Sleep Tight...

Sleep Tight: A Short Story by Cody Smith

Sleep Tight

By: Cody Smith

"Sleep is the best medication," -Dalai Lama

Night I

"What time do you all go to bed?" Somnus asked.
"After doing the chores, we will usually start getting ready for bed. The Sleep Force will be rolling through about 6:30 P.M.," Dormitia replied, Somnus's grandmother.
The Sleep Force was the government's idea—ensuring that everyone got a good night's sleep before performing their daily duties as citizens, and every town had one, as legend had it, though people rarely travelled. Some even two, in order to make sure that the sleep route was finished in half the time. This was because the new technologies which had been created kept namely those who were most vulnerable to it awake. These were mostly the children, who were astounded by the light of these technologies. The government thought that they should be more astounded by the dark.
Somnus's town, because of the citizens' fewness didn't have a Force, and Somnus wasn't yet in bed. In fact, he was able to sit outside for another thirty minutes with his grandmother. It was 6:00 P.M. In the parking lot next to his grandmother's house, which was large enough for at least 20 vehicles, held one. It was the Sleep Force Car, which, unless you lived near the Sleep Force Station or were not asleep, no one would ever see.
Hypnos, the Sleep Sergeant, came out from the station. She looked at Dormitia, and spoke to her.
"Hey, I've got your prisoners for the month."
"Okay, drop them off when it's convenient," replied Dormitia, looking forward at Hypnos, smiling while walking to the truck.
The police would arrest each person who hadn't gotten to bed when they passed by their house. They would distribute these to families who did get to bed at their bedtime. Depending upon the families wealth, this could be a wasteland or paradise for the accused.
The Force would start at the end of Sueno Avenue, on which street Dormitia lived. Then they would pull into the driveway of each house, enter, and see that the family was sleeping. It was not sure how long the Force stayed for, if it was an in-and-out gesture or if they stayed to make sure of genuine sleep.
Sleep. Generally these families would sleep on couches and pallets made out of blankets in the living room. Bedrooms were somewhat ancient, and beds, even though families had them, were no longer in use. Many citizens would sleep all day in these comfortable beds and waste the day from their duties. This was extremely humorous since the Force only made sure people were asleep, not awake.
"It's 6:15 P.M.," said Dormitia. "Think of this like a trial run— it's practice for you. Tomorrow when I'm away, you'll do this yourself."
"It's so strange though, isn't it? Back home it doesn't matter the bedtime," added Somnus.
"That's how it was long ago here, legend has it. But then the age of knowledge happened. People went to and fro, and didn't lay down. So there's the Force."
Except they weren't there. They had another 10 minutes. In the country, and in remote places of the town of Sommeil, people had up to two hours.
"Well, you ready for bed?" Dormitia asked.
"Yes, I'm fairly tired," said Somnus.
"Let's go in," said his grandmother, opening the door.
While Dormitia brushed her teeth, her grandson made a pallet in a floor. When they were both ready for bed at 6:28 P.M. they turned out the lights.
"Sleep tight, and get a good night's rest," said Dormitia.
"I'll try," responded Somnus. Somnus had strange thoughts about this custom but in a few short minutes left off thinking and began dreaming.

Night II

When Dormitia woke up for her conference in another town, Somnus woke up as well. This was Dormitia's first time traveling since childhood. That was before the establishment of the Sleep Force.
Outside vehicles rushed carrying tired adults off to work and their sleepy children off to school.
When Dormitia finally got her bags packed and was ready to go to Frankfort for her conference, she gave her grandson a hug and told him to get a good night's sleep that evening.
Somnus, on the other hand, had other plans. This would be a vacation for him, and adjusting to this culture was a bit difficult. He also wanted to get to the bottom of this as he just felt as if there was a deeper meaning behind this Force. He didn't want to go to bed at 6 P.M. He wanted to go to bed at 9:30 P.M. as he usually did.
The day was passed in solitude for Somnus. He knew practically no one, and so he ate turkey, watched nothing but advertisements (about sleep medication) on television, and did some crossword puzzles containing the words "bed," and "sleep," and the phrase "wake up." The last of these phrases was one hardly ever heard. Passively, however, Somnus thought about how he would figure out more about the Sleep Force. He had the plan in the back of his mind.
————

When the clocks finally struck 6:28, he got his plan into action. And stood somewhat near the window as if he wasn't sure about this plan. As the clocks struck 6:29 P.M. he saw the hood of the car. Then he saw the car move closer towards the window. It was here that Somnus made a leap towards the bedroom, lied down quickly on the couch, covered up, shut his eyes, and faked it, as if he had been asleep for hours. At this point, he heard the creaking door open with Hypnos's push, and her footsteps towards him. Afterwards he heard more footsteps and the noise of wheels on a machine.With the sound of wheels becoming louder, the wheels moved closer toward Somnus. The footsteps did the same. Dr. Hypnosis, numbered among these footsteps, as she rolled the Sleep Machine towards Somnus said "sweet dreams, visitor."
The Sleep Machine was a tall grayish screen connected by a pole to a foundation on wheels. On the side of the machine, they would hook up the sleeping person. This was in an attempt to channel their dreams, generally about the greatness of the government.
As Somnus heard Dr. Hypnosis's words, he said "not tonight," and knocked the doctor unconscious.
"Freeze," yelled Hypnos, the sergeant, holding up her tranquilizer, but evidently, Somnus didn't obey, and she was knocked out in a deep sleep as well.
The other footsteps didn't move, but just watched, in fear.
After this, Somnus somewhat out of breath from this action and somewhat tired, ran outside and, like a human alarm clock, yelled, "it's time to get up! Wake up! Wake up!"

Things to Consider:

The Latin word for sleep is "Somnus," and is the name of the protagonist in this story. "Dormitia" was a name formed from the Latin verb dormiō (I sleep) and is Somnus' grandmother. "Hypnos" was the Greek goddess of sleep and here, she is the sergeant of the Sleep Force. "Sueño" is "sleep" in Spanish and Dormitia lives on Sueno Street. Dormitia lives in the town of Sommeil (French word for "sleep"). Dr. Hypnosis is named for obvious reasons.

1. How do the names add to the story?
2. In your opinion, how necessary is sleep for your daily function? Do you need more than is needed for daily function?
3. In what other ways does the theme of sleep come into the story?
4. Is the government equal with the people? How about in modern society?
5. Do you think Dormitia practiced her customs in Frankfort? Why or why not?
Can Somnus be seen as a hero?