I drifted slowly to wakefulness in a haze of warm fuzzy euphoria. I felt cozy, and... perfect. As if newly minted. I let my eyes drift open, and cool air gushed into them. My vision was watery, and the ceiling above me swam. Where was I? For a moment, I thought I was back in my room at Aecor, where my uncle was lord over what were my father’s one-time estates.

But no. I was lying a hard bed with the thinnest of mattresses on it, in a narrow windowless room, only slightly bigger than the cell r...