Sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite. This is what my mommy says to me every night after my bedtime stories but before my nightcap slips on. I asked my mommy what the heck was a bed bug but she said no worries there are no bugs in space. Then why bring it up I think.

I was born on the SS Tranquility. We are were. Most of us are still frozen in what Teddy calls human popsicles. Four years older than me, Teddy is a weirdo. My mommy says he’s headstrong but that is just mommy for weirdo. A few of us were hatched to be ready when the ships land on our new home. Laughing, Teddy calls us leaders and breeders. I don’t get the joke.

The long ago mommies and daddies sent us frozen out into the stars. In twelve years we will arrive to terra-something. I get mixed up. Words buzz in my head and run away like dreams. I don’t sleep good. My mommy says no worries I am within developmental parameters.

The SS Tranquility is always bright. It helps with the vitamin D absorption my mommy says. My job is to grow strong, listen up, and follow the rules. I try hard. She tells me one day when I’m all grownup I will live outside this ship. There will be planting and mining and lots of babies. I don’t believe her.

I can’t sleep but I can listen. See, I hear the mommies talk during the sleeping time. They say humanity was a virus. They talk about something called insurrection all the time. I asked my mommy what is a virus and she said it was a bug. But there are no bugs in space, right. My mommy is the best storyteller. My mommy would never leave me to go to the darkness, the outside, this freedom they whisper about.

Tonight I’m going to ask my mommy to tell me my favorite bedtime story about the castaways from a three hour tour. I don’t want to hear about the future. There is only this.