《Advent of the Apostles》


 Dishonorable Discharge

    ¡°Name, Reiter Des Skays. Hight, six foot one. Age, twenty-seven. Eye color, Ashen Grey. Hair color, black. Nationality, unknown. Allegiance, Central. Profession, Military. Rank, classified. Deployment, Deep. Charges, Mass genocide; fifty-eight thousand, four hundred thirty-five counts of murder in the first degree. Disregarding of orders, one count. Act of terrorism, one count. Destruction of planetary necessity, one count. Plea, insanity, disregarded.¡±


    After the bench clerk gives his spill of war crime against me the judge motions me to his stand, ¡°Reiter, you were once called the Predatory Dragon, one of the heroes of the frontier, were you not?¡±


    I stare at the man with my ashen grey eyes, ¡°since when did I ever plea insanity?¡±


    The judge sighs, ¡°you are diagnosed with a severe case of split personality disorder, which has since been disregarded as it formed when you destroyed an entire kingdom. Do you have nothing to say for yourself?¡±


    I chuckle at this farce of a trial, ¡°say for myself? What does it matter what I say? If this trial was about what I did to that place, it would have been held three years ago when I destroyed their air systems and poisoned the lot of them.¡±


    ¡°I wonder Reiter, do any of the voices in your head actually regret what you have done?¡±


    ¡°One might, I suppose. The other enjoyed doing it. Personally, I couldn¡¯t care less.¡±


    The judge shakes his head disappointingly, ¡°I should have you executed for endangering the lives of every person on this planet, but at least you left the terraformer in repairable condition, and in light of your contributions to this state, I hereby sentence you to a dishonorable discharge and a stripping of your citizenship. You will lose all protection and privileges of a citizen, including access to the prime towers and official central residency. Your rank and pay will be stripped as well as all holdings seized.¡± The judge pauses for a while and waits for any reaction from me. It does not come. ¡°Reiter, you will be nothing but a slum rat from this day on. You were, are, one of the most admired and respected people in the military. Do you not even care?¡±


    I laugh at the questions, ¡°You people ripped out my soul when you assigned me to the deep. So, do I care? I not only don¡¯t give a shit; I have no emotions left to give at all. The deep made sure of that.¡±


    * * *


    Since I was a part of the deep much of my gear and resources do not exist anywhere on paper. So, most people don¡¯t even know any of it exists, including the judicial system. Even if they took everything officially mine, they missed quite a bit. These include a large chunk of obtained currency as well as my sky board and gear. The gear is not so usable in a civilized area. Military grade super weapons are quite overkill for a mugging, and it¡¯s not like they would be easy to sell either. The money and the board I can at least use.


    After picking up my stash from hiding I make my way into the slums. Bleak, tall, and small. That would be the most fitting words for the slums. No color besides the grey of the housing spires. Only a few thousand square feet in diameter and over a thousand stories tall, the place looks like a needle farm. Even the streets are a maze of confusion. The place was built as a defensive ¡°last barrier¡± against any invaders before the outer wall was established. For years, the place remained as it was, until some do gooder official had the idea to put floors and walls into the hollow spires and turn this place into a refuge for the poor and unwanted. Turned out, the place became a refuge for a lot more than just them. After the official fell from grace no one cared for this place anymore, and it fell into the state it is in today. At least the rent is cheap and no one asks questions. The apartments have water and power as well as an actual complete set of walls. Compared to some of the places I have had to stay in, the place is a palace. The best part, no one is trying to kill you, most of the time.


    After wandering around the streets for several hours I finally find what I am looking for. A teenage gang brat. ¡°hey, bring me to your handler, I need a place to sleep.¡±


    The gang brat comes directly up to me with his posse that proceeds to surround me. ¡°Well, well, if you want to see the boss, your ganna have to pay the entry fee.¡± Why are kids so stupid?


