Pod 43
Original illustration ©A. G. Moore
"Pod 43". The Regulator barked it out. My pod number, tattooed on my arm. The first part of my punishment.
"Top of the stairs. Into the corrider. Proceed until you arrive at your pod. Enter, shut the door."
I am young. I imagined once there might be an exception to the universal law that privacy is inviolable. So I looked at my neighbor's mail when it fell from his box. Was that a test, and did I fail? But when I told my sister, she didn't fail. She reported me immediately. What else could she do? I had ensnared her.
Charged not only with violation of privacy, but also with gossip, I was sentenced to three weeks in a training pod. No contact with anyone.
Now the pod loomed before me. Open the door. Close it.
Communicator on the ceiling swivels as I move about.
Reconnoiter:
Cot. Table. Chair. Books. Toilet. Sink. Shower.
"Nourishment, " the Communicator blares, "arrives through the red slot in the wall. Waste is deposited in the blue."
I'm hungry, but no food is visible.
"Acquaint yourself with the library. Your first book, to be read today: Curious, Never. There will be a quiz."
Sentences are not definite in Privacy Court. They can be extended if training isn't successful. I will study all night for that quiz.
I look at my tattoo. Never, ever will I be curious again.
This story was written for the #ZapFic contest sponsored by @felt.buzz. Character limit on the story was 240. I misread and wrote 240 words. Oh, dear. Well, it was fun. I'm sort of glad I misunderstood, or I might not have written the story.
Sorry, @felt.buzz 😌 I'm still grateful for the opportunity--to make a mistake, and create 🙂
The prompt was 'exception', and the picture was created (by me) with the help of Paint 3D and GIMP.
It's what matters - make mistakes and create! Happy it turned out that way.
Thank you! Yeah, I'm glad I misunderstood. Gave my vivid imagination a bit of exercise :)
And immediately the fury inflames in me and I would like to shout to this curious person: "Die! Better die, but don't read this book! Don't let it make you small and don't care about the quiz!" Covet against it. Resist. ... Oh, if only it were also a matter of life and death in daily life. Then the many lassitudes and the betrayal of principles would be less tormenting for us. At least that's the theory.
Well done! And your specially created picture is an eye-catcher.
Thank you for that kind assessment. You have a good point: if only the choice between right and wrong, good and bad were so clear every day, we might make better decisions. It's those gray areas, the blurred lines, that make life confusing.
I think you and I are a bit rebellious and probably would not survive long in the world of the incurious.
HaHa! Probably not.
I dare not to think about this too long, because as it is said "beware of the wishes you have, they might become true" :)
A great read indeed, hope you win the challenge next time
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Thank you! 240, that's hard :)
Love it. Change it into a freewrite and make a shorter version for zapfic
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Thank you! I never tried the free write...I 'sculpt' my pieces, even the little modest ones, like this. Can't help it. Impossible for me to write something and let it go. I tend to be a little compulsive, about everything :)
OMG! What a fantastic story @agmoore and very creative. Love it! You know what they say...curiosity killed the cat. : )
Thanks for stopping by! I was just thinking about you. Waiting for my VP to replenish so I can enjoy and upvote one of you wonderful nature posts. This will have to wait. I don't like to get below 80, because it takes so long to climb back up. My husband is playing cards so I will be up late tonight and have plenty of time to visit your post.
I liked writing this. Sometimes I smile to myself when strange fictions come into my head. That happened this time.
See you around the bend, on your blog :)
No votes needed but you reading and commenting always makes me happy. : )
The same thing happens to me when I do freewrites. After typing I will say to myself, "Woah! Where did that come from?!?!" LOL!
Great read. Very tight writing. 240 words, characters, jots and tittles ... any you look at it, this is good writing.
Thank you! I hope to come up with something for your contest.
It's still a great story! We all misread things sometime, it would be easy to make that mistake, since 240 CHARACTERS is quite a challenge to get a point across. Glad you wrote this one though, and your original picture is awesome. I can imagine the whole project took a bit of time.
You are so nice. Yes, it took time, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Your comment is the cherry on top. Thank you!! 🌹 🌹
Yes, it's a treat most of the time to find out someone read and enjoyed something you posted. It was my pleasure!