Sorry I haven't posted for a few days.....

Part Nine

 

He had been dreaming (yes, he decided. That’s what he would call it) for over two and a half hours! How could that be? The entire length of the dream sequence itself couldn’t possibly have been more than twenty minutes!

Okay, he thought. Now that he had figured out which was real and which wasn’t, he had to decide whether he would want to do this again. How did he feel about it? Or more accurately, how did he feel? He stopped his pacing and looked out into the dim light, trying to clear his racing mind. He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply through his nose, letting the cool, sterile air expand his lungs. He held it for a moment, then let it go, smoothly, evenly though his mouth, and repeated the process several times. He had to get himself under control, and this exercise always helped him do that. Finally, his head felt clear enough to think clearly about it. How did he feel?

Good. He realized he felt incredibly good. Well rested. Relaxed. And actually, he hadn’t felt this good in weeks, since he’d begun to have trouble sleeping. Refreshed. Yes, that was a good way to describe it. He felt refreshed. If this was the effect it had, he definitely wanted to do it again.

But how often? And how long would this thing last? Obviously it had to run on some kind of power. Some internal battery of some sort. He didn’t want to use it all up inside of a week, and then spend the rest of his time out here, clawing his way from day to day as he was doing now.

Well, he decided then and there that he wasn’t going to worry about that. This thing was a gift. A miraculous gift, and he was going to enjoy it.

But again, the question presented itself; how often? Once a day. Or once a night. Apparently from the way he felt now, that would be all he’d need, to be left with a wonderful feeling of having re-lived a treasured memory, and a feeling of complete rejuvenation. He felt now, like he could go for another few days without rest. That’s how recharged he felt. Although his work schedule was rigid, and inflexible, his sleep schedule was completely up to him. But he decided not to push it. He would stay on his sleep routine, and with a little help from this new device, he would catch up on much-needed rest.

He walked back to his bed, happy with the choices he’d made, and excited about this new device and all it was offering to him. He lay down, and pulled the sheets back up to his neck, smiling, looking at the device, seeing its silhouette in the dim light, wondering about the science behind such a thing. He’d never heard of anything even remotely like it, and thought about the person who might have invented it. Was this the only one? If so, it was a shame, because there would certainly be a market for it. People would pay good money to have an experience like the one he’d just had.

And once again, he thought about the member of the re-supply crew who’d left it for him. Was it really because the man had a soft spot for a lost cause? He thought of the old saying about things that were free, and how they were rarely, if ever, really free. Maybe this guy wanted something from him. But what could it be? He certainly was in no position to grant anything to anyone, being stuck way out here. Maybe the guy would try to contact him when his sentence was served and he was back on earth.

All of that was pure conjecture at this point. All he knew for sure was that the thing was here with him. And it worked, exactly as promised, and better than he could have ever imagined. Yes, the device was here, and no matter what the future held, it was his now.

“Lights off.”

 

Here's the link to my freebies:   https://www.renderosity.com/mod/freestuff/?uid=493127

My cousin Jack can speak to beans. That's right.... Jack and the beans talk