The Geek Intepreter

I have another Kelly dream. This time it's the end of the world, a world seemingly mixed up with the desperation of a Japanese salary-man. This man's sleeves-rolled-up sweaty desperation somehow triggers the apocalypse.

Meanwhile, across town, I'm showing a version of the film "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" to a group of people and Kelly. Am I a professor? Or am I just showing off? The film is real by the way, it stars Murray Head and Nigel Green and I have never seen it, though I have always wanted to.

The film is a lush, psychedelic cartoon, and even in the dream I realise that this is nothing like the actual film, but I go with it. My version is probably better. A rival nerd has paid a sky-writer to advertise an alternative event - a screening of "Watchmen" across town. The poor pilot is attempting to draw Dr. Manhattan's hydrogen symbol against the background of a glowering mushroom cloud.

"Looks like he picked the wrong day to go sky-writing!" I quip. It gets a big laugh and Kelly looks very pleased with me. I hunker down next to her and a few more seconds of my made-up film continue; it's the capture of Grendel, though what Grendel is doing in this story I haven't a clue.

I turn to Kelly and she looks distraught, her face seems thinner and her eyes look panicked.

"What's wrong?" I ask her. "I feel as if I have five minutes left to live," she says.

I wake up.