Chapter 2

The next morning, Sean took Lisa outside to show her properly and explain the pod to her, to give her the chance to get a feel for the confining space and become accustomed to it.

“Come on inside the pod with me, and I’ll measure you up for your straps and cushions,” he told her lightly.

He climbed into the pod first, and then leaned down to help Lisa to climb up the short ladder.

“Goodness, it is rather cramped in here – isn’t it!” she exclaimed as she peered around the small space.

“Yes, it’s because all the panels are folded into each other, to give us a good thickness when we burn through our atmosphere.”

He pointed to the silver coloured padded chair, which instantly reminded Lisa of a dentist’s chair, with it high head rest, and padded arms, and at the moment it was in a sitting position, although she could see that it could move to a vertical position against the metal wall, or even a flat horizontal against the metal floor.

Both of these panels had a deep imprint of the seat, so that it could sit right in, and lock into place.

“I know that you will think me daft, but can you slip out of your trousers for me,” he asked with a rueful little grin.

Lisa blushed and her eyes twinkled. “Do you really think that this is the time for a such thing?”

He laughed huskily. “Well even though it might have been ... interesting a notion, it was not what I had in mind.” He looked faintly regretful, but gravely serious.

“All right,” she sighed, as she kicked up her pumped and unfastened her trousers.

It was cramped in the little pod, and she knocked in to her husband a couple of time, but in the end she managed to remove the trousers.

“Now what?” She shivered as the cool air hit her bare legs, and the metal of the pod chilled her bare feet.

“This will be your chair, so come and sit in it for me, for a minute.”

He led her the two little steps to the two seats sitting side by side, and indicated the one further from the small control panel.

Lisa sighed nervously as she sank down into the seat.

“It’s quite comfortable – isn’t it,” she laughed a light pitchy sort of laugh. “But what’s with this plastic covering – will we remove it at the last minute ... is it designed to keep the chairs clean ... it’s a bit weird isn’t it – not like normal plastic coverings.?”

Sean pulled the harness over her shoulders, and hesitated for a moment.

“You realise that once we join up with our docking station, and leave the orbit of this planet, you know that we have a long journey ahead of us – and we will be travelling at incredibly – super fast speeds?” he said carefully.

“Yes, I gathered all of that from yesterday’s discussions,” she said absently as she ran her fingers over the harness, and then rested her head back.

“Well, we will need to be protected from the pressure of the speeds – especially from the acceleration points, and I gather that there will be several accelerations to achieve the speeds needed.”

“Yes?” she nodded with a little frown.

“Well, with the need for protection, and the need to conserve oxygen, until the production centre is working to it’s full potential ... well the thing is that we will all be put to sleep, before we even take off in fact, before we leave this planet, and we will be asleep for at least three years.”

“Three years!”

“Yes, I am afraid so,” Sean sighed as he perched on the edge of his own seat.

He ran a finger lightly down her arm, and Lisa shivered.

“How will it work? Our being asleep for so very long?” she whispered in a shaky little voice. Three years! Three years of her life – lost and gone forever!

“The plastic cover is not just to protect the seat; it will open up like this...”

He flipped up a little panel and pressed a button on her seat’s armrest, and Lisa felt a tickling sort of rippling sensation beneath her.

Suddenly the plastic wrapped itself around her, like a towel or a blanket, but before she could draw a breath, or panic, Sean reached out and tucked the head part under her chin, so that it framed her face, rather than covering it.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you ... I just wanted you to know how it was going to feel. How are you doing?” he asked worriedly.

Lisa smiled a shaky smile, and then nodded although her eyes fixed onto his anxiously. “It’s not too bad,” she murmured huskily.

“Good,” Sean smiled in relief.

He pulled the plastic bag thing further down, and Lisa heaved a little sigh.

“You’ll already be half way asleep, by the time this part happens,” he reassured her calmly. “It will almost be a simultaneous thing, you will drift into a deep sleep even as the cover wraps over you, and then once you are fully asleep; it will fill out a little to make room for the fluid.”

