Chapter 30: Dream Space
When Jake opened his eyes, he found himself sitting on a bullet train.
Turning his head to the right, the scenery outside the window was rushing backward due to the high speed.
Looking around, he realized he was the only person in his car—a pleasant surprise, as he didn't have to worry about causing a scene by suddenly appearing.
At the same time, an announcement came on in Japanese, reminding passengers that the next stop was Kyoto Station.
"The protagonist Cobb gets off at Kyoto Station." Without time to enjoy the experience of riding a Japanese bullet train, Jake immediately stood up and left the car.
This was the world of Inception.
Having accumulated enough resources and with everything settled, he'd chosen to enter this movie world.
This was a "contemporary action science fiction film that takes place within the architecture of the mind."
Although Inception and dreams involved science fiction concepts, its danger level was relatively low, so it was categorized as Level 2. Jake also believed this was one of the few movie worlds where he could currently obtain a game-changing ability.
The film tells the story of an extractor, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, and his team entering other people's dreams to steal secrets from their subconscious, and even reshape dreams and alter their targets' thinking.
When watching the film, the layered dream sequences and the screenwriter's boundless imagination had left Jake in awe.
Dreams, typically uncontrollable subconscious phenomena, were made controllable here.
Jake couldn't think of any reason not to learn this skill.
Soon, they arrived at Kyoto Station.
He positioned himself near the front to be among the first to exit and avoid missing the protagonist.
Although the plot featured gunfights and car chases that seemed intense, it was all within dreams; in reality, they were just people sleeping.
Leonardo DiCaprio—few people wouldn't recognize him.
Jake immediately spotted the former Jack from Titanic, now an Oscar-winning actor, among the crowd of Asian faces. Of course, his character's name was Dom Cobb.
At this moment, Cobb, looking anxious, was hurrying along with his partner Arthur, carrying his bag.
Their corporate espionage operation had failed; the target's mental defenses were too strong, turning what should have been a perfect two-level dream into a disaster.
The two got into a taxi, and following the driver's directions, eventually arrived at a modest hotel.
Completely unaware that a young man was following them closely...
Sitting on the sofa, Cobb solemnly picked up his pistol and released the safety.
In his right hand, he held a small spinning top and gave it a gentle spin.
The top landed on the table and began rotating rapidly, its speed steady and fast.
The quiet hotel room, a man, a gun, and a spinning top formed this peculiar scene.
Finally, under Cobb's gaze, the top wobbled and fell over, and he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, lowering the pistol that had been nearly pressed against his temple.
Just then, the phone rang. He answered and found it was a call from his daughter and son, far away in the United States.
Dom Cobb, along with his wife Mal, had voluntarily entered a shared dream world for what felt like decades, where they'd lived an idealized life together.
However, upon waking, Cobb discovered his wife could no longer distinguish between reality and dreams.
Waking from a dream required specific triggers: a sudden fall or death.
So, attempting to "wake up," Cobb's wife had jumped from a high-rise building.
Fearing Cobb would accept the real world as real, she'd framed him for her death, trying to force him to jump with her to "wake up." Thus, having lost his wife and facing murder charges, Cobb was forced to flee America, separated from his children.
Receiving a call from his children again, he felt both gratitude and sorrow, yet he couldn't escape his circumstances.
"I can help you return to America."
A voice suddenly interrupted, startling Cobb from his solitary grief.
He looked up sharply and found a young man standing in the doorway, watching him. The man was leaning against the doorframe, seemingly having been there for some time, though Cobb hadn't noticed his arrival.
Cobb instinctively reached for the pistol on the table, regarding Jake warily. "Who are you?"
As a corporate spy and master manipulator, Cobb knew how many people wanted to hire him, and even more who wanted him dead.
"Who I am isn't important," Jake said, waving his index finger. "But I can help you return to America and become a law-abiding citizen again."
In the original film, Cobb had been willing to risk entering "limbo" just to go home, showing how desperately tempting the prospect of returning was for him.
Jake naturally didn't want to waste such perfect leverage.
"Why should I trust you?" Cobb stood up and slowly approached Jake, his imposing height forcing Jake to look up, but Jake wasn't intimidated by this simple display.
"You don't have any other options," Jake raised an eyebrow, patted Cobb's shoulder with his right hand, and then moved with lightning speed!
Cobb felt a numbness in his right elbow, and when he looked down at his hand, he found the pistol was gone.
"I don't really like talking to armed people," Jake casually examined the black pistol, his hands quickly fieldstripping it, turning a loaded weapon into a pile of components in seconds.
He opened his hands, and the bullets clattered onto the marble floor.
"Okay, tell me what you want from me." Cobb realized the difference in their combat abilities and knew resistance was pointless.
"I need you to teach me the art of extraction and work with me on an extraction job." He walked past Cobb to the sofa. "And my payment to you, as I already mentioned, is allowing you to return home. To be honest, I actually prefer it here in Japan; the culture's interesting."
"Alright!" Cobb interrupted Jake's commentary. "But how will you prove it? I can't trust someone who just appears out of nowhere."
"Simple." Jake walked up to Cobb and grabbed his arm.
Instantly, the two vanished from the Inception world.
Three minutes later, they reappeared in the hotel, in the exact same spot.
"I know that doesn't feel great. You can sit on the sofa and rest for a moment."
Cobb shook his head and asked, "Where did we go?"
"New York. But it's frozen over there right now."
Just moments ago, Jake had transported Cobb through worlds. The two had briefly visited the post-apocalyptic ice world, and even after several months, the ice hadn't completely melted.
"We saw the Statue of Liberty, didn't we? Even though she was covered in ice."
Cobb didn't ask more questions. Instead, he suppressed his disorientation and walked to the table, taking out his totem and spinning it vigorously.
Thirty seconds later, the top wobbled and fell onto the table.
This wasn't a dream.
Recalling the places Jake had taken him and what he'd said, this young man could actually travel between different realities!
This was even more incredible than inception itself.
"Okay, I agree to your terms."
There was no stronger proof than this.
"Since you've decided, we'll need to go somewhere else to begin your training." Jake gestured for Cobb to follow him. "During your last operation, one of your team members betrayed you. Saito is waiting on the rooftop with a helicopter, expecting you to walk into his meeting."
Saito was the target of Cobb's team on the train.
However, Jake didn't mention that while Saito was waiting, he and Cobb actually shared the same goal: seeking Cobb's expertise.
Why would Jake possibly reveal that?