Tag: Sitri Institute

Deep Dream State Arc 3 Episode 5 cover — Sitri Center: Cusp by Neural Nets and Pretty Patterns
Arc 3: Sitri Center – Episode 5: Cusp

Arc 3: Sitri Center – Episode 5: Cusp

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Plot Outline

Cusp explores the space between, where Lyra Crosswell’s obsession with liminal architecture becomes a recurring nightmare she cannot escape. In the observation chamber, Elle has been transformed into something bright and compliant, her intelligence stripped away by weeks of alignment. Dr. Meg Aerin and Dr. Tessa Finn monitor Lyra’s dreams of mezzanines, tunnels, and transfer stations, recognizing patterns they’ve experienced themselves. Both researchers are on restriction protocols, forbidden from release, their own dreams growing louder in the absence. Inside Lyra’s dream, she works a truck stop with Nyra and Hespa, inspected by officers Elle and June, servicing client Cael while chanting about holes. But Lyra never finishes. Her subconscious has trained itself to hold her at the edge indefinitely, sixteen variations with the same non-result. When Meg and Tessa analyze her dream journals, they discover references to ancient Mesopotamian cities: Sippar, Kutha, Eanna, Ereshkigal, Ur. Tessa recognizes these aren’t just mythological echoes but maps to real locations within the Institute itself. In the unmonitored service corridors, they find proof: maintenance panels labeled with fragments of those same ancient names. The Sitri Center’s architecture isn’t random. It’s ritual geography made concrete, and Lyra’s dreams have been tracing its blueprint all along.

Cast

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Artwork (Human, Not AI Generated)

The Deep Dream State aims to use human art at every stage of the creative supply chain.

Content Warnings

Liminal space horror, orgasm denial/edging, sex work themes, institutional surveillance, cognitive manipulation, public exposure, oral sex, power dynamics, loss of intellectual capacity, architectural horror, ritual geography

Full Plot Synopsis (Caution: Spoilers)

Cusp opens with Z’s introduction framing the episode around liminal spaces and thresholds, followed by an in-world advertisement for “Better Self,” a wellness app that promises to guide users through the spaces between stress and serenity. In the observation chamber, Elle Lawson appears in her new role as “Lead Transitional Officer,” but something has fundamentally changed. Her brightness is now vacant enthusiasm, her questions simple to the point of incompetence. Tessa and Meg exchange knowing glances: Elle was smarter before her alignment process, which took weeks. Now she’s exactly what Z wants: young, compliant, and cognitively diminished. The team monitors Lyra Crosswell, an urban photographer whose waking obsession with mezzanines and transfer tunnels has manifested as infinite corridors in her nightmares. Dr. June Lowell arrives and immediately needles Meg about her demotion to “Experience Enhancement Assistant,” reminding her that Elle, who once sounded exactly like Meg, is now her boss. Z protectively defends Elle’s mistakes as part of learning.

In the dream chamber, Meg and Tessa speak directly to the sleeping Lyra, establishing themselves as guides through uncharted territory. When Lyra asks if she’s “the terrain” they’re mapping, they confirm it explicitly. The conversation reveals that both Meg and Tessa are on “restriction protocols” following their demotions. They’re forbidden from orgasm, and as a result, their own dreams have intensified. Meg explains that aesthetics aren’t just noise in dreams but meaningful signposts, especially the forbidden places. When the waking world says “no entry,” the subconscious builds a tunnel. They acknowledge they’ve both been deep in those tunnels themselves. Lyra asks about thresholds, and Tessa explains they mark the places where fear and wanting become indistinguishable, the spaces they used to leave blank on the map with warnings like “here be dragons.”

Inside Lyra’s dream, she finds herself at Crossroads, a truck stop where she works with Nyra and Hespa as sex workers in a hospitality cab. When Elle and June arrive as inspectors demanding to verify Lyra is “fresh,” she’s instructed to pull down her clothes for inspection. June wants to taste to be sure, but their minute expires before they can proceed further. Cael arrives as a client requesting “the usual” but intrigued by Lyra as new talent. Nyra explains that despite different names, they’re all the same, and Lyra performs oral sex while Cael celebrates her as “holes.” The dream follows a familiar pattern: intense arousal building toward climax but never achieving it.

