Sleepless (2/2)

>You are the researcher relieving the other guy.

>He's left his notes here on the table for you.

>You check the time on the monitor feed.

>If the notes are right, this fluffy has been denied sleep for just over thirteen hours.

>You pick up the observation.

>To be honest, you thought the subject would be louder, but all she does is stand there and tremble.

>Wait, she's whispering.

>”Fwuffy neva sweep 'gain...”

>You're not expecting any physical effects yet, it hasn't been long enough.

>You notice that every time the fluffy begins to nod off, she shits.

>”No!  Stay 'wake!  Sweepies wan' huwt fwuffy!”

>You pay close attention to her body.

>Her stubby legs are completely stiff.  She makes no attempt to walk around on the little block.

>She has ended up in a position almost perpendicular to the drum camera, so your view is looking down onto her right side and back.

>Her body fluff waves slightly with the rapid, shallow breathing.

>Her eyes, at least the one you can see, have gotten extremely bloodshot.

>She is also extremely filthy.  The notes said she was white, but now she's a mottled brownish color.

>”Go 'way sweepies!” she suddenly yelps, slamming her face into the brown water.

>You watch her as she stands like a statue for ten minutes.

>Then she blurts out “Whewe fwuffy?  Oh!  Fwuffy in sowwy-bowl!  Fwuffy sowwy!”

>Memory lapse.  You note the time.

>Her head begins to bob occasionally.  Upon closer observation, you realize these are hypnic jerks.

>During one such instance, she nods off just long enough to enter the water, and has the hypnic jerk just as she falls in.

>After pulling herself back up, she yells.  “Bad fwuffy!  No sweepy!  Sweepy bad!”

>She also starts crying.  “Fwuffy wan' go home...fwuffy sad...fwuffy weggies huwt...”

>Hurt?  It's only been fifteen hours, she shouldn't already be experiencing physical problems.

>Moments later, she collapses onto the block and rolls off.

>”Hewp!  Hewp!  Fwuffy weggies no wowk!  Fwuffy no wan' wawa!  Hewp fwuffy!”

>She's lodged between the drum wall and the block, so she won't fall in any farther.

>However, she cannot pull herself back up.  Her legs hardly move despite her frantic state.

>You note the time and end the experiment here.  Once she figures out she's safe from drowning, she'll fall asleep anyway.

>No point in leaving her in there any more.

>You enter the room to retrieve her from the drum.  It smells like someone shat on death, set it on fire, then ate it and threw it up.

>The fluffy sees you and waves her legs weakly.  “Hewp!  Fwuffy in wawa!”

“Relax, I'll get you in a second.”

>You call in an assistant to help you...and to bring gloves.

>You lift the dripping, rancid fluffy out of the drum.

>The assistant goes back out and returns with a large tub to carry the fluffy away.

>Since you weren't expecting things to end this fast, you decide to follow up and see if this has affected the fluffy's natural sleep pattern.

>The fluffy has been washed and dried and returned to her cage.  The drum has been removed and the room itself aired out.

>You take a new camera with low-light capability and set it on the floor beside her cage.

>”We pwayin' game?” she asks you.  She is in much better spirits than earlier.

>The assistant tells you, however, that she still hasn't slept.  That makes seventeen hours since she has.

“No, it's time for bed.”

>The fluffy looks very nervous about that, but nods.  “O-okay, fwuffy sweepy time...”

>You cut out the lights and leave the room, marking the time in your notes.

>Since there are other experiments you need to check on, and only four hours left in your shift, you forgo observation and elect to review the tape later.

>The first thing you do when you come in the next day is go check on the fluffy.

>The room is empty.

>One of the assistants explains that she was found dead this morning.

>You review the tape.

>The fluffy is standing rigidly in her cage as it begins, despite the fact that she has clean bedding all around her.

>In fact, she looks exactly as she did in the drum.

>”Wawa come wif sweepies, no wan',” she says to herself.

>There's no water around her, though.  Not even a bowl to drink from.

>She pounds her face into the cage floor.  “Stay 'wake!  Wha?  No wawa hewe?”

>That should be the end of it, you think, but it isn't.

>”Wawa hidin'...wawa wai' fo' fwuffy sweepies...”

>The next time she nods off and jerks awake again, you see her strain.

>She drops a load, turns around, and slams her face into it.

>”No smeww pwetty...bad smeww hewp stay 'wake!”

>Wow.  You begin fast forwarding.

>One hour of real time elapses.

>Each time she has a microsleep event, she wakes up and drives her face into the pile of shit.

>”Fwuffy no wan' sweepies!  Sweepies huwt fwuffy!”

>She can hardly walk anymore.  All her energy is focused on fighting her fatigue.

>”Fwuffy sowwy, pwease wet out, fwuffy wan' bad wawa,” she mewls.

>She wants back into the drum?  The drum where she almost drowned?

>”No, wawa no bad, wawa good, wawa hewp fwuffy make bad sweepies go 'way...”

>Just after the second hour passes, she has a microsleep event and again drives her face into the pile of shit to stay awake.

>This time, she does not lift it up.

>As she had on the block so many times, she involuntarily collapsed.

>Without the water to startle her awake, she fell asleep and suffocated.

>You begin writing up the final report for this subject.

>It appears that a repetitive traumatic event can force a fluffy to deny their bodily needs.

>If true, this would mean that the brain functions of a fluffy pony are highly rewritable.

>You make sure this will be sent to the population control team.

>If fluffy minds can be rewritten, they could perhaps be made to avoid crops without having to be poisoned and killed.

>You begin theorizing about methods to rewrite fluffy behavior.  Is water a requirement?

>For that matter, is trauma necessary?  In states where they're classified as animals, abuse will not be tolerated.

>While you forward your report, you consider ways to gather data about this new idea.

>From previous work, you know that fluffy pony brains emit high-frequency electrical signals when stimulated, positively or negatively.

>Perhaps electricity is the answer.

>While you go downstairs to hunt for new subjects, you flag an assistant over to go find the tools you'll need.

“Can you get me a taser?”

>”Whoa, what?  For the fluffies?”

“Yes, for the fluffies.  I have an idea that might help with the population control problem.”

>”Uh...I don't think we can do that.  Virginia is a no-kill state.”

“I don't want to kill them, I want to shock them.  Besides, once fluffies learn how good tomatoes taste, Richmond is going to beg us for some sort of nuclear option.”

>”If you say so, but I don't think I can buy a bunch of stun guns without attracting attention.”

“Just get me something that makes electricity.  Hell, a switch-operated battery and alligator clamps will probably do it.”