Project Dreamcatcher is a giant structure built above the surface of the earth. Although it was built basically for commercial purposes, people can rent booths in the towers of the Dreamcatcher for the experience of leaving the Earth. Bianca Burnett is a jaded pop princess. Her visit is for the simple purpose of avoiding her manager while having a sexual tryst with her boyfriend. She has a ticket for booth 338 but somehow ends up in 328 instead.

Benjamin Umbize has rented booth 328. He is there for research purposes, trying to understand a philosopher’s vision as he deals with the loss of his family to genocide. He blames himself for not being there for his family and is desperately trying to find some meaning in his life.

Their accidental meeting in the Dreamcatcher leads to unexpected results. Bianca learns how precious life really is, and Benjamin will leave his mark in a way that he would never have foreseen.

Grandiloquence by Robert Appleton is an intense short story about two people who want to leave their mark but don’t really know how. Both Benjamin and Bianca are lost and unhappy. Bianca seems a little obnoxious and spoiled at first, but we quickly come to realize that below the surface lies a much more complicated and intelligent human being than she lets others see. She has pushed her intellect to the background and has taken the easy path. She redeems herself by helping Benjamin come to the realization that he can’t live someone else’s vision and must develop his own purpose. This story has a bit of an unexpected twist at the end that ties the two characters together, as we know that whether or not they ever see each other again, their lives are permanently changed as a result of their meeting.

Reviewed by: Whitney