Clockwork Catastrophe

Chapter 1

"Can I leave yet?" Katrina whined impatiently to the nurse, who just finished tending to her scrapes and scratches.

The nurse smiled. "Your wounds shall be gone within a few days. Now, you will be provided with the nutrients required for the rest of your daily intake, then you will be permitted to leave."

Katrina nodded as the nurse left to retrieve her meal. Her thoughts wandered to what the rest of the day should be like.

I can't wait to see Mallory and Luke, she thought. We didn't get to finish our bike ride since I fell!

She knew she should have checked the wobbly tires before they left, she knew it. If she had, she would have realized that the tires were not properly secured, and then she wouldn't have fallen and skinned her knees and elbows when they popped off. Ah, well. Better be more careful from now on.

Katrina immediately grew bored and restless. She never liked to be left alone with her thoughts; no one did. Everyone constantly required distractions so that they can ignore their empty, dull minds. Not that they were aware of the fact.

After several long, dull minutes, the nurse returned with a tray of food and silently left.

Katrina automatically dug her spoon into the lifeless lump of nutrients. It had a neutral taste. It always had a neutral taste. Katrina did not know the concept of delicious food.

However, Katrina strangely did not feel like making any effort to eat her lump of nutrients. She had no particular conviction to munch on the tasteless mush. She's had this feeling before, but this time her parents were not present to enforce the routine intake. Thus, the tray ended up in the trash. No dinner for her today.

Katrina lived in the city of Mercy on the planet known as Khazo. As far as she concerned herself, Mercy is where she has lived her whole life. She knows things were different before her birth, over 17 years ago, but she didn't know why or how, nor did she care.

The entire city's thought patterns and wants and needs could be reflected by that of Katrina, with slight variations. Everyone goes about their daily lives in a highly structured fashion, dictated by the System. The System predetermined much of every day, but the latter part allowed more freedom. This is when Katrina and her friends usually go bike riding. Sometimes she goes swimming. It's a perfectly nice and quiet life, really. She had nice parents, a cute baby brother. She never had any reason to complain.

Katrina strolled through the blocky and well organized city. She felt glad to finally leave the hospital, though she was satisfied with how quickly and efficiently they tended to her wounds. She pushed her thoughts forward to the meetup with her friends. They'll be happy that she's OK.

The Leisure Center came into view after several minutes. This is where the children enjoyed (mainly athletic) activities with the other children. Every section of the city contained one, along with multiple rows of houses, a street containing assorted buildings that provide those houses with their needs (hygienic, clothes, appliances, etc.), and the rule that you can't leave your section of the city. Ever.

Katrina brightened when she caught sight of her two friends in the central space, in front of the fountain. They appeared to be arguing.

"-not that hard to dribble a ball!" she heard Mallory say to Luke when she approached them.

"Obviously, it is for me!" Luke retorted, his face bright red.

They noticed Katrina approach, and they greeted her, argument quickly dropped.

"I'm sorry you fell off your bike," Mallory said, her pale and freckly face blank. "Are you OK?"

Katrina smiled. "Yes, and I am ready to finish our bike ride, if you like."

"Yes, let's do that," Luke replied hurriedly, relieved to get the attention off him. Dribbling a basketball had not gone well for him, despite Mallory's constant guidance.

As Mallory and Luke left to retrieve their bikes, Katrina first stopped to give the fountain a long glance. The fountain flashed and glowed in many bright colors because of the LED lights installed on it behind the water. It boasted of a large size, twice the height of Katrina, and as big around as an entire room in a house. It had three layers, the bottom being the largest, and then decreasing in size the further up the layers were. It presently overcame Katrina in a bubble of delight, even though she saw the fountain every single day.

"Are you coming?" Mallory called, shaking Katrina out of her daze.

"Yeah, sorry!" Katrina said, and jogged to catch up, fountain quickly left behind.

I wish the city didn't look so boring, Katrina aimlessly thought.

She blinked in surprise. She'd never considered the city boring before. She decided to consult her friends about it.

"Hey," she called. "Do you ever wonder why all of the city looks the same? It feels boring to look at."

Mallory and Luke glanced back to give her a puzzled look. They seemed to have no idea what Katrina was trying to say.

"I mean," she added, "it's the same over and over again. It's not pretty like the fountain. Don't you ever wish for anything different?"

"Different?" Mallory repeated. "What could possibly be different? I think there's nothing wrong with Mercy."

"And what do you mean by the fountain?" Luke added. "Why would the city be like the fountain? They're two completely different things. You're not making sense."

Katrina decided to drop it. They would never understand.

She sighed, and they continued to cycle around the city.