Adrian awoke and quickly sat up in his cot, immediately aware that something wasn't right. He shivered in his white sleep shirt, and then stood up. As he did so he could feel the ship's motors humming steadily beneath his feet. The temperature in his sleep chamber, had dropped considerably since he'd gone to sleep, and he pursed his lips, becoming worried. "Is anything wrong Father?" he called out anxiously, his voice still husky from sleep.
He tilted his blond head to the side, and listened intently for any sound that might indicate that Father was displeased, but heard nothing.
Then the nearly nineteen year old whimpered slightly, as he heard the whispery light brush of the wheels of the punishment robot, as it neared his chamber door. "What did I do wrong?" he called out to Father, but there was no response. Only the whoosh of the door to his chamber lifting, broke the midnight silence, and he lifted the back of his sleep shirt dutifully, exposing his pale trembling buttocks, as he waited for the first crack of the paddle to land.
A few pain-filled moments later, he crawled back into his cot with a sob. He lay on his stomach and pulled the covers over himself. "I don't know what I did Father, but I'm sorry!" He called out, his voice thick with unshed tears. His teeth chattered as he tried to make himself comfortable enough to sleep once again. It was useless because the room was absolutely frigid now, and his mind was in turmoil as he tried to think of what he could've done to displease Father. Had he checked the control panel on the ship? Had he done his daily reading on ship maintenance and repair? He backtracked through his daily list of duties and couldn't think of anything he'd forgotten.
Shivering and miserable, he tried once more to talk to Father. "I'm so sorry for whatever I did. Please, please, Father! I'm cold." he begged through his chattering teeth. "I can't sleep. Please, I promise I'll fix the problem in the morning."
He was aware of the room becoming warmer and after a few more minutes his shivering stopped, and he smiled with gratitude. "Thank you father," he whispered, as his lids began to droop with exhaustion. "I love you."
The next morning he yawned and stretched, then rubbed at his sore behind before getting up and dressing. He knew he would have to check the entire ship this morning. It was imperative that he fix the problem that had caused Father to become displeased with him. He hurried into the main chamber and scanned the entire room, everything was in place and nothing was out of the ordinary, so he went directly to the main deck control room. He examined the control panel carefully, but could see no signs of malfunction.
He scratched his head as he tried to think of what could have caused his punishment last night.
He searched through the entire ship, and was about give up, when he walked by the food service area and was shocked to see that he had thoughtlessly left his dinner plate on the table the night before.
Grabbing up the offending dish, he pushed a button on his shirt to summon the cleaning robot. He turned when he heard a whir, and handed the plate over, and then a wave of remorse washed over him. "I'm so sorry, Father," he said quietly. "I won't ever do it again." There was no response, but on his morning plate of food, there was a cube of chocolate. He grinned with happiness as he shoved the sweet into his mouth and then thanked Father.
"So then I dreamed about a woman, and her hair was like starlight, and she embraced me," he told Father that evening as he sat on the floor and played a game of Solitaire. As he chatted, he imagined what it would feel like to be embraced by a woman, or by anyone for that matter. He felt lonely on this particular evening, and the sound of his own voice prattling on was somehow soothing to him. "She said I was handsome, and her arms felt like velvet, Father."
Adrian felt a strange longing inside which he didn't understand. He had never actually seen a woman before, had never been in contact with any other humans, for as long as he could remember. Sometimes he wished he had someone to talk to about all the strange things he dreamed about. Father was good at listening, but sometimes he needed advice.
He sighed and then put his arms around his knees, needing to feel some human contact. "Sometimes I wish..." he began wistfully and then stopped suddenly, as he heard the whispery sound of the punishment robot as it approached.
He stood up, confused and afraid. "What did I do wrong Father?" He asked as he lowered his pants, and turned around so the robot could administer punishment. Tears blurred his vision as he waited for whatever implement had been decided on to begin hurting his bared bottom.
He gritted his teeth and waited. The first blow, when it came, was not really painful. It felt like whatever smacked him was covered with some sort of pliable and soft material. A slight sting was all he felt as the repetitive smacks rang out in the chamber. He hadn't had such a soft spanking since he was very, very small. Adrian furrowed his brow, trying to understand, as the gently stinging rhythm continued. After a few minutes, he heard the robot leaving and he pulled up his pants.
He stood there for a few minutes, not moving, just trying to understand. "Thank you Father," he said finally, in a subdued voice, not thinking he was supposed to apologize for anything, for some reason.
His bottom was radiating a soothing warmth as he picked up his solotaire game and checked the ship, before heading to his sleep chamber.
Adrian changed into his sleep shirt and then crawled into his cot, still feeling confused. Once more tears filled his eyes, as he said goodnight to father. "Have a good night, Father," he whispered. "I love you."