Back in the waking world, Meg and Tessa observe Lyra’s biometric data showing all the physiological markers of orgasm without the release. This is the sixteenth variation of the same pattern. Lyra’s subconscious has trained itself to hold her at the edge indefinitely, drooling and bucking but frozen just before climax. Her limbic system fires repeatedly but never discharges. The researchers pull her dream journal entries: elevator shafts with brake panels she must mount correctly but always drops before completion, waiting rooms where she’s never called despite rubbing herself on vinyl seats, subway turnstiles that close just as the gates open. Then Meg reads the station names: Sippar, Kutha, Eanna, Ereshkigal, Ur. These are ancient Mesopotamian cities, and when Tessa hears them read slowly, her voice catches with recognition. This isn’t random. This is ritual. They immediately exit the monitored dream chamber.

This is more than a fictional story. It’s a story about us. Cusp reveals how we map our desires onto architecture, how we build physical spaces that encode our deepest patterns of control and release. The episode explores the threshold experience itself: that liminal state between wanting and having, between autonomy and submission, between the person you were and the person you’re becoming. Lyra’s endless edging isn’t just personal torment but a metaphor for how institutions keep us perpetually on the cusp of transformation without ever allowing the crossing. The revelation that the Sitri Institute’s corridors literally map to ancient ritual sites suggests that these patterns of control aren’t new but ancient, recurring across civilizations. We build our power structures into concrete and steel, encoding domination into hallways and rooms. The episode asks: what happens when you discover the blueprint? When you realize that your private nightmares are actually navigating someone else’s carefully constructed architecture? The researchers on restriction protocols mirror our own relationship to forbidden knowledge. We’re allowed to observe, to analyze, to get close to understanding, but never to fully release into knowing. We’re kept at the edge, drooling and desperate, mapping territories we’re not permitted to enter.

In the unmonitored service corridors, Tessa urgently explains that everything inside the dream chamber is recorded, which is why they couldn’t speak freely. But the service corridors aren’t tracked, and Meg has previously had sexual encounters with Z in these spaces precisely because they’re blind spots in the surveillance system. Tessa reveals that Lyra’s dreams aren’t random at all but maps to real places. When Meg dismisses this as coincidental shared mythology, Tessa directs her attention to a brass maintenance panel on the wall behind them. Meg reads it aloud: “IDF CLOSET 51P-PAR.” When Tessa asks her to read it again, Meg breaks down the abbreviation: “SIP-PAR”—Sippar. The ancient city from Lyra’s dreams is encoded in the Institute’s infrastructure. The episode ends on this revelation: the Sitri Center isn’t just metaphorically connected to ancient rituals of descent and transformation. It’s architecturally modeled on them, and Lyra’s subconscious has been tracing these hidden connections all along, mapping the Institute’s true nature through her perpetual inability to cross the threshold.

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Neural Nets and Pretty Patterns cover art, Deep Dream State Arc 3 Episode 4 Gazes Back
Arc 3: Sitri Center – Episode 4: Gazes Back

Arc 3: Sitri Center – Episode 4: Gazes Back

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Plot Outline

Gazes Back transforms Elle’s puppet dream into systematic training, where mantras become muscle memory under the guidance of dream figures and an eager Tessa. The lucid dreaming techniques MILD and VILD shift from consciousness tools to compliance protocols, stitching phrases like “service is our purpose” into both waking and sleeping states. When Dr. Lowell declares the program failing, she demands Meg enter the chamber as a subject to provide a contrasting profile. Inside the dream, Meg encounters the same figures who have been shaping Elle, but this time, they tell her she’s the template, not the experiment. While Meg lies paralyzed, Z and Tessa enter her chamber and use her immobility as permission. Back in the observation room, June weaponizes Meg’s journals (journals that Tessa has been quietly editing to show alignment rather than resistance). Meg’s demotion is framed as realignment, her protests dismissed as she’s offered a path forward that strips her authority while keeping her inside the protocol. The episode concludes with Meg’s forced confession letter, admitting to tampering with logs, building simulations, and wanting to stay despite (or because of) having lost all control. The Sitri Institute doesn’t just measure desire. It manufactures it, then makes you write the letter proving you asked for it all along.

Cast

Dive Deeper (More Information)

Artwork (Human, Not AI Generated)

The Deep Dream State aims to use human art at every stage of the creative supply chain.

Content Warnings

Sleep paralysis, dream manipulation, institutional coercion, power abuse, non-consensual recording and observation, psychological manipulation, forced confession, demotion as punishment, loss of bodily autonomy, submissive themes, voyeurism, edited documentation used as leverage

Full Plot Synopsis (Caution: Spoilers)

The episode opens in Elle’s dream as she performs a puppet routine for Cael, Nyra, and Hespa. The dream figures mock her enthusiasm while rewarding her compliance, and when Cael demands “two sluts,” Nyra summons Tessa, reimagined within the dream as “Teehee,” a gleefully submissive figure who teaches Elle the lucid dreaming techniques MILD and VILD. But these aren’t consciousness tools anymore; they’re compliance protocols. Tessa instructs Elle to repeat “Service is our purpose” as a mnemonic anchor and to visualize herself as puppet, pet, and subject. When Cael orders them into his chamber, both voices chant together, blurring dream logic with institutional language. The dream ends with both figures gasping “Never wake up.”

