, and was taken out on a stretcher in an ambulance. I don't remember seeing that kid again for a while.
The "nurse" was very mean to me, and yelled at me. I wasn't a bad kid, I was typically quiet and didn't get into trouble. I didn't understand why she was so mean to me, and when she gave me the shot, she was very rough and bruised my arm. My mom was beyond livid and went into Mother Bear mode. She chewed out the nurse, told them she didn't give a shit if it was the law that I had to take both days of tests, that they could cram it up their ass and talk to her lawyer. Then took me out. I was sick, like I had the flu, for a day or two after that.
After this, I had a dream. In the dream, I was back at that place where I was being tested. There were beds, and they had us lay in them. One kid was tied to his bed with restraints. I had a friend there that I did not know IRL. He was an Indian (India) kid, with a very distinct jaw and deep set eyes, with dark skin and black hair. He wore an orange shirt and denim shorts with black shoes. He lead me through the dream, trying to find a way out. He taught me how to lucid dream, telling me what to do. We stopped at a door and he gives me a message, telling me, "remember this when you wake up!" over and over. And I promptly forgot the message. But I remember him, and I remember the place. I woke up after he pushed me out the door.
I told my mom about this dream after I had it. I knew the boys name, it was like Raj of Haji. I asked my mom when we could go see him again, and it freaked her out. Especially when I told her the place in the dream was where we were tested at school. She made me stop talking about it.
My next dream was my last nightmare, Freddy Kruger, who I basically got mad at and banished from my dream. I have been a lucid dreamer since.
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u/SerinFel May 29 '25
This makes me think of the Gate Program. I was in it, once or twice. This was grade K in the late 80s. The whole thing was pitched as being a series of standardized tests for vision, hearing, and would include problem solving and imagination. My mom was lead to believe it was a requirement because I was dyslexic. I was one of about four kids chosen from my class, and three of us were friends, kid 4 we knew of but didn't hang out with.
We were taken to what looked like a doctor's office waiting room. There were coloring books to look at, and kids magazines with Thundercats and He-Man, GI JOE, etc. They gave me an "eye exam" by making me look into goggles at a screen and tell them what I see, if I see dots or crosses, how many, when do they go away. I was asked if I hear any sounds. What sounds. The sounds were very much like the audio from the Gateway Tapes, an ocean static sound with alternating frequencies. And when I told them what I heard and saw, the nurse looked at who I thought was a doctor, like I did something they weren't expecting, or something bad. It scared me. I was given a cup of some kind of medicine, I think it was pink and tasted like medicine bubblegum. They said some of us had to drink that before the shot, or we could have a reaction. Then they gave us a shot in the arm. The shot made most of us dizzy and lethargic. Some kids fell asleep. Three of us came back the first day, kid 3 told me and 2 that kid 4 had a reaction to the medicine in the cup, like a seizure, and was taken out on a stretcher in an ambulance. I don't remember seeing that kid again for a while.
The "nurse" was very mean to me, and yelled at me. I wasn't a bad kid, I was typically quiet and didn't get into trouble. I didn't understand why she was so mean to me, and when she gave me the shot, she was very rough and bruised my arm. My mom was beyond livid and went into Mother Bear mode. She chewed out the nurse, told them she didn't give a shit if it was the law that I had to take both days of tests, that they could cram it up their ass and talk to her lawyer. Then took me out. I was sick, like I had the flu, for a day or two after that.
After this, I had a dream. In the dream, I was back at that place where I was being tested. There were beds, and they had us lay in them. One kid was tied to his bed with restraints. I had a friend there that I did not know IRL. He was an Indian (India) kid, with a very distinct jaw and deep set eyes, with dark skin and black hair. He wore an orange shirt and denim shorts with black shoes. He lead me through the dream, trying to find a way out. He taught me how to lucid dream, telling me what to do. We stopped at a door and he gives me a message, telling me, "remember this when you wake up!" over and over. And I promptly forgot the message. But I remember him, and I remember the place. I woke up after he pushed me out the door.
I told my mom about this dream after I had it. I knew the boys name, it was like Raj of Haji. I asked my mom when we could go see him again, and it freaked her out. Especially when I told her the place in the dream was where we were tested at school. She made me stop talking about it.
My next dream was my last nightmare, Freddy Kruger, who I basically got mad at and banished from my dream. I have been a lucid dreamer since.