He listened for a response, but heard only the quiet humming of the ships main engine.
He closed his eyes and slept.
Once again he dreamed of the pale-haired woman. She reached out her fingers and touched his chest, and he felt her long flowing hair on his shoulders, as she leaned into him. "You're more beautiful than any moon or star," he whispered in the dream.
Adrian awoke with a smile on his face, but soon realized something was wrong. The room was becoming frigid once again, and the lights of his sleep chamber came on and were turned up to the highest level, nearly blinding him.
When the ships main warning siren came on at full blast, he jumped off of his cot and covered his ears, as he made his way to his chamber door. He felt like screaming from sensory overload, as he dashed out of his room and onto the main deck to see what the problem was.
With a hand over an ear, he quickly checked the control panel with the other. There was nothing wrong as far as he could tell, and he reached for the alarm button to switch it off. A painfull zap went through his hands, and he cried out and stuck his fingers into his mouth to try to ease the pain. "What did I do this time!?" he cried out harshly. "I hate you Father!" He screamed hoarsely, his voice barely audible above the high pitched screetch of the siren. The light brightened and the siren got louder, causing pain to jolt through both his eyes and ears. He fell to his knees then, wishing he could just pass out.
Suddenly the siren stopped and the lights dimmed to a tolerable level.
A trickle of cold sweat dripped down his cheek as he waited, terrified. What had he done?? He had said he hated Father, and surely his punishment would be severe. "I'm so sorry," he moaned out, "I didn't mean it!"
The punishment robot entered the control deck and stood still, waiting.
Adrian knew he had to stand up and take his punishment, however severe it might be, but for the first time in his life, he wondered if perhaps he could overpower the robot. The thought flitted through his mind, and it shocked him that he had even considered it. And then another thought came to him. What if he could find Father and throw him out of the ships airlock? But he knew that was ridiculous. He'd never actually seen Father, not in all the years of his life. He didn't even know if Father was made of substance at all.
Remorse rushed through him as he thought of the block of chocolate on his plate that morning. How could he have had such evil thoughts when it was obvious how much Father cared for him? Tears burned the back of his eyes as he thought of how alone he would be without Father.
Adrian stood up shakily, turned his back on the robot, and pulled up the back of his sleep shirt. He closed his eyes as he heard the sound of movement behind him, and then gasped in pain, as something slender bit into his bare flesh. He gritted his teeth when the thin rod wrapped around his hip, and bit into it over and over again. The room was completely silent except for the slight swish of the rod before it made contact with his behind.
After the robot had silently left the room, Adrian lowered his shirt and walked back to his sleep chamber. His buttocks were swollen, and he moved slowly and carefully. The lights were dim, when he arrived, and he felt his way over to his cot, and lay on his stomach, feeling dazed.
The room was very warm now, so he guessed he was forgiven. As he lay in his cot, he tried to figure out why Father had become so angry to begin with. Was it the dream of the woman? But earlier he had spoken with Father about the dreams he had of the lady, and he had only been spanked softly. He puzzled over it for a long time, before finally falling into a restless sleep.
He was so stiff and sore the next morning, he could barely move, and when he hobbled to the bathroom, for his morning ablutions, he saw the tub was filled with steaming water. The cleaning robot stood there with a white bath sheet in its arm and tube of antiseptic in the other.
He pulled his sleep shirt over his head carefully, trying not to let it touch his bottom in the process, and then climbed into the tub, easing himself down into the soothing hot water.
The cleaning robot whirred over and stood near. The robot then began to hum a tune that he remembered from his childhood.
Adrian smiled as he remembered how he used to follow the cleaning robot around as it did its duties. Some of his best memories were of spending time with the robots, and as a small boy he would sit in the food preparation area and watch as the cooking robot prepared food, chattering to it the whole while. It didn't matter that he never got any response, it was fun all the same. And as he gazed at the cleaning robot, which patiently waited for him, he sighed with contentment. "Thanks Father," he said and then began to wash.
The antiseptic cream that the robot deftly applied, was very soothing, and Adrian went back to his chamber with a smile on his lips. As he dressed for the day, he felt hopeful. He had said he hated Father, and had been forgiven. He wished he could embrace father and tell him how grateful he was for that forgivesness, but he knew that would never happen.
While walking to the dining compartment, he told himself not to dream of the woman again. Obviously there was something very wrong with doing that, and even though he didn't know why it was wrong, he vowed not to upset Father again. He would just have to try to forget about her.
As he eased himself into a chair, he glanced down at his breakfast plate, and saw another cube of chocolate. "Thanks," he said as he unwrapped the foil and put the crumbly candy in his mouth. the lights blinked once, and he felt a small thrill of happiness at Father's loving communication.