“Why do we dream?  According to Freud the ultimate function of the dream is to enable the dreamer to stay asleep…” (Žižek 2006)

“Lucid dreaming is the conscious perception of one's state while dreaming. In this state a person usually has control over characters and the environment of the dream as well as the dreamer's own actions within the dream...” (Laberge 1991)

Before my flight in the MiG fighter, I could only ever recollect one dream of flying. I was a bird of prey flying across an ocean, my movement effortless, as if carrying no weight. I kept going straight, undulating with the contours of the waves, feeling the air pass along my body and enjoying the vision of the dark swirling mass below.  The omnipotence of course was exhilarating. More commonly, I dream of trampolining.

When awake, I always look forward to flying, although previous experience was limited to being a passenger on an ordinary commercial aircraft.  I never consciously desired to fly in a fighter until I became curious - why do people want to take rides in military jets, machines of war?  I wondered what were the specifics of this dream – to take a ride in a killing machine?  A convergence of flight with military power? Is that what people desire and dream of?  And would I?

Unexpectedly, I slept soundly the night before the MiG flight. I don’t remember any of my dreams.