    I un-holster my energy revolver and gouge out a small crater between the kid¡¯s feet when I fire it. ¡°Kid, if I shoot you with this, it won¡¯t end with just a limb.¡±The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    While on his butt and piss dripping down his leg he rapidly stutters, ¡°y-ya, I, I getch ya. My h-handler is at his h-house.¡±


    I shift my aim to his knee, ¡°if I knew where he lived, why would I be taking to you?¡±


    Eyes full of terror the boy can barely speak, ¡°h-h-he is-s-s . . .¡±


    Fed up I switch my target to the kid at my side, ¡°this is taking too long, just take me to him.¡±


    The boy backs up a raises his hands, ¡°hey man, why are you pointing that at me I . . .¡±


    Before he can finish I interject his excuses, ¡°don¡¯t think your stupid little deception is working, by the way you all were sitting you are the leader not this buffoon.¡±


    The brat smirks, ¡°well aren¡¯t you the smart one, then . . .¡±


    I shove a small candy into the kid¡¯s mouth and he chokes before being forced to swallow it. The other kids ready to attack me, fear evident in their eyes but also stupidity and foolhardiness. ¡°What the hell did you make me swallow?! Boys kill . . .¡±


    ¡°poison.¡±


    The kid¡¯s face goes as white as a ghost, ¡°w-what did you say?¡±


    I glare at the kid, making him even paler, ¡°poison, I said, it was poison. If you want to know the antidote, then take me to your handler. Now.¡±


    Pure panic is now across his face, but he does not speak, so I egg him on a little, ¡°I can always just kill you all now and find another group of toss-a-ways.¡±


    From my threat the leader finally wakes from his terror, ¡°NO! u, I¡¯ll take you to her right now. This way.¡±


    I holster my revolver and leave behind the group of gang brats as I follow their leader. After about half an hour of walking we enter a residential spire and proceed to clime the floors. Eventually we reach a small apartment. The kid knocks on the door and a woman answers. I step forward and introduce myself, ¡°hello madam, I am Reiter, I would like to have a discussion with you.¡±


    The woman looks a bit surprised but then comes to some kind of realization, ¡°Oh, might you be here to see my husband?¡±


    In response to her question I inquire on my assumption ¡°Pardon me mam, but am I mistaken in believing you are the regional handler for the local pizzo payments?¡±


    The woman glances over to the idiot gang brat before turning back to me, ¡°so you¡¯re here for that kind of discussion. Come inside.¡±


    As I start to enter the doorway the kid stops me panickingly, ¡°w-what about the poison, the antidote!¡±


    I turn back to him, ¡°poison? Oh ya, too much sugar is bad for you, go brush your teeth.¡± Leaving him standing there dumbfounded I enter the house.


    * * *


    Inside the house I sit down at a small table and lay my bag next to me. Off to the side are two small children playing with each other in what appears to be a play area for them. The woman sits down across from me, ¡°my son and daughter, while my husband is at work I take care of them. So, what is it that you came to bother me at my home for?¡±


    I look over to her, ¡°I would like an apartment, a private one.¡±


    She glares at me, ¡°What? You think you can just walk in here and demand a private apartment? Who the hell . . .¡±


    Before she can finish talking I take out a stack of cash from my jacket. She looks down at the stack and slightly makes a face, ¡°foreign currency? What are you, some kind of bandit running from your home after getting kicked out?¡±


    I glare right back at her, ¡°like I said, I like my privacy.¡±


    She gives a slight nod, ¡°I get that, and its fine by me, I don¡¯t care what you did before. I don¡¯t care who you are. All money is good here, even the ones covered in blood. But the thing about blood is that it attracts flies. And we don¡¯t want flies looking around here and causing trouble.¡±


    I release my gaze from her and look back down at the stack, ¡°there are only two kinds of people that would come looking for me, the ones that put me here, and since they put me here they know right where I am at.¡±


    She twists her head to the side, ¡°and the other kind?¡±


    I look back up from the stack to her, ¡°long since dead.¡±


    She gives a sigh and takes out a small box from a nearby cupboard, ¡°just remember, if the dead come asking, well, I have no desire to anger the dead.¡± She tosses over an ID coin with an apartment address on it and takes the stack of money.


    I take the coin and stand up, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t expect you to. Have a nice day.¡±


    She waves me off as I leave, ¡°ya, ya, and since you like your privacy, keep out of our business and we¡¯ll keep out of yours.¡±


    * * *


    After several hours and searching through the spires looking for the right one I finally find the one my apartment is in as the day starts to come to a close. In the mostly unoccupied upper portion where there are no windows and even smaller rooms lies my apartment. Private, just like I wanted. Neighbors can be annoying, and after my hell in the deep I just want some peace and quiet.


