A staccato of raps on the hatch brought me back to the realm of consciousness, and I blanched as I caught a glimpse at the chronometer, which showed quite clearly that I'd overslept by a great deal. “Just a minute,” I called automatically as I shed my BDUs which, like the sheets on my rack, were soaked through with sweat. After drawing out a clean set, I ducked into the tiny refresher and luxuriated in the hot sanisteam as it cleansed my naked flesh. The night had passed in the blink of an eye, without any sense of having slept at all, and I found this profoundly disturbing. — — — — — — — — —