India, March 1 -- Dear Reader,

The road ahead of us curves steeply upwards. As the car turns, I see that an entire section of the road is broken, as if a landslide has cut away the hillside. Cement sacks are piled up haphazardly over the breach; we must drive over these or plunge hundreds of feet below into the ravine. The person driving the car somehow manages to make it. Only he is now rapidly accelerating on a road that goes downhill, instead of going up the mountain to our destination.

I wake up, and the room around me is still dark. Groggily, I reach for the phone on my bedside and start to dictate my dream to the excellent WhatsApp transcription service. Later, I cut and paste the story of my dream to AI. I know, I know - outsourc...