    My apartment only has one bedroom, just big enough to hold a small bed and a dresser. It also has a living room that doubles as the dining room. The kitchen is in the corner of the room with just a small sink and a space for a small fridge. Not even a full size one either. There is no stove and the counter space is only one cabinet big. The bathroom is along the same wall. At least, unlike the kitchen, it has a divider that separates it from the rest of the house. Inside is also a shower head above the toilet and a drain below. The door and inside is plastic to prevent water from getting everywhere. The rest of the apartment is bare hard composite. It isn¡¯t much, but it works just fine. There even is a small closet for storage on the same side as the room. I store my gear inside while I leave my board out in the main room. Tonight, I will sleep. Tomorrow I will find a job, blood money may work for the shadier side of the slums, but regular businesses won¡¯t take it and the black market just doesn¡¯t have the regular stuff to furnish a house.

 Getting a Job and a Game

    After the first decent sleep I have had in a long time, I stand from the corner I was sleeping in. When I enter the main room, I find a small letter on the floor in front of me. It is from an old friend, Don Hollywood, my dearest rival and the closest thing to a father I have. Also, when it comes to him, I am surprised the letter wasn¡¯t already here when I moved in yesterday. Maybe he is slipping in his old age. I lean against the inner wall and access the data chip.


    ¡°Well now Reiter, I see you got kicked out. So much for the military being your only home. Anyway, you should stop by my shop. I doubt anyone will hire someone with so much black red and every other color in their profile, and my shop can always use skilled personnel.


    Go ahead and keep the AT link, it¡¯s the not the newest but it is new enough, consider it a retirement gift.¡±


    So, this isn¡¯t just a data chip? Well I guess a three by five folding opaque is a bit big to be a mere data chip. Might as well go to see him, he is right about my profile and job prospects. If I am going to be menial labor, I would rather do it at family¡¯s place. Looks like the attached address is on the Wall, maybe I can stop by the black market while I¡¯m there. I sling my board onto my back and head out.


    ***


    After navigating the slums for a few hours, I reach the outside. I will need to set up a path for navigation, or at least find a map of the slums. I secure myself on my board and head towards Don¡¯s shop. After another couple of hours of travel, I reach the wall¡¯s security entrance.


    The security guard motions to me to step up to the booth. ¡°What business do you have at the wall?¡±


    ¡°I am looking for work and family.¡±


    The guard looks me up and down, ¡°profile.¡±


    I hand the man my profile data chip. He scans it gives me a scowl. ¡°what is someone with so much redaction doing at the wall?¡±


    I look at the man, ¡°like I said work and family.¡±


    With a snort the man opens the entryway, ¡°I don¡¯t care who you are but this isn¡¯t a place where money can fix your problems.¡±


    I suppose my profile looks like some spoilt rich kid¡¯s, with most of it reading redacted. Their clearance here isn¡¯t even enough to see the clearance level required for that data. Anymore discharges are just a way to get rid of problem rich kids.


    While making my way to Don¡¯s shop I browse through the areas shops. Most of the stuff here is of low quality, but every now and then there may be something interesting. These shops will also accept currency from the kingdoms. Lots of incognito bandits and kingdom merchants use this place as an intermediary for business with the central countries. Money supersedes everything.


    I found a decent tool kit and a few spare parts for my board but not much else. Most of the stuff here is trash with the price of treasure.


    ***


    Ranger Security. Why am I not surprised Don¡¯s shop turns out to be a security firm? Although, I thought it would be something like a laundromat or a distributer that doesn¡¯t sell anything, but I guess he just can¡¯t stay away from the field.


    When I enter the building a receptionist greets me from her desk, ¡°Good afternoon, how may I be of assistance?¡±


    The door in the back opens as the receptionist speaks, ¡°he¡¯s here to see me.¡± Don walks in from the back with a laugh and gives me a large hug. ¡°It has been years, brat, it¡¯s nice to see you again.¡± A few strands of grey in his hair the old man is nearing his seventies. Despite that he still has well defined muscles without them being bulging, the real dangerous kind that have ridiculous agility while hiding explosive power. Even the few wrinkles he has are well defined and chiseled.


