"Initializing," Elias whispered. He sat in the pilot’s chair, the leather worn smooth by years of use. He placed the headset over his temples, the cold metal pressing against his skin. "DSVR-1433, activate."
: How fast the object is moving away from us, which helps calculate the expansion rate of the universe. dsvr1433
The headset went dead. The weight of it fell into his lap, lifeless plastic and metal once more. He was back in the workshop, gasping for air, sweat pouring down his face. "Initializing," Elias whispered
The dream began to degrade. The sun turned a sickly orange. The buildings in the distance began to crumble, their glass facades shattering in slow motion, mirroring the reality of the outside world. The golden field of grass withered into the gray dust of his workshop. "DSVR-1433, activate
"No," Elias gasped, fighting to pull the headset off. "Not that. Anything but that."
The sky stuttered, turning a pixelated shade of violet for a split second. The grass turned to wireframe before snapping back to reality.