[00:00.00]
[00:00.10]6:42 again. Strange, he thought
[00:04.23]For as long as he can remember he had always woken up at 6: 42
[00:09.36]He never had his alarm set for the time or anywhere near it
[00:13.63]He wasn't trying to wake up
[00:16.85]6: 42 seemed to be observing him,and it never seemed to lose interest
[00:22.32]And in some strange way, it comforted him
[00:25.49]He flipped his lights on and squinted.
[00:28.28]It had been happening for over eight months
[00:31.33]No matter what pills he took or how late he went to bed
[00:34.89]His internal clock always prevailed
[00:37.52]He wasn't angry, wasn't tired, but he felt helpless
[00:41.46]
[00:41.77]His name was Oden.
[00:43.55]He lived on the sixth floor of an old apartment building with a balcony overlooking the city
[00:49.89]The view was nice, but the neglected projects took away from it all
[00:54.95]The city was odd, the sidewalks almost always deserted and the streets seemingly devoid of all noise
[01:03.01]And at night, the stereotypical neon signs and flashing lights were replaced with a quiet far away hum of the city's factories producing steel
[01:12.73]For as long as he can remember, graffiti covered almost every wall of every building
[01:18.30]And windows were cracked on floors up high
[01:21.56]Tommy often wondered why the city never bothered fixing it up
[01:26.22]Despite the eerie emptiness, the citizens seemed happy enough, always with a smile and a friendly greeting
[01:34.02]They would nod and say hello while passing Oden in the hallway, always appearing busy with something
[01:40.20]He picked himself up and walked from his bedroom to another room
[01:44.83]His small television was hanging on his dirty blue wall, and was turned off as usual
[01:51.70]There was an old grey couch that seemed small, awkwardly placed in the middle of the room
[01:57.18]It was dirty and faded. He felt he should replace it, but he hardly used it anyway
[02:03.87]He was never in the room
[02:05.79]He found it amusing that they called it a living room, because he hardly lived in it at all
[02:11.26]However, his most prized possession was in this room
[02:15.39]His rectangular crystal chamber was lying on the desk and he absolutely cherished it
[02:21.24]It was the only reason he entered his room
[02:24.23]It took him to a world of mirrors
[02:26.58]What was it like to see the world through the eyes of a glass cage, segregated from all the discomfort and awkwardness of life?
[02:34.86]He would have to know
[02:36.55]He needed an answer
[02:38.59]There was nothing as essential
[02:40.48]He thought for a moment and then sat down on his couch
[02:44.08]He glared into the black abyss of his television
[02:47.29]That was the only show he really liked anyhow
[02:50.65]He looked into the black abyss of his television
[02:53.84]That was the only show he really liked anyhow
[02:57.45]