COSMIC AEONS

"Don't blink. Don't even blink. Blink and you're dead. They are fast. Faster than you can believe. Don't turn your back. Don't look away. And most of all, don't blink. Good Luck."  Tick, tick, tick, tick... The year is 2007, the month is June and the day is Saturday 9th. The blinds are closed and I'm sitting in front of the television, quietly beside my Mum, who is sipping from a mug of tea, my Dad is entering the room with another mug, however, it's filled with coffee and not tea, my Dad doesn't drink tea, or at least he didn't back then, not as far as I can remember. It's starting to get dark, the sun is setting and my Dad, before he takes a seat in front of the television, switches on the small lamp in the corner of the room - it clicks on and fills the room with a soft yellowy glow, my Dad takes his seat just as the BBC continuity announcer finishes up. Then it begins, the light from the television gets darker as it transitions ...

Sleep is great, isn't it? I mean it, have you heard of it? It's absolutely wonderful, it does incredible things to my mind and body as a whole - I've never felt so alive! Which is a first, or at least for this week it is. I'll be honest, I haven't had that much of it at all in recent days. I could tell you the truth and say that it's because I've been very busy, that the life of a university student is a heavy burden to bear and that the weight of it has stressed me out - or I could tell a funny lie and say that all I've been doing is backing up the "Sleep Tank" so I can use it up when it actually matters - like skipping forward in time a few hours. Because sleep is a time machine (the wonders of sleep knows no bounds), it helps you enter the realm of the unconscious for a period of time, having adventures, getting into scrapes, battling monsters or having a nice time with a celebrity of your choice. Then when you emerge again, not only are you...