Ekstasis Paper

I’m walking through the middle of the desert when I come across a huge pyramid. There were several other very small pyramids, this one dwarfed them. Out of curiosity, I approach the architecture and enter through the small cave-like opening in the front.

As soon as I’m in, I notice that everything is completely black, and I can’t see a thing. Holding my arms out in front of me, I proceed walking through the black space. After a few minutes of walking, everything returns to bright. It isn’t like the brightness from the sun though, it’s like there is an extremely bright lighting system on the ceiling, except there are no light bulbs to be seen. I come to a bridge, and continue to cross over it. After the first two steps, I realize that the bridge is vanishing behind me as my foot leaves the surface. I pick up my speed; I’m not so sure I want to find out what happens when I vanish with the bridge.

Next, there is a small section of water, of which I must swim through in order to advance through this bizarre structure. The water is the most beautiful color that I’ve ever seen. It ripples small waves of turquoise and several shades of blue. I step into the water and do a couple of bobs up and down to see if I can reach the bottom. The strange pool of water seems to be bottomless as I plunge downward for several seconds and don’t approach any solid ground underneath me. I carry on swimming across the small body of water and finally come to the end. I climb out of the water. During my next few steps, I notice a small goblet of fire. I swerve my path around the fire and proceed to the next challenge.

I enter into a series of mazes. After at least an hour of trying to navigate my way through the seemingly impossible maze, I come to another bridge, at last! I cross the bridge and enter into a room. The room is small with black walls. In the middle of the room, there is a pedestal with intricate carvings of shapes and lines all over. On top of the platform, there sits a looking ball. There is a marble base and a fairly large glass globe. As I reach the ball, I put my hands around it and gaze into the center. I see the strangest thing; several people are filing into what looks to me like a small art gallery. The people shuffle around the room and eventually stop at one work of art, and begin to sketch the chosen piece. This continues for some time, and then the people start to stand up and exit the gallery. After everyone leaves the room, nothing happens, the art hangs motionlessly on the white walls. I begin to feel dizzy and lightheaded.

I wake up in the middle of the desert. I seem to have passed out from the extreme heat. I don’t remember how or when it happened. All I can pull from my memory is a pyramid. I was inside it, trying to steer my way though the outrageous obstacles. I remember reaching a small room that sheltered a looking globe. The rest remains hazy in my mind…