“Fluid?”

“Yes, the bag will fill with a gel like substance; it will be that which will protect you from any outside pressures and forces.”

“Oh.”

“It will coat your skin, and keep it supple and moisturised so that you don’t dehydrate. It will also conduct tiny intermittent static charges through it which will stimulate your muscles whilst you sleep, so that you don’t suffer any muscle waste...”

“It’s going to electrocute me!” She exclaimed in horror.

He slid a lever upwards to an almost half way mark. “No they are very minor static ripples. Like this.”

The lower part of the plastic suddenly puffed out, and Lisa felt a slimy fluid coating her feet and her ankles.

“Urg!” She said pulling a little face.

She could feel a tickling sensation begin and then stop, then begin, the move and the stop.

“What is that!” she snapped a little irritably.

“That’s the static, it will travel through the gel and whenever it makes contact with your skin it will stimulate it, whether it is skin or muscle – it will treat it the same.”

She laid back and the tickling sensation grew almost pleasant as it travelled up towards her calf muscles.

It made her skin tingle.

Suddenly Sean pulled the lever back down and the tingling stopped immediately, and then the fluid drained away and the plastic deflated to rest lightly on her legs.

He pressed the button again and the plastic rippled back and beneath her again.

“It will also occasionally move a little, which will move you, so that your bones won’t lock after such a long time in one position, it will also prevent any pressure sores from developing.”

“How will I breathe though?”

Sean opened another panel on her arm rest and took out a mouth piece with a filter on one end.” The gel will also be oxygenated, which it will feed into you through this mouth piece, and through the pores in your skin, it will also ensure your body receives proper nutrients.”

He grinned suddenly as he unfastened the harness and then helped her to sit up better. “The theory is that by the time you wake up – you will feel like you’ve spent a day in one of those health spas. You’ll feel fresh and rested and supple, you’ll feel wonderful – or so I am told.”

“I really hope so,” she said worriedly as she stood up.

She picked up her trousers and bent to slip them back on. “My feet and legs don’t even feel damp!” She exclaimed in surprise. “I would have thought some of that Gel substance would have stayed on my skin, but not even a hint of tackiness!”

She pulled her trousers up and pushed her feet into her shoes as she fastened them.

Sean gave her a quick hug.

“I want you to know as well, Lisa, that I will make sure that you are fully asleep and safe, before I even get into my chair, and I have set things up so that I will wake up before you as well...” His tone dropped as he looked deeply into her eyes. “I promise you, my darling that you will never be alone, I will always be there with you.”

Lisa smiled up at him and her face lit up with relief.

Sean always knew exactly what to say to her to make her feel better, he knew exactly what to say to make her feel – safe and well. And his hands on her arms, well they felt strong, the felt dependable, they felt warm and the intimacy of the pod, brought him right up close to her.

She took his hand and her lids dropped over her eyes demurely.

“Shall we go back into the house now?” she whispered huskily, and she heard Sean suck in a quick breath.

He knew her so well, he knew exactly what that tone in her voice meant, as he leapt down to the ground eagerly, and then turned to help her out of the pod.

“Yes lets!”

Mike and Helen had arranged to come over again after lunch. This time the guys would be assembling the pod that Mike and Helen would be using to leave.

But lunch time was hours away yet, and Sean and Lisa made full use of the time, as she led her man up the stairs and turned to help him out of his clothes.

Or that was her intention, but Sean stepped back though, so that he was just out of her reach, and for a moment he just looked at her.

“I want to look at you, to see you...” he muttered standing on the threshold of the room. “I want you to stop holding back from me – I know that you have, Lisa,” he said as she was about to deny it. “I need you to totally surrender yourself to me Lisa ... to drop your defences and lose your inhibitions – I want you to be mine, to do – because I tell you to do!”