Kaa Lin

**Kaa Lin** (kɔ lɪn), also called the Clockwork City, is the largest city and capitol of Arsink. The majority of Arsinki people live in Kaa