Zachary429 wakes up every morning at exactly 08:42:00. That gives him precisely three minutes to get dressed and be seated in time for the 08:45:00 meal. Plenty of time.

Habitually, he punches the code that opens his wardrobe, searches for the correct day and date, and presses the corresponding button that will activate the delivery chute. He can hear the soft hissing within the pneumatic tube, announcing the arrival of his garment. Seeing a flash of blue in the tube, he mumbles cynically, “Ah, yes. Blue again. Fantastic...” He opens up the hatch at the end of the tube and begins dressing.

08:43:30. Zachary429, now dressed in a soft blue Kamrobe (“the most comfortable and practical garment known to man,” according to the latest advertisement), slumbers over to his hygiene station. He steps inside and closes the door behind him, and places his hands inside the small round openings marked RIGHT and LEFT, respectively. At the same time, he carefully inserts his head into the hole designed exclusively for his skull and facial features, making sure to avoid getting the collar flap of his Kamrobe stuck inside the rubber seal. (He has done that twice already this year, both times having to return the wet garment to its place in the wardrobe, request and don a fresh one, and subsequently miss the morning meal. The Department of Human Efficiency is not currently happy with Zachary429.) As the vacuum causes the rubber seal to tighten around his neck, the cleaning process begins.

His hands are doused with an antiseptic liquid that dries instantly. They are then sprayed with a stato-magnetic discharge repellent that will keep his hands free from airborne particles for the next 24 hours. His eyelids are carefully spread apart with mechanized rubber tongs and washed and rinsed with saline. A laser optic scanner then reads the surface of Zachary429’s cornea, reading for scratches and/or foreign debris. This same scanner then takes a topographical map of his retina, gauging and measuring his vision. Should Zachary429’s vision be less than perfect, he will be immediately referred to the Department of Optical Efficiency to correct the problem or issue new organs, whichever is deemed more appropriate. While his hair is being treated with a moisturizing, follicle-massaging anti-biotic cleanser, his teeth are cleaned and X-rayed. After being prompted to close his mouth, his face is then washed with an astringent, antiseptic gel. Finally, a combination of ultraviolet rays and microwave heat dries his face, hair and neck, after which Zachary429 is alerted to the fact that he has been hygienically approved.

08:44:41. Zachary429 steps out of his hygiene station, turns, and sits down facing the meal delivery hatch. He is reaching for the READY button, but his finger hesitates, resting against the switch without pressing it. He looks again at the clock above the door. “19 seconds...18 seconds...PLENTY of time!”