Leaving the Nest — Part Four
By Robin Pond
Each of the Jennifer’s and Scott’s are shown into their individual dorm rooms in the University Residence, which barely have enough space for a closet, a dresser, and the sleeping pod, which is like a bed but with a clear dome-like bubble covering, making it resemble a large egg. Examining my assigned room, I realize I didn’t need to bring an extension cord. Nothing is very far away from anything else. I’ve just finished unpacking when there is a knock on the door.
Mr. Wilde enters smiling, “All set?”
“All set for what?” I keep searching my memories, painfully aware of serious gaps. “I don’t have any class list. I don’t even remember what I’ve chosen to study.”
Mr. Wilde chuckles. “You really are special, more resistant than most. But hopefully your sculpting sessions will smooth away all the rough edges.”
I feel trapped with Mr. Wilde standing in the doorway. There is no way to maneuver around him. “I need to get some air.”
He shakes his head. “The air in the room’s perfect, carefully controlled.” As if to emphasize this point, there is a slight hissing as more air escapes in through the vent.
“But I need to talk to the Registrar.”
“You’re already registered. You’ve been assigned navigational techniques, with a basic grounding in physics.”
“But I thought maybe I might study history.”
He chuckles again. “Your history’s already been set. There’s no need to study it.”
“But—”
“There’s no time for debate. Your new ship’s already entered its final lockdown phase. It’s being prepared and you need to be too.”
Leaping forward, I try to rush past him again before he has time to react. But the quick movement makes me suddenly light-headed. The room begins to spin and I swoon, like I’m peering through a thick fog, vaguely aware of Mr. Wilde catching me and guiding me over to the sleeping pod.
“I don’t feel very good.”
“It’s alright,” he assures me, restraining me with one arm while pushing the button to raise the dome on the pod. “Just some inhaled anesthetics, and a bit of melatonin vapour, to ensure a deep sleep.” He lays me down in the pod. “Fortunately I’ve been rendered immune.”
Moaning, I fight to raise myself back up, but the darkness envelopes me. I hear the dome lowering down over the pod. “Go to sleep now. Be instructed. Be refreshed. Enjoy your sculpting.”
Robin Pond is a Canadian writer of plays and prose fiction. His mystery novel, Last Voyage, was published in 2018 and in the last several years he has published numerous speculative short stories in various magazines and anthologies, including Ginger which was voted Best Steampunk Short Story in the 2024 Critters Annual Readers Poll. Robin’s sci fi novella, Assimilation, and full-length novel, Canaan Within, are both available through Amazon.
Copyright © 2025 Robin Pond