Sleep Dial

The sleep dial is invented. It allows people to control when and how long they sleep. Soon after, accessories are invented for it so that people can enjoy lucid dreams while they sleep. The way that it works is something like this.

People need to sleep because there are chemicals that build up in the brain and to extent so that the brain can recycle materials, which is why many of the things we forget are forgotten. The dial processes chemicals synthetically that our body cannot processes organically. It is powered by the natural electric currents in the human body.

A permanent implant must be made on a person’s temple in order for the dial to function. The dial can then be used like a key to set a length of time for an individual to sleep or to set a sleeping schedule.

The first generation of sleep dials had one defect. They worked too well. There were no safeguards built into them to give people mental control over when they slept or woke up. The second generation is far more integrated into the natural processes of the human mind. If something is perceived as unusual by a person while asleep they will wake up, and if a person changes their mind about dosing, they will not fall asleep. Levels of vigilance and drowsiness can be set manually.

Since the dial’s invention, the working day as we once knew has changed completely. No longer are people slaves to sleep. They can work any hours of the day without having to factor in a chunk of time for sleep. Play perhaps, but not sleep. People are free to buy and sell things at all hours, to work or play at all hours. 

There is an unexpected side affect from the dial. Lifespan. As it turns out, people don’t age as quickly while asleep as they do while they’re awake. 

One man is living proof.

Harley Bentley finds a safe and cozy place to sleep and sets his dial for fifty years and only wakes up every few weeks to dispose of bodily and waste and occasionally to snack. When he wakes up he continues his life normally, having aged only a small percentage of what he would have aged in while awake. His savings have increased exponentially and there are faster smarter technologies for him to spend them on. Harley Bentley is a happy man. Many others will follow his example. Some will not, for they would rather spend more of their lives awake than live more while asleep.