[ WP ] A world where sleep is not a necessity , but possible , comfortable , and heavily frowned upon by society .

`` Trust me, man. You'll enjoy this.'' 
 
 I did n't trust him, and wanted to tell him so. When Chase got an idea in his head, it was bound to be one I was n't down for. 
 
 We crept around the corner under cover of night. On the side of the run-down brick shack was a concrete staircase descending into the ground, lit a dirty orange by the building's only light. Chase led the way down, with Adam and Mackenzie following. I trailed nervously behind. 
 
 He opened the door, revealing a basement larger than the shack above it. My heart skipped a beat at what I saw inside. 
 
 Beds. Dozens of them. Some had people in them, using them. I felt a knot in my stomach just seeing them here in front of me. In fact, I was kind of ashamed that I even knew what they were called. Was that bad? I could n't get in trouble for knowing about beds, right? 
 
 I looked over the people inside. They were lying completely motionless like corpses, but they were still breathing. I felt like I was in a zombie movie, with these bodies stirring and making quiet grumbling noises to themselves. I had never seen anybody this far gone. 
 
 Chase elbowed me in the side. `` See, what'd I tell you? Awesome, right?'' 
 
 I could n't believe it. He was part of this culture? Did n't he know the risks? I could object, but he would n't listen. I just shook my head, slack-jawed. 
 
 Adam circled around to the other side of me. `` C'mon, Ryan. We walked all the way here; are you gon na try something new, or just puss out and run home?'' 
 
 I remembered back in elementary school, when we all got those fear-mongering brochures about the dangers of going sub-conscious. They told us it would make our brains melt into rotten goo. I know better than that now, but they certainly nailed the peer pressure aspect of it. 
 
 Mackenzie spoke up. `` It's fun, Ryan. You see the craziest stuff. I once thought I was in some building that was like my house and school at the same time. And you can fly and stuff.'' 
 
 Her too? Was I really the outlying point here? Chase maybe, but until a few minutes ago I'd have called that a stretch. Turns out I was the only one who had n't been sneaking out and doing... this. 
 
 It sounded enticing, I could give them that much. Who would n't want to step out of reality, and see a world that could n't exist? But I had heard the horror stories. First you set out to trip for a few minutes, and when you come back, eight hours or more have just disappeared. I'd heard it said that your first time could lose you almost a full day if you were n't prepared. 
 
 Finally I had something tangible to hold onto in my head. `` But how do I know I'll come down in time? I do n't want to be in here until the sun comes up.'' 
 
 Chase laughed. `` We have you covered. Check it out.'' 
 
 He pulled out his phone, and set an appointment alarm for an hour from now. 
 
 `` This is loud enough that it can bring you right back whenever you need it to.'' 
 
 `` Are you sure? I mean, I do n't know, I've just heard that it does n't work sometimes. Or, like I've heard that when you hear it, you can sober up long enough to turn it off and then drift away again. Does it really take hold that strongly?'' 
 
 `` We're all here together,'' Adam said. `` We know you're new to it, we'll keep an eye on you.'' 
 
 Maybe it was that gesture of friendship, but I began to feel like they were wearing me down. These guys were good people. They were jerks sometimes, but we stuck together. I guess I could just try this once, and surely I'd be strong-willed enough or self-aware enough to fend off an addiction. I took a hesitant step toward the row of beds. 
 
 Chase clapped his hands. `` Woo, Ryan's in!'' 
 
 The others bee-lined to a set of four adjacent beds. I laid down on the rightmost one. Mackenzie laid down in the one beside me, and pulled the blankets up to her shoulders. I noticed that my bed had those too, and followed suit. Hopefully I was doing this right. 
 
 Mackenzie looked over at me. `` Just remember, it's natural. Animals do this, people in other countries do this... if it was n't for the stuff they put in our water, we'd *have* to do it, but they feed us this narrative about it being dangerous.'' 
 
 I did n't buy that conspiracy stuff. Sure, other people and animals did this kind of thing, but what of it? Animals eat rotten berries and mushrooms too; we're just civilized enough to wean ourselves off this crutch. And I did n't want to think about the developing nations and their habits. I heard that parents would make their own children go sub-conscious when they did. The kids could n't handle it, they were so prone to bad trips that they'd see their fears come to life as monsters. It was sick that somebody could do that to their own child. 
 
 But I was in no position to get on a soapbox now. `` Yeah, okay,'' I replied meekly. 
 
 Chase and Adam already had their eyes closed and were lying still. Mackenzie closed her eyes too. This was it, I guess. No turning back now. 
 
 I closed my eyes as well, and waited to feel myself drift away...
