A cartographer surveys Tedious and takes note of all the features of its terrain: waterfalls, walking trails, bridges, train tracks, farms, fields, and river beds. Villages lie nestled in the woods beside lakes. Cities ring the ocean. Tedians document the growth of their cities and the size of their harvests meticulously.
It takes forever to get from one place to another. The trains run unscheduled. Tedians ride the slow river ferry. It often seems faster to walk the steep rocky roads. Some take rowboats across the lake. No one travels by air.
Visitors to Tedious wait with their paperwork. Then they wait on the platform for the train to the Tedious Cities by the Sea. When they arrive, the hotel remains closed until 4 pm. Nothing else is open either.
Tsunami warnings shriek in Worried, a Tedious City by the Sea. Red signs dot the seashore every 100 feet. Visitors practice life drills. False alarms sounds. People go around in lifejackets having forgotten to take them off. Worridians stand ready for the day a giant monster rises from the ocean and tramples the city. They’ve read all the fliers and listened to the lectures. They know where to run.
“Yet, more can be done. Have they considered what else could arise from the depths?” says a Worridian.
“I got tired of all of the drills. The alarms sounded early and late. The life jacket was uncomfortable,” says Miss Doe Friend. “I wanted to leave earlier, but became afraid of what would happen if we left.”
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