aquarium

I dreamt that I was visiting an aquarium. It was more of a research center really. An event was going on to raise awareness and funding.  We could walk near the observation tanks and view sea life, but we were not allowed in the laboratories without special clearance.

The friend I was with had a little fake lobster, an event give-away. He held it to the glass to see what would happen. An octopus quickly noticed and moved towards the glass. Then he had an orange cutout of fish that looked more like a cartoon than anything.   The life in the tank would come towards the window, but all equally dispersed... then they all stopped at exactly the same moment as though they realized something was up. He tried at the next tank and the next and they all behaved identically.  It reminded me of a kitten video when the man tickles the kitten and then stops and the cat freezes.

We continued on to an open door. It was a lab. We were not allowed in, but I noticed two black ribbons on a stool. They were passes for special guests.  I quickly grabbed them and we put them on and tried to blend in. I could feel the lab coated people watching, and knew they knew, but didn't really care.