Denzin must have fallen asleep at his desk again. This studying lark was getting to him. He had just had the strangest dream!

  His nose tingled, and he tried to scratch it. But his hand wouldn’t move. He lifted his head, and felt his teeth clenched around the mouthpiece that his lips were glued to. It wasn’t a dream! His hands were stuck! And he couldn’t feel his legs – did he even have legs? Where was he?

  Then he remembered. His life had been saved. His heart warmed to match the tingle around his lips, his incredible gratitude washing away the fear. DEN003 was more grateful than he’d ever been in his entire life. And because of this, he was desperate to show his gratitude by serving his Pendraken and his City in any way they wanted him to. He was at peace.

  But underneath all the gratitude, the niggle that had filtered through his dream persisted. Desperate? Denzin had never felt desperation on this level before. Desperate to serve. Because he was so grateful. But was he grateful? Really? He was rubbish at maths, but this wasn’t adding up. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but he was desperate for another reason. No, he couldn’t put his finger on it – not at all! Because he couldn’t move his yassing hands!

  “Oh, you’re awake, Dee Ee En Zero Zero Three!” a voice said. So many strange voices. “I’m Dee Ee Pee Three Two Eight Five. Don’t worry. Be at peace. Be at peace.”

  DEN003’s muscles gradually shed their tension, and his mind followed, despite that niggle.

  “I’m to be your Trainer, to help you get the hang of using your pod and how things work around here. They told you about your pod, didn’t they. We are all so very grateful for our pods.”

  DEN003 was grateful for his pod. Whatever a pod was.

  “The mask takes a bit of getting used to, doesn’t it? But it will help you breathe. See, I have one around my neck, too. It’s hard to speak with it on, so our Helpers have kindly taken mine off so I can teach you. I’ll be so grateful to them when they put it back, though.” She smiled warmly.

  DEN003 finally lifted his head completely off the cushion in front of him and turned his head to look around. He had to turn his head right around though, as the desk his head had lain on had three sides, blocking his view.

  He was in what appeared to be a massive arena, like the one the City-Fest celebrations were held in. Except this one had a roof. And no seats that he could see.

  All around the edge of the arena were desks like his. There were people in many of them. People? There were heads and bodies, at least, that seemed stuck into… something.

  He turned his focus back to DEP3285. Her dark hair was pulled back into a neat plait. Around her neck hung a rubber thing – a round bit that looked like a huge dummy that babies sucked on, with a funny cup at the top. She wore a dark grey, tight-fitting shirt that covered her body from right beneath her chin to her wrists. This somehow melded itself into a dull metal thing that looked a bit like an egg cut in half. It sat just a couple of centimetres off the ground.

  She had no legs.

  DEN003's eyes fell to his own body. He was wearing the same grey clothing. His body emerged from the same type of contraption that held DEP3285!

  “You’ve seen your pod then. Isn’t it wonderful! To think that our Pendrakon and our City care so much about us to give us such a wonderful pod! Be at peace, DEN003.”

  At her words, DEN003 found himself at peace once more. He was incredibly grateful for his pod.

  On the front of the pod, just a few centimetres from his stomach, was something like the handlebars of the little pushbike he’d had as a child. His hands wore gloves of some kind, made of a strange fabric, woven of thin metal fibres. His fingers were wrapped around the handles, held there by these gloves. He gave them a tug, but they didn’t move.

  “Our braces keep our hands safe. We never move them ourselves. Our Helpers do that for us. Isn’t that wonderful? They are so kind to us. We are so grateful for our braces.”

  He was very glad to have the braces that held his hands, and that they were attached to his pod. It felt good – more than good – that they were right where they were.

  All was well.

  He sucked air into his lungs through the tube. He was grateful for his mask which helped him to breathe.

  “See, Dee Ee En Zero Zero Three? All is well,” repeated his trainer.

  He knew he had a name. His name was Dee Ee En Zero Zero Three. But his name was just a string of letters and numbers. He’d always struggled remembering things like that. But somehow, deep inside, he knew his name. He was Den …. DEN003. That was the only name he’d ever had. He was so proud of his name!

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  No. That other name rose above the haze. His name was Denzin.

  And he was trapped in a metal pod! And he couldn’t speak! Or move his hands! But he was grateful for his pod and his mask and his braces. Even though they trapped him and held him mute.

  It was so hard to keep his thoughts straight!

  DEP3285’s hands were in braces, too, and attached to her own handlebars.

  Denzin tried to speak, but with his mask completely stuffing his mouth, not even a grunt from his throat was possible. His teeth and lips were pressed so tightly against the tube that there was no way any air could pass through them. Except – DEP3285’s mask wasn’t just one tube, but a mouthpiece, with a vent to one side. The tube must provide the air, and the vent must allow him to exhale.

  He was grateful … he was supposed to be grateful for his mask. But it stopped him from speaking. How could Denzin cope without speaking?! Then again, maybe he should be grateful – speaking had always gotten him into trouble, hadn’t it?

  Then DEP3285 explained that they were about to be fed. And she reminded him that they always felt great respect and love for those who helped them.

