The Sleep Device

The Sleep Device

A Real Head Ache

I had been playing around with an electronic device that I hoped
would stimulate colors in the visual center of the brain. Unlike the
device I had read about this one was intended to not require wires. I
carefully began tuning the two frequencies involved and began to notice
an minor irritating sensation somewhat between a buzz in my head and the
feeling in my ears when changing altitude. Thinking I might be on to
something I kept tuning trying to increase the “buzz”.

The next thing I knew everything was dark and forehead hurt. Looking
over at the lighted numbers on the clock radio showed it was 2AM. It had
only been around 6:30 PM when I had started tuning. Somehow I had
fallen asleep and my head hurt from resting on the hard desk. The buzz
I had felt before was barely detectable and I noticed that the LED on
my device was giving a faint glow barely visible even in the darkened
room. I pulled the nearly dead battery from the device, it had not been
a fresh one anyway, and both the faint buzz and the faint glow of the LED
were gone.

As I sat there I wondered how I could have fallen asleep at the desk
in the middle of working on the device. I had not remembered feeling
sleepy or of forcing myself to try and stay awake. The house was quiet
and I assumed that my parents had noticed that my room was dark and
thought I had gone to bed. Remembering how late it was I considered
going to bed but I wasn’t tired and considering how long I had slept
that wasn’t surprising.

Finally I switched on the desk lamp. Tossing the battery in the trash I
reached for a fresh one to continue my tinkering. I was on the verge of
plugging it in when it hit me that possibly the device had been
responsible for putting me to sleep. Then I was in a panic wondering if
it had somehow damaged my brain. I calmed down pretty quickly though as
I considered that I felt OK other than where my head had rested on the
desk. I instead started thinking of how I could verify that the device
had put me to sleep without sleeping through next thursday.

Being careful to not make much noise I scrounged into my junk box and
found a spring wound timer I had salvaged from an old microwave oven.
Snip with a wire here and twist with a few wires there and I had
inserted the timer between the battery and my device. A few tests
showed the the timer could be set for 10 seconds and would then open the
circuit.

Remembering my sore forehead I rested my head on the desk, got comfortable,
set the timer, and then connected the battery. Next thing I knew I was
opening my eyes and the timer was at zero. I reset the timer to 30 seconds
next time, noted the time on the clock, and tried again.

Again the timer was at zero but my clock showed 7 minutes, rather than 30
seconds had passed. It must have taken some time for me to wake up after
the device switched off.

I sat back in my chair and considered what I had learned so far. I was
definitely on to something! No where was there described any device that
could put a person to sleep like I was seeing. The closest thing I had
heard about was the “Russian sleep” device but that required wires to
the person’s temples. Visions of fame and fortune from my invention
danced through my head.

Got to be scientific about this I thought. I knew that the device could
put a person to sleep for 10 seconds or several hours. What was the
range? I fancied with the idea that I might be putting the whole
neighborhood to sleep every time I turned on the device but considered
how unlikely that was given the small battery I was using to power it.

Testing the device was going to be difficult if every time I tried an
experiment I fell asleep. I needed to somehow isolate myself from the
device and try it out on an animal of some kind. The device was
electronic so some kind of electrical shield should work. Images of a
test chamber, lab rats, and control panels flashed through my mind but
I soon realized I didn’t have the resources to set something like that
up. Perhaps all I really needed was to shield my brain.

My motorbike helmet was on the shelf by the door. Perhaps I could line
it with something to shield me from the device in addition to its normal
function of protecting my brain from the asphalt. I was about the head
off to the kitchen to search for aluminium foil when I considered how I
would explain being up and dressed to my parents.

On further thought I would also need to protect my face. Covering my
face with foil might protect me but not being able to see would only be
slightly better than being asleep. How about wire screen? Radio
stations used wire screen in the walls to block out unwanted signals.
I would drop by the hardware store after school tomorrow and pick up
some copper wire screen.

As for a test subject the neighbors behind us had a dog in their yard.
They were typically gone most of the day and would not notice if fido
(actually they called him Horace) took a nap or two.

