They Said It Was Going Better

In the dark of the pod, Bondar stewed, helped in no small measure by the rising temperature.

_Hadn't the trial gone better? They showed me the vids. There were crowds of supporters, rallying to my cause. Weren't there?_

The accelerator thrummed to life. A small indicator light crept from red to amber to yellow and on to three shades of green. Bondar barely registered the greens as the thrust contorted his body and mind.

_Ohhhh god, this isn't right. None of it's right. They said it was going well, Krimner and Jakes. They said I'd be a hero, a Che for the Fusion Age. They said...they said..._

A wave of nausea interrupted his thoughts as the acceleration ceased. For a moment he felt peaceful, at one with the universe, as his innards floated weightless within his restrained body. The hyperspace jump was coming and with it the oblivion of unconsciousness.

_They said it was going better. They wouldn't have lied. Would they? But all those people in the vids, all my fans. Could it all be a lie?_