  A few minutes later, a pair of legs approached them. DEN003’s eyes climbed up the legs, and found a Helper towering above him. He was grateful for his pod. Like DEP3285, he was only a couple centimetres off the floor. The Helper had to bend down low to reach him. He felt sorry for the Helper. He only had legs instead of a wonderful pod. Poor him.

  The Helper took DEP3285’s right hand off of her handlebar and rested it on top of her pod. Then he put a lidded cup into her hand. It had a long straw coming out the top, which he placed into her mouth. She began to drink.

  “He’ll need to take your mask off,” she told him between sips. “It feels strange. But you need to be able to use your mouth to eat. Don’t worry, though. He’ll replace the mask again when you’re finished and cleansed your mouth. We’re all so grateful when they put our masks back in place.”

  The Helper then pulled a latch and slid DEN003’s right hand off the end of the handle. He tried to open his fingers, but his hand was held firmly in the shape it had been before. The Helper positioned his hand, and slid a cup into it. He tried to lift his arm, but it felt far, far too heavy.

  The Helper reached behind DEN003, and the warm tingling around his face went cold, and he spit the mouthpiece out. Immediately, the Helper put the straw between his lips.

  DEN003 stretched his mouth and moved his tongue about. It felt good after they’d been confined so. But somehow, the straw clung to his lower lip with that same warm tingle.

  He tried to use his voice. With a bit of effort, he remembered how to.

  “Thank you for helping me,” he caught himself saying to the Helper, as a surge of gratitude swelled up within him.

  The Helper didn’t answer. For the first time, he realised he hadn’t even seen the Helper’s face. DEN003 craned his neck, but could hardly see any higher than the kind Helper’s belt. He leaned as far back as he could, and arching his back severely, he finally found the Helper’s face.

  Then he understood why the Helper hadn’t replied. The Helper had a mask, as well. What a blessing it was that his Helper had such a wonderful mask. He must be as grateful for that as he was for his own. A deep craving rose up withing him. DEN003 missed his mask. He hoped it would be put back soon.

  The Helper had legs.

  Denzin – no, DEN003 – didn’t. He had a pod, that he was more grateful for than he had been for anything in his entire life. Except for the braces on his hands. And his mask. And his Helper. And the Pendraken. And the City.

  His stomach rumbled. It had been a long time since he’d eaten anything. DEN003 began to suck on the straw.

  The food was like a thick milkshake in consistency. Except it wasn’t sweet. It tasted of fish. It was basically a blended fish stew. And not tasty like his Mam’s fish stew. This had a bitterness to it. He thought of his Mam fondly, but without sadness. His parents had allowed him to come here, after all. And now, as it should be, his loyalty was first and foremost to the Pendraken and to the City.

  When DEN003 and DEP3285 had finished their food, the Helper poured another liquid into their mouths – not to swallow, his Trainer informed him, but a mouthwash. The Helper lifted the hand that held the cup and removed the lid, so he could spit the mouthwash into it. Then he took the cups away, and the very kind Helper hooked their hands back onto their handles, and a little flap was put in place to keep them from sliding off.

  Warmth filled him at that – a gentle electricity, like when his mouth was around his mask, buzzed through his hands, and indeed, his whole body. It felt … wonderful! And DEN003 felt incredibly safer with his hand back where it belonged, as well.

  Why did he feel safe when he was trapped?

  “Before our masks are put back on for us, I need to teach you how to drive your pod. As you know, I won’t be able to speak once mine is on. I can’t wait until my Helper does that for me. But first, I must teach you. Do you have any questions?”

  DEN003 tried to think of a question. But he knew that all was well. He gave his head a shake, and found the strange thoughts began to clear. No, he wasn’t grateful. Nothing was well at all. Not any of it! Where was he?

  “My name is Denzin,” he started. “What’s yours?”

  “Dee Ee Pee Three Two Eight Five, of course,” she replied. “And your name is Dee Ee En Zero Zero Three, just like it says on the front of your pod, silly.” She laughed gently.

  There painted on the front of his pod was DEN003.

  His name! His pod bore his name! He loved his name! Pride welled up inside him at that.

  Another question made its way to his lips.

  “Where are we?”

  “We are Home. Isn’t it great to be Home?” Her voice gushed with joy. “We have our Beds to sleep on, and Helpers to provide for us. They help us to serve the City and our Pandrakon. Where would we be without their help? We are so incredibly grateful for them.”

  That smile went all the way to her eyes, sure enough. And was that a tear running down her cheek? What was this yassing place?

  “How long have you been here?” Denzin asked her. There was no point arguing. He needed information.

  “I don’t remember, really. I hardly remember a time when I wasn’t here. I am so glad my family allowed me to come.” Her eyes took on a wistful look, her smile agreeing.

  This whole crazy place was brainwashed!

  ‘Yes, it is,’ the Voice replied. ‘Good observation. Keep paying attention.’

  Denzin startled when he heard the Voice.

  ‘You really are here, then. Right here with me through this?’

  ‘You’ll find I keep my promises, my Child.’

  His grip on his handlebars eased. It was the first time he’d really felt even a snippet of that “peace” they kept trying to convince him he was supposed to have.