Chad Transtrum

Eloa had broken the rules. He wasn’t to have woken so soon. The Slumber Chamber had been developed to operate within certain standards that closely aligned with his physiology. Sleeping for about a thousand years was the ideal. Two hundred years or so one way or the other was acceptable. In emergencies, of course, the ship would wake him no matter how much time had passed. But this was no emergency. He had deliberately scheduled an Awakening just four years into his Slumber.

Pulling a stunt like this just four years ago would have been enough to have cost him the opportunity to be on this ship. Now, though, nobody ranked higher than him. Nobody alive, anyway. Nobody awake. Even so, he realized he was being a bit childish to want to see it with his own eyes. The ship would record everything, and he could review it at his next scheduled Awakening. That’s what the others would do.
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Eloa took several deep breaths and closed his eyes. The room was full. Everyone was here. All the candidates. Each would be given just 10 minutes before the Triumvirate before a decision would be made. He opened his eyes to glance at his watch. 60 minutes to noon, his scheduled time. Just 120 minutes before the results would be announced. He could feel his stomach churning. He glanced around, carefully noting the location of the restroom. Just in case.

A slight vibration caught his attention. He glanced down at his watch. A message glowed up at him from the small screen. “Operation timetable decided. Noon today.” His gut twisted even more. He was going to be sick. He bolted for the restroom.
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Eloa didn’t glance up when the nurse entered his room. He had just about become oblivious to their presence now, and was almost able to sleep through their constant intrusions. This nurse, however, instead of checking instruments or adjusting bandages or finding another place to poke him, simply walked quietly up to the edge of his bed and placed her hand on his.

Eloa looked up. “Mother!” he said, smiling up at her. She smiled back weakly, her eyes tired and her face taut.

And then, for the first time since the attack, he cried. Mirena took his hand now in both of hers and held it tightly, silent tears now running down her face as well. Eloa sobbed for several minutes, neither of them speaking to each other.
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Eloa pressed his palm against the cashier plate, grabbed his tray and turned around. He hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath, and then cautiously made his way across the noisy cafeteria, trying to find an empty table. He didn’t consider himself shy, but neither did he want to be caught up in the banter of a large group, at least not on his first day here. He hoped to be able to spend a few moments relaxing, trying to take in the events of this morning, and preparing himself for the afternoon schedule.

He spotted a nearly empty table. A girl was sitting alone, her head down, apparently reading something. He approached from behind and said, “Do you mind if I sit here?” as he swung his tray down a few feet from her. She didn’t respond. He glanced over at her as he eased into his seat. Her eyes were closed and her hands were crossed over each other and pressed against her chest close to her neck.

“Are you okay?” Eloa asked her. Still she didn’t move.
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The call came early that morning, just 22 days after Jevo’s disappearance. Mirena had been about to awaken Eloa so he could start getting ready while she prepared breakfast. She would later claim that she knew the instant the familiar buzz of the incoming call sounded in her ear what the call was about, but the truth is that her stomach turned to knots every time the phone rang. It was just that this time she was right.
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Thrrivel waited anxiously for the meeting to start. He glanced around the room, noting that just about everyone else was also somber and, if he was reading them right, a bit uneasy. Only Lavner was talking, having cornered Preena and Yarzil in the corner. Regaling them with the same tired stories, no doubt, or bragging about the latest exploits of his darling granddaughter. Like no other kid on the planet had ever quite figured out how to walk. Normally everyone else did their best to ignore his blather, to avoid him as politely as possible, to excuse themselves with mumbled apologies. Late for a meeting, Lavner, sorry, gotta run.
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Giles was hunched over his desk, poring over the latest fabrication model test results when a photo fluttered down and landed on the report. He looked up. Briggin was standing there. He hadn’t even heard him come in; he must have been lost in the numbers.

“What do you make of that?” Briggin asked. No small talk, just right to business. That was unusual for Briggin.

Giles picked up the photo and examined it for only a few moments before thrusting it back at Briggin. “I don’t think it’s funny.”
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The days were getting longer. Or at least they felt like they were.

It was a strange experience in a way, one that Eloa didn’t feel he could adequately describe to anyone else, even if he ever could have the chance to do so. He lay down to sleep one night, a few days after his home was destroyed, and when he woke up the next day, his people were dead and gone for over a thousand years.
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Mirena awoke to the sensation of saliva sliding out her open mouth and down her cheek. She wiped her face into the pillow, only to discover that she must have been drooling for quite some time. The pillowcase had a large wet spot. She debated flipping the pillow over, or just snuggling up with Eloa on his pillow. She rolled over to join Eloa.

The covers were pulled back on his side of the bed, and he was gone. She quickly sat up and looked around the room. No sign of the child. Her bedroom door was closed. That wasn’t right. She always left it open. She got out of bed, not bothering with her slippers, and strode to the door, pulling it open.
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He had been told that he wouldn’t dream while he Slumbered. Not just that he wouldn’t remember the dreams, but that the physical activities that normally take place in the brain during sleep would not happen at all. There would be no more dreams.
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