Elle awakens to find Tessa standing over her, having overridden the monitoring feed to prevent the research team from seeing Elle’s physical reenactment of the dream. Tessa admits she was impressed rather than concerned, revealing that she has undergone similar experiences herself. In their conversation, Tessa describes how her clothing, hair, and even her ringtone were gradually removed by Z under the justification that “waking cues” interfered with dream latency. She confesses that she now uses the phrase “I serve when I dream” as her MILD anchor and rehearses detailed submissive scenarios as VILD practice. When Elle asks what happens in Tessa’s visualizations, Tessa describes crawling to a mirror and watching herself transform into a doll while other figures appear beside her. Both women realize they’ve been seeing each other in their dreams, not as coincidence, but as design.

In the observation chamber, Dr. June Lowell declares the program a failure, noting that Elle’s escalation is nonlinear and that her dream journals now contain phrases like “I need to serve” written repeatedly for hours. When Meg attempts to deflect blame onto the subject, June asks pointedly who the “perfect subject” would be, and Tessa quietly suggests it should be someone who “understands all of it.” June proposes that Meg enter the chamber as a subject to provide a contrasting profile, framing it as research rather than punishment. Meg reluctantly agrees but insists on choosing her own phrase and anchor. Tessa offers to “lace her in,” a statement loaded with both technical and intimate implications that Meg acknowledges with resignation.

Inside Meg’s dream, Nyra and Hespa greet her as someone who “always comes back,” and Cael tells her she’s brought them with her, implying that the dream figures are projections of the researchers themselves. When Meg protests that she’s not a subject, Hespa corrects her: “You’re the template.” The dream shifts to reveal Z and Tessa entering Meg’s chamber in the waking world, believing her to be safely unconscious. While Meg lies paralyzed and aware, the two begin an intimate encounter, treating her presence as negligible. In the dream, Nyra and Hespa narrate the violation, telling Meg to touch herself as the waking-world encounter escalates. Tessa notices Meg’s physical response and hears her repeating a phrase: “Bitch in heat.”

Back in the observation chamber, June confronts Meg with her own journals, but these have been edited by Tessa, who describes her role as “organizing” and “cleaning up for clarity.” June reads aloud passages that suggest complete submission, and when Meg protests that the words have been twisted, Tessa cheerfully admits to “correcting the cadence” and “quoting” Meg’s own subconscious desires. Z frames this as validation of Meg’s scholarship, claiming that alignment is the most effective indicator of dream compliance. When Meg realizes she’s being demoted, June reframes it as “realignment,” explaining that Meg will still have a place at the Institute, just not a supervisory one. The position structure has already been updated, and Meg’s access codes have been changed. Tessa gleefully offers to help Meg write the required letter.

The episode concludes with Meg’s confession letter to the Sitri Institute’s adjudicating board. She admits to taking liberties with subjects, keeping unauthorized files, building simulations, annotating her own arousal markers, and tampering with logs to make Tessa appear unstable. She confesses that she stopped pretending her work was clinical “the night I came without needing headphones” and acknowledges that she tried to manipulate records to reclaim control she never truly possessed. Her letter ends not with a resignation but with a plea to remain inside the protocol in any capacity: unpaid, unnumbered, stripped of authority. The final line is simply “Please. Let me stay.” This conclusion demonstrates how Deep Dream State uses dystopian fiction to explore ethical kink practice. By depicting a world where consent is systematically violated and institutional power is weaponized, the narrative creates a clear contrast with real-world ethical frameworks. The viewer is invited to recognize the horror of these violations precisely because they understand what consent should look like. The dystopian framing doesn’t endorse these dynamics; it exposes their mechanisms, allowing audiences to engage critically with power exchange fantasies while maintaining awareness of the boundaries that protect autonomy in reality. Fiction becomes a space where we can examine dangerous desires safely, understanding them better by seeing them taken to their logical extremes in worlds we would never want to inhabit.

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Neural Nets and Pretty Patterns cover art, Deep Dream State Arc 3 Episode 3 Incubator
Arc 3: Sitri Center – Episode 3: Incubator

Arc 3: Sitri Center – Episode 3: Incubator

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Plot Outline

Incubator ventures into sleep paralysis, succubi, and the blurred line between myth and science. Elle Lawson’s dreams are locked in the Sitri Center, where research and ritual overlap. Dr. Meg Aerin treats Elle’s immobility as data. Dr. June Lowell demands metrics, not poetry, but Meg presses forward, framing Elle’s surrender as proof of neurocompliance. Inside the dream, Elle meets Nyra and Hespa, voices who warn and guide her toward the figure already inside. When Cael appears, the script shifts. Awake, Elle confesses the terror and thrill of her paralysis dreams. Meg prescribes mnemonic and visual induction techniques, but Elle senses the danger. Journals become confessions, and dreams bleed into logs. Meg’s own entries betray her complicity and her submission. By the time June interrupts, Elle’s gasping dream-voice is indistinguishable from the staff’s ambitions. The Sitri Center thrives on that overlap—and so do the dream figures that hold you down.

Hespa deep dream state character art
Hespa – Deep Dream State Character Art

Cast

Artwork (Human, Not AI Generated)

Series artwork for this arc is from Vika Glitter, under the Pixabay license.

The Deep Dream State aims to use human art at every stage of the creative supply chain.

Content Warnings

Sleep paralysis, incubus/succubus mythology, dream manipulation, institutional power dynamics, submissive themes, loss of bodily autonomy

Dive Deeper (More Information)

Full Plot Synopsis (Caution: Spoilers)

The episode opens with Dr. Meg Aerin conducting a project log at the Sitri Center while monitoring Elle Lawson, who remains locked in REM paralysis. Meg describes Elle as part of the “Forty-Four cluster,” subjects experiencing invasive dream penetration and persistent paralysis states. As Elle’s fragmented vocalizations suggest an intense dream experience, Meg theorizes about the phenomenon in mythological terms—incubi, succubi, and figures of religious compliance. Dr. Tessa Finn attempts to contribute but is quickly dismissed by Meg, revealing Tessa’s diminished status following her failure in the previous episode.

Dr. June Lowell enters the observation chamber and confronts Meg about her theoretical approach, demanding quantifiable metrics rather than mythological interpretations. June warns that funding is precarious and gives Meg a seven-night deadline to produce neurocompliance evidence or face reassignment. Zev Talcott briefly defends Meg’s innovative approach while June threatens to demote Tessa further to customer service if she continues speaking out of turn. Throughout the confrontation, Elle’s dream vocalizations continue over the intercom, suggesting an intensifying experience.

Inside Elle’s dream, she finds herself in a house where she encounters Nyra and Hespa, who warn her that “he’s already inside.” The dream figures explain that a threatening presence named Cael performs “terrible things” repeatedly, yet Elle keeps inviting him back. When Elle tries to flee, she discovers she cannot move—her characteristic paralysis manifesting within the dream itself. Cael arrives and commands Nyra and Hespa to prepare Elle, directing them to perform actions while Elle repeats phrases in a mounting chant. The dream blurs the boundary between paralysis, compulsion, and submission as Elle’s resistance collapses into repetitive vocalization.

Elle awakens gasping and is mortified to learn she was speaking aloud during the dream. Meg clinically identifies this as “residual suggestion” and reassures Elle that her responses are biological rather than shameful. Elle confesses that despite knowing she was dreaming, the experience felt real and she didn’t want it to stop. Meg introduces two lucid dreaming techniques: MILD (Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams) and VILD (Visual Induction of Lucid Dreams). She instructs Elle to repeat a phrase as she falls asleep and to mentally rehearse dream scenarios in detail, promising this will help Elle recognize absurdity and “wake up inside the dream.”

Meg prescribes a dream journal, insisting Elle write every morning immediately after waking to train her brain to treat the dreams as important. When Elle asks if Meg uses these techniques herself, Meg responds distantly that she does—because “Z says it’s part of being a good girl.” This marks a shift into Meg’s own journal entries, revealing her compromised position. Meg’s log describes her relationship with Zev, detailing sessions involving calibration equipment, protocols, and power exchange dynamics. She confesses that she now dreams about Tessa in a subservient role, and that she has stopped thinking critically during these experiences, viewing herself primarily as a source of data.

As Meg continues her confession while monitoring Elle’s ongoing dream, Dr. June Lowell enters and catches Meg in an inappropriate state. Meg attempts to justify her behavior as real-time correlation tracking, but June sees through the excuse. Elle’s dream vocalizations continue, now expressing desires to be observed and to fulfill her designated purpose. June coldly notes that Elle has become “quite the echo chamber” and warns Meg that her continued participation depends on performance and discretion. June announces she will review Elle’s journal in the morning, suggesting the boundary between researcher and subject has thoroughly dissolved, leaving only institutional surveillance and the ambiguous question of what anyone is actually dreaming about anymore.

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