With my test plans beginning to form I began working to repackage my
device from the bread board construction I had been using into a more
portable box. The timer went into the new box.

By the time I finished it was “time to get up”. I heard my mother
getting up and going downstairs to start breakfast. I showered, got
dressed, and went down to join her. She thought it was a little unusual
that I was up so early but soon put me to work helping her set the
table.

Later it was off to school on my motor bike. You might think it is a
little unusual for a 15 year old to have a motor bike but we live in a
fairly rural area and school was 7 miles away. Also this was no speed
machine that I could use to impress girls and get into an accident with.
At full throttle I have had bicycles pass me. But still it got me to
school with having to peddle myself to death.

School passed in the usual slow boring way that school does and
eventually that bell we were all waiting for rang and the stampede to
exit started. As I was putting on my helmet I remembered that I needed
to get the copper screen at the hardware store. I gazed across the lawn
of the school and noted that it was one of those wonderful spring days
that are wasted being inside a class room. One of the girls was laying
on the lawn, soaking in the sun and my teenage eyes locked onto her and
ignored the sun, the flowers, the birds, and everything else.

She was blond. She was stacked. Her tight blouse and short skirt
displayed her figure and long legs. I should have just gone up and
introduced myself. Sure, I would be tongue tied and she would tell me
to get lost. Instead I stood there fantasizing what it would be like to
reach out and touch that marvelous bod.

Of course I knew that such action would get me a slap and more trouble
when she reported me to the school, her parents, my parents, the police,
the FBI, CIA, and her big boy friend. Maybe after I perfected my device
and made a million dollars … I drew a sudden intake of breath as I
realized that if my sleep device were on then I actually could touch her
and not only would she not stop me she would never even know I had done
it.

It might actually work but was I the kind of person to take that kind of
advantage of someone? As I sat there thinking of reasons why it was
wrong a red pickup truck pulled up to the curb and honked its horn. The
object of my attention stood up, collected her books, and jogged over to
the truck.

As my eyes followed the bounce of her hair, the bounce of her breasts,
and the firmness of her butt my objections seemed to fade away. I
decided that if I wasn’t that kind of person then perhaps I should be.

I went straight to the hardware store and they had exactly what I
needed. I only bought a yard and the guy selling it didn’t seem curious
as to what I would use it for. I got more batteries too. Straight home
and I began modifying my helmet. I had a purpose in life and it wasn’t
being famous. Maybe later but for now I had a more immediate reason to
get the device perfected.

With snips and a piece of wire to sew the edges together I lined the
inside of my helmet with the screen. A second piece fitted inside the
visor. The visor was tinted and from the outside the screen was not
noticeable. With the helmet on I could easily see through the screen and
visor.

Now for the crucial test. With helmet on my head I set the timer for 10
seconds, lay down on the bed in case it didn’t work, and flipped the on
switch. I felt a faint “buzz” like I had felt previously but I wasn’t
unconscious. I watched the timer count down to zero, ding, and the
power LED wink off. I set it for thirty seconds and began to wiggle the
helmet this way and that and move the device in different directions.
The “buzz” kind of faded in and out but never got strong and I never felt
sleepy.

But maybe the device was not working! I hadn’t tested it after
repackaging it into a box. With helmet off I set the timer for 10
seconds and flipped the switch on. I awoke to the sound of my dad
knocking on my door and announcing that it was time for dinner. I felt
fine. In fact I felt more rested than I had before my nap. Maybe this
could replace sleeping pills.

I went down to eat and my folks asked a few questions about this and
that but mostly they talked to each other. Don’t get me wrong. They
are good parents and all that. It is just difficult to relate. Here I
am a horny teenage boy and my mother is all straight laced and
saying how bad it is for teenagers to have sex and that 99% of sex is
bad and generally expressing a whole world view at odds with by hormones.
My dad must have been a horny teenager at some point but now he seemed
to accept my mothers views and be more concerned with work and family.

As we ate they talked and my thoughts were divided between planning the
next tests and fantasies about what I could do with the device. The
girl from school featured in those fantasies which was only fair
considering that I came up with the whole idea staring at her.

The key was to test the range.