The guards

Anna heard them over to her right. No birds flew over her head, but she knew their chatter. They were the king's guards. They made sure that none of the citizens got out of hand. The pretty birds that everybody had originally trusted had hidden recording devices on them. The sound recording was constant, but the visual, only worked when their wings were spread open.

She wouldn't do anything wrong, and no she did not hate the birds, but what kind of ruler would spy on his own citizens? She had finished her chores early, so she could enjoy today's good weather. She ran through the lush green fields laughing and taking pictures with her device. She kept expecting to hear the birds flying over her, but they remained in the nearby forest. Maybe they were taking a day off as well, and basking in the weather.

The weather had been forecast a week in advance. Anna had worked late every night to increase her production. Tomorrow was market day, and every market day had good weather. The scientists made sure of that. They knew good weather was needed on market day to enhance the economy.

Today the king was throwing a birthday party for his only daughter, so the whole town was getting a day of good weather. There would be no cold winds, or rainfalls today. The majority of the town was not invited to the party. It was an additional day of work for most of the merchants.

Anna lay in the field. She felt the strong rays of the mechanical sun. She loved laying in the soft fluffy field and feeling the warmth. This morning she had already used the tan button on her mirror. All she had to do was stand in front of the mirror, for ten minutes. After she had pressed the button. No fancy glasses like the machines from the past. These rays did not harm the eyes. There was no longer a need for blush. As far as Anna was concerned, the only makeup that was needed was a lip gloss and a fragrant spray

All of a sudden her joy was startled. She wondered if a bird had peed on her, but no birds were flying over her. The sky still looked like a typical sunny day, but she felt several more drops of water. The rain had not been forecast. She was 21 years old and this had never happened. And then all of a sudden she felt a cool breeze. She ran back to the village. No rain, no cold wind.

Some of the merchants were open, and the king's guests were buying gifts for the princess's party. She ran back to her father's store. He had several customers. He seemed surprised to see her but welcomed her help. And then all of a sudden the streets were empty. The guests had all gone to the party.

She smiled, wondering about the party. There were no wet marks on the road, none of the quests or their vehicles had shown signs of rain. She looked up at the sky above the party. No signs of rain. But she could see the macaws flying through the sky. Not one or two packs of two, but the whole sky was full of them. They swooped over her head, They were filming the whole town and the lands around it, Anna looked at her father. With the birds recording, she knew not to say anything. They both knew something was wrong. They closed the store. If the guests hadn't arrived it wouldn't have even been open. "Let's go to the bathroom," she said. It was a public heatted pool. It has hot rocks in the coolish water, She quickly got changed. Once changed she saw that her father was not going to join her.

Anna slipped into the cool water and lay on the warm rock. The rays of the mechanical sun warmed her. This was peace. Until all of a sudden. she was covered with a wave of water. She jumped up. Standing there trying to look innocent was John. His father must have given him the day off. Anna did not feel like flirting with John so she pretended that she didn't realize it had been him. She said hi and returned to her warm rock. Sleep followed comfort. All of a sudden she felt little drops of water on her back. She jumped up now angry. But John was not there. She stared in disbelief. It was raining. Soon the ice-green transparent roof would close. It was automatic. But the roof did not close. The sun still blared, but the cool air was blowing. It felt like a storm. She looked for a way to m/anually close the roof. She knew there was a computerized program. She wondered if it had been tampered with. She had learned a little bit in school but she was not a hacker. She did not know how to control the weather but she should be able to close a roof. She went to the building control room. She read over the controls and was about to press a close lever when someone grabbed her hand. There stood one of the town's soldiers. They usually didn't show themselves. He was definitely a stranger to her. He should have been at the party.

"Has it stopped raining?" she asked. I was just going to close the roof," "First I have to figure out why it didn't close. He answered "and yes it is still raining and the roof is still open". "I would think you'd be at the party" "Oh it is raining there too and the cover would not close. The princess's birthday party is ruined. " Anna didn't say anything. Her day had been ruined as well. Nature was taking charge of their electronically controlled environment. But this young soldier felt that he could with a computer, control nature.

The macaws were going crazy, but most of the citizens appeared not to notice. Anna wondered what was wrong with them. It was pouring rain. That was not what was expected. The people in charge were supposed to provide a sunny day. She had arranged her whole week around it. But maybe men can not control nature. Anna kept expecting the soldier and his computer to stop the rain.

But it rained for three days and then it got ice cold. The water froze. Her father's store did not open. And then when it finally did warm up. The soldiers walked around the town. They went from house to house. They checked all the town's computers. Anna looked for the soldier she had seen in the bathhouse. She wanted to know what was going on. She wandered down to the bathhouse. The roof was still open. The room was covered with slushy ice. She stared in confusion. He must not have figured out why it didn't close. They thought that someone in the town had hacked it.

She was starting to think that maybe nature was fighting back against men. But she found that she was getting mad at nature.