Part 1

At exactly 5:06 in the morning, the alarm clock woke up. The ordinary black box broadcast a conversation on the radio, they went on about a decline of stock prices and the effects on the economy. It was not boring enough to ignore for too long. The conversation did not last one full minute, and the alarm clock went back to sleep.

Ruth Norris was up, drank a glass of water, sat down to meditate, did ten push-ups, read in a book, wrote in her journal. All before heading to her kitchen for a well deserved breakfast.