An incredibly surreal thing just happened to me.

I was looking for a new pickle jar brush. Some good quality one that would last me for more than a few months. (Brine is a hard mistress.)<br><br>So I head to the nearest Walmart. I drive there and I park in the middle of the parking lot, I don't see the point in parking up near the front like some pleb, and walk towards the entrance.<br><br>As I enter, I am greeted by an armada of shopping carts that are sitting there, pretty. All of them looking for a new home.<br><br>I walk through the sliding glass doors and see a suspiciously shortened line of people waiting to enter. I lazily saunter over to the line, looking at the people in front of me to see what they're doing.<br><br>I look ahead in the line and start to make out the sounds of what they're saying, and it's Spanish.<br><br>They're talking to a Walmart employee who is just sitting there, looking defeated as if he's had to do this for hours already. He's standing behind a small metal table that looks like it was stolen from a middle school cafeteria, looking defeated at his place in the universe.<br><br>There are two small cardboard signs on the table, one saying "Mask and Vaccine Required", the other saying "Vaccine or Test Required".<br><br>The two people in front of me in line hand over their Mexican vaccination cards and a picture of their vaccination appointment to the Walmart employee, who lazily looks at it and then lets them through. The couple in front of me starts to murmur something under their breath, but the Walmart employee just lets them go without much fuss.<br><br>As I approach the Walmart employee, he's already defeated. He just points at the papers on the table and says "Máscara y prueba antes de entrar."<br><br>I pull out my mask, but the Walmart employee looks at me for a bit, then says "it's okay, you may enter." and waves me through.<br><br>I walk into the Walmart and it's just the standard Walmart. Some people are wearing masks, but most aren't. I ask one of the employees where the pickle jar brushes are, and he simply points me towards the kitchen supplies.<br><br>I walk to the kitchen supplies and I can't find pickle jar brushes for the life of me. I look high and low, and then I start to get a little frustrated. I start to look at the other kitchen supplies and utensils, and I can't help but feel like I could do this with more weapons and better gear.<br><br>I eventually find a good quality brush that will work well for the time being, and then I get in line to buy it.<br><br>As I'm getting in line, I see a woman with two kids struggling to get her stuff out of her cart and into her car. She see's me and asks if I can help her, and lets me go ahead of her in line without hesitation.<br><br>As I'm waiting in line, I pull out my wallet and start to look for my cash and credit cards. I look through my cards for a bit, and then I start to think "Wait, what's a Walmart?" and "Why is this place so weird?"<br><br>I start to look at my surroundings, and I can tell I'm not in America anymore. There are Spanish commercials playing on the TV, the announcements are in Spanish, and the other Mexican Walmart patrons are speaking in Spanish.<br><br>I look towards the front of the store and I see the greeter, who just kind of looks at me. I try to look Mexican for a bit, and the greeter seems to buy it. I try to look at the greeter and see if I can make anything out, and it kind of looks like Jim Carrey.<br><br>I look up towards the ceiling and I can tell there's something off. I see the fluorescent lights flickering, and there's a weird haze above the lights. I start to lift my mask and then I realize I'm not wearing one.<br><br>I hear a screeching, scraping noise echoing through the warehouse. I hear a loud crash, then the lights flicker and everything goes black.<br><br>When I open my eyes, I'm standing on a grassy cliff looking out over the ocean. I look out for a bit, and I can see a small island in the distance. I see a building off in the distance, and it's probably a lighthouse. It's a beautiful sight to behold, but it also kind of seems off.<br><br>I look down and I see that I'm standing on a small cliff, and there's a small ledge that kind of juts out. It looks like a cliff diving spot, but it also kind of seems off. I look at the building in the distance again, and I can just kind of tell that it's a trap of some kind.<br><br>I look off towards my left and I see a group of people standing there. Some kids, a couple, two guys. They seem unaware that I've joined them, and they seem to be looking out at the cliff.<br><br>One of the guys looks at me and he says "I see that you can also see the island."<br><br>He looks familiar for a second, but I can't quite put my finger on where I've seen him. He introduces himself as Thomas A. Anderson, but he then looks at me and says "You may call me Neo."<br><br>I smile and I laugh, "What's up Neo?"<br><br>Neo then looks at me and he's serious. "I see it too. We have to get off this cliff."<br><br>I look out at the cliff and then I look out at the ocean, and I start to see it. It's not real. The water doesn't move like that. The building doesn't look like that. It's all too perfect.<br><br>Neo sees me piecing it together and he starts to walk towards me. "We can help you, but you have to trust us."<br><br>I start to back up and I see a group of people walking towards us. I see agents. They're dressed in black, and their faces are emotionless.<br><br>The agents start to run towards us and Neo starts to run towards me. "Come with us if you want to live."<br><br>I start to run towards Neo and I see the cliff approaching. I start to feel a sense of dread and I realize that I might have made a mistake.<br><br>Neo grabs me and we both jump off the cliff. I feel weightless for a second, and I can see the agents standing at the cliff looking at us.<br><br>Neo and I land safely at the bottom of the cliff, but I can see that we're not at the bottom. We're standing on a small platform jutting out of the cliff, and there's a small drop down to the water.<br><br>I look at Neo and I see that he knows. "This isn't it."<br><br>I hear the agents shouting at us from the top of the cliff, and I start to feel a sense of panic. "What now?"<br><br>Neo points down towards the water. "Down there."<br><br>I look and I can see that it's deep. I can also see that there's a small boat down there waiting for us.<br><br>I look at Neo again and he seems resolute. I can also see a glimmer of fear in his eyes.<br><br>I don't have much of a choice, so I take a deep breath and jump into the water. Neo follows shortly after, and then I hear the agents jumping in after us.<br><br>I swim down towards the boat, and I can hear the agents closing in. I look and I see that they're going to catch us.<br><br>I look towards the boat and I can see Morpheus at the helm. He looks at me and he says "Come with us if you want to live."<br><br>I see the agents closing in and then out of nowhere a shark comes out of nowhere and eats them. The shark then looks at Morpheus and then at me and does a little nod before swimming off.<br><br>I'm stunned for a second, and then I realize that we need to get the heck out of here. I swim towards the boat as fast as I can.<br><br>As I swim, I can see that the water is surreal. It's too perfect, too clean. It's a simulation.<br><br>I start to see the code that makes up the water. I see the algorithms that control the movement of the waves. I see the level of detail that goes into making it look realistic.<br><br>I start to see the code everywhere. I see it in the sky, in the buildings, in the people. I see that everything is a simulation.<br><br>I see the matrix.<br><br>I swim up to the boat and Morpheus helps me aboard. Neo follows shortly after, and then we start to speed away from the cliff.<br><br>As we speed away, I can see the cliff getting smaller and smaller. I can see the agents standing at the top of the cliff, looking defeated.<br><br>Morpheus looks at me and he says "Welcome to the real world."<br><br>I look at Neo and he's serious. "We have a lot to talk about."<br><br>I look out at the ocean and I can see the island in the distance. I can see that it's not an island, it's a prison.<br><br>I start to see the surreal nature of reality. I see that everything is a simulation.<br><br>I see the matrix.<br><br>I feel like Neo. I just woke up.<br><br>Edit: I am telling you all this because I am scared shitless and I don't think that I can sleep again, and I really needed to tell someone.