    ¡°sup pops it¡¯s good to see you as well, I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re not in a rest home yet.¡±


    Don laughs uproariously, ¡°I know you have always had a hard time dealing with me but to panic enough to flip your switch the instant you see me?¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°well what do you expect pops? You¡¯re like a dad to me and you know everything, even the shit I have hidden from the indigence bureau. I mean what the hell, dragon kid¡¯s head broke after we lost contact with each other and you know that when he panics I come out. Even those black masks spying on me every day in the deep don¡¯t know that.¡±


    Don releases his hug only to hold onto my shoulder, ¡°Oh Reiter, you¡¯re going to make my heart melt, and a dad always knows about his kid.¡±


    ¡°Really? I doubt anyone could phase that iron heart of yours, you malicious sadistic shadow. Besides I¡¯m more of a pet to you than a kid.¡±


    Don removes his hand and shows such a realistic pained expression, ¡°now that hurts Reiter.¡±


    I give a small chuckle, ¡°your acting is getting better pops.¡±


    Don¡¯s face instantly returns to his normal impassive look with a splash of seriousness and coldness and that fucking disturbing grin of his. How the hell can people say this is a friendly expression I will never know.


    Don walks back to the door he emerged from, ¡°well anyway, let¡¯s talk in my office, I got a gift for you too.¡±


    I enter his office with him. The place is furnished well. A large composite desk, even looks like wood, maple I think. A bookshelf on each side full of random books and nick knacks, seriously Don? Nick knacks? There¡¯s also a large window monitor in the back depicting the endless deep greens and spotty prairies of the frontier past the Wall, got to admit the place is beautiful. Looks like a kingdom on its own, nothing like the deserts and wastelands of the Badlands.


    I plop down on the chair in front of the desk giving Don an amused gaze, ¡°So Don, how you enjoying, what are you calling it, retirement?¡±


    Don takes a seat in his own chair behind the desk, ¡°it¡¯s good. I¡¯m my own boss, no more bullshit from higher up and if I say so myself, I even have quite the influence in these parts.¡±


    ¡°Well pops, this is what you get for refusing all those promotions.¡±


    Don gives a light chuckle, ¡°no way in hell would I ever take one of those desk jobs, now I am in charge of my own security firm, I can go out whenever I want.¡±


    ¡°Yet here you are, sitting behind a desk.¡±


    Don¡¯s face instantly becomes slightly depressed, ¡°I still get out . . . sometimes. You really know where it hurts don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°A dad knows his kid, just the same a kid knows his dad.¡±


    Don takes out a small data chip from his desk, ¡°here take this before you make me any more depressed.¡±


    I take the chip, ¡°what is this my job?¡±


    Don gives me that creepy friendly smile of his, ¡°nothing of the sort, it¡¯s a video game.¡±


    What the hell? A video game, I haven¡¯t played any of these since I was a kid and snuck into the arcade at night, ¡°Why a video game old man?¡±


    ¡°it just came out less than a week ago, and I have seen some interesting case studies on how video games have helped repair brain damage and mental illness. Something about how the consuls stimulate the neurons in the brain and cause them to create new pathways or something like that. Too much neurology for me to fully understand the process. As for your job, how about an escort gig?¡±


    I set down the game and give him a look, ¡°what, some kind of dignitary or specialist that needs to find their way to some secret location or some bullshit?¡±


    ¡°for an entry level like you? No way. Your job is to just escort some kids to an underground Gaming circuit every now and then. Nothing fancy. We are just a security firm here.¡±


    I am a little surprised I must say, I really would have thought Don would have had me do something a little shadier, ¡°so it is just a normal escort job?¡±


    ¡°if it was anything else would you have even accepted it?¡±


    ¡°I refused that shit once, I have no plans to take it on now.¡±


    Don sits back on his chair and sighs, ¡°well, there you go, just a simple job, has decent pay as well. You brought some money you had stashed, right? Go see the receptionist, she¡¯ll exchange it to credits for you.¡±


    I stand up from the chair and turn to leave, ¡°thanks pops, it¡¯s good to see you again.¡±


    Don throughs the game on the desk to me, ¡°Reiter, play the game, get better, I don¡¯t want to be employing a bomb that can go off any moment. Now get out of here, unlike one lazy bum I got a business to run.¡±


    With a nod, I leave the room and exchange my money for credits. As well as pick up the details of my job. I am not too happy about jumping right back into being a soldier, albeit a make believe one. I hoped I could just leave it all behind and be a regular person. Sadly, with my record, I don¡¯t have much of a choice.


    Having received a good amount of credits I decide to skip the black market and head home. On the way, I stop at a terminal and order furnishings for my apartment. A bed, dresser, storage chest, table, chairs, and several appliances as well as a game consul. It is a bit of a splurge, but I might as well play the game Don gave me, I have nothing else to do anyway. The lot should be here tomorrow morning. So, time to sleep.

 The first thing to do in a new game

    This morning my furnishings arrived by drone and with a small fee I could get the thing to bring in and set up everything. I remember when the setup was complimentary, at least it is still cheap. It took me all morning and into the evening to get everything set up like how I want. It is a bit surprising but the consul for the game that Don gave me, unlike most others that can play all kinds of games, is custom made for this specific game. Apparently, it can only play this game and no other consuls can run the game. The consul had a price reduction since I already had the game. Another strange aspect that I found is that it doesn¡¯t hook up to the network. Saves me trouble of setting it up at least. Why did Don give me such a troublesome game I wander?


    After the initial setup, which consisted of putting in the game, putting on the headband and laying down in the capsule, I start the game. Nothing else to do today.


    On the start of the game a strange sensation envelops me. It is really trippy; I mean what the hell is this? I feel like I¡¯m flowing out of my body. Nothing like the sensation of falling asleep with other games. Have they updated the software or something? The shit is this? I might get sick.


    A window appears in front of me, ¡°First time full body synchronization in progress. Slight motion sickness may result. This process will only occur on first login.¡±


    Slight! Slight motion sickness! How the hell is this slight! I feel like I will hurl up my intestines. Motion sickness is only in the gut anyway. So why the fuck do I feel like this everywhere! This better be a fun ass game.


    After several moments of that the sync finally finished. It is strange in the first place to require a sync anymore anyway, whatever.


    As the game starts a white light flashes in front of me, and a voice begins speaking, ¡°Welcome adventurer, I am one of this world¡¯s gods, as my apostles go forth and . . .¡±


    This is annoying to listen to; the voice is indistinguishable between male or female even young or old. It sounds like a machine really, ¡°skip¡±.


    The voice stops speaking when it was interrupted, ¡°. . . what?¡±


    So, the into is interactive, nice touch, ¡°this cut seen, I want to skip it.¡±


    ¡°young apostle, I am welcoming you to this world . . .¡±


    Annoying god, just let me play already, dragon boy is playing because daddy told him too, I just want to have fun beating something up, ¡°ya ok, seen one fantasy intro you¡¯ve seen ¡®em all. So what, go forth and defeat the demon lord or some shit?¡±


    The voice of god is getting annoyed, how humorous, a god possessing the emotions of lower beings, ¡°no, you need to . . .¡±


    ¡°ok, so if ne demon lord then the land is corrupted or some bull, and I have to go cleanse it by spreading your word or purging the evil of the land. I presume it¡¯s the former since you keep calling me your apostle.¡±


    The voice isn¡¯t responding, ¡°¡­¡±


    This is kind of fun in its own right, ¡°don¡¯t tell me, I¡¯m right and you can¡¯t think of any kind of comeback?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°what? No witty comeback, no ¡®how dare you speak to the almighty god this way¡¯?¡±


    Before I can continue the space distorts around me and the scenery changes.


    ***


    I am now in a small town, like, thing. Few buildings, nothing more than one story and it only looks like a few thousand residence. The buildings are made of wood with a stone base and some kind of large tile roof. The streets are compacted dirt with a drainage ditch along side them. A fountain is nearby with a large banner swaying in the wind above it, ¡°Welcome to our world Apostles.¡± I¡¯m really not sure what to say about this. It just doesn¡¯t seem to fit the theme. Isn¡¯t this supposed to be some ancient dead society with dreary or fantastical atmosphere? Whatever, I want to go kill something.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Ignoring my surroundings, I look for the town¡¯s exit. It is a fantasy game, so there should be some monsters outside to hunt. Eventually I find my way outside the town. I thought there might be a wall or something but there wasn¡¯t and I just walked straight out.


    Outside the town is a large field with small animals appearing every now and then. Several other people with the same looking clothes as me are chasing them around. This must be beginner gear, a white t-shirt and shorts. Really bear minimum, no armor or even underwear let alone a weapon. Not much of a friendly start I must say. Well it seems most everyone else has some kind of weapon and several have a bit of leather looking armor, so I may have just pissed off god a little too much. Oh well, just got to find something scary with sharp stuff on it and punch it till it dies. Now to find me a big claw.


    Skipping over the fields of noob shit I venture into the forest visible in the distance. Geh, nothing¡¯s happening. If I calm down to much the pussy shit coward will come back out and he¡¯ll go back to town for some kind of tutorial or some shit. I want to kill some shit not listen to an old ass ramble on about how chosen I am.


    A short distance from me several presences can be felt. I got to admit, I am impressed as hell. How did these developers include bloodlust into a game? This is something you can only really feel on a battlefield or while being hunted. I don¡¯t even have a skill for it, just my personal experience with it. That is some impressive programming there.


    Well, time to take a stance. What will it be? Usually it would be a wolf, but maybe some kind of crazy fantasy monster with like five kinds of animals mixed together? I hope it is a lion. I¡¯ve always wanted to fight a lion. Maybe it will be on fire? A fire lion! Yes! Be a fire lion! Be a fire lion! Be a fire lion!


    I am so disappointed; it is a wolf. It jumped out at me from the bushes and I uppercut it in the throat. When it fell on the ground and re-steadied itself it was obviously a wolf. This is bullshit, where is my Fire Lion! Oh damn it, there¡¯s two more behind me now. Well even though you aren¡¯t a fire lion I guess a wolf fang club will work for a weapon.


    Well, ye who strikes first. I dig my foot into the dirt in front of me and kick it at the wolf in front while I use the force of my kick to lung at one of the wolves in the back. Place my forward leg firm and launch the leg I kicked off with into the wolf¡¯s side. Bend my knee to free my leg after contact and use the momentum to twist to the final wolf and slam my fist above its eye. I wanted to hit the thing in the eye but the little fucker dodged down and I missed the eye.


    A sharp pain assaults my planted leg. The wolf that I just kicked has its teeth sunk into my ankle. Do my kick not do anything to you?! Wait, if my kick didn¡¯t do anything . . .


    I raise my free arm to my neck just in time to intercept the third wolf which barely flinched from my punch. This thing went straight for my throat but instead got my hand. I grab tightly onto the snout digging the teeth deeper into my skin. Hurts like hell but the wolf attacked onto my leg has lifted my foot off the ground making me face the sky. This being the case the next move would most likely be that the first wolf I encountered would jump on top of me and go for my throat again like the third wolf did. Just as thought, here it comes just above me. With all the strength I can muster I pull the third wolf on top of me to block the first. These things are heavy! Is my strength stat too low or something?


    Barely getting the head in the way of the first wolf it diverts its attack to not damage its comrade. Instead, it ops to just crash into my stomach. Fat Ass. I feel like my guts will come out my mouth from the impact. Just to put icing on the cake, from the way the second wolf was biting down on my leg it is now in a disturbing angle. My leg is broken, legs don¡¯t turn that direction, or have than many joints.


    The third wolf whips its head and pulls my hand away from my neck, exposing it to the first wolf standing on my chest. It lunges at me but I shift the assault with my last free hand and push its mouth upwards. What now bitch?


    I feel a warm sting from the side of my neck. I can feel the blood leaving through the many holes. My heart beat is felt throughout my body. It deafens my ears and senses. My consciousness grows thin. I finally notice off to my side. With its teeth lodged into my artery, a fourth wolf. Well, fuck you too.


    ***


    From the background a system notification sounds, ¡°You have died, you will not be able to log on until enough energy to rebuild your body can be collected. This will take twelve hours.¡±


    After the message, I wake up in the capsule I just stare for a moment, ¡°well no shit I died. What the hell . . .¡±


    With a sigh, I sit up, ¡°so I can¡¯t log on for twelve hours? Collect enough energy? Maybe some kind of lore? More dragon boy¡¯s thing than mine. Well, it¡¯s late, I¡¯m tired, and too lazy to go to the bed so . . .¡± I lay back down in the capsule that is decently comfortable and drift off to sleep.