So last night I dreamed that the United States got hit with nuclear missiles. In the dream I believe China was responsible, but post-somniac logic suggests that perhaps North Korea was culpable (although they also could have sold the nukes to China, who then pelted the US). What I remember is hanging out with some friends playing some sort of outdoor game, when somehow we found out that we had a few days' warning -- I'm assuming to evacuate -- before the first missile would hit (I believe the appointed time was to be 2:00 local time, although it seemed to be evening when said time arrived). I remember frantically trying to decide with a friend on a spot to hunker down; the choices were either inside a building or outside but low on the ground. I wanted to do one thing; my friend wanted to do the other. We ended up splitting up and hoping for the best.
Eventually 2:00 arrived, and I got the sense that this warning was a fluke. I mean, I understood that in the real world the powerful nations were so vigilant about this kind of thing that they would take any means necessary to ensure that nuclear war never happened. And in the midst of this faith that a treaty had been negotiated to where nothing would occur, I saw out of the west a spectacular vision of what appeared to be an explosion -- never mind that, my brain registered it merely as the weapon being fired. I saw it streak toward its target, which apparently was well behind me: New York City. And you know what my first thought was? "So much for LeBron James going to sign with the Knicks." (He's a free agent this summer, and can choose to sign with another team if he wants.)
But I also figured that one shot would be enough. Apparently not; I got word from my stepdad that another one was on par to hit Chicago in a couple hours (I'm guessing either the US sent a retaliatory missile which had already detonated, or China/North Korea was just being a major bitch). We needed to evacuate immediately, at the very least to Madison, Wisconsin. I remember we piled into a car -- I don't remember if it was mine or his -- with only a few not-so-precious belongings and headed off. The second missile did eventually hit, although I don't recall if we managed to get out of the radiation zone in time or not.
I guess the oddest part is that I didn't wake up in a panic at any time during these sequences. Usually it's what I do during nightmares, but this particular "nightmare" seemed quite subdued compared to what I would normally expect.
But anyway, what does this mean? Why did I dream this? Interpretations, anyone?
[Update: earlier in the dream, I apparently beat up a guy I had a beef with. What was particularly interesting about this is that this was the leader of a rock-and-roll band I jammed with a couple times a few months ago. Funny thing is, I never had any issues with the man, and rather thought he was pretty cool. Makes me wonder further how seriously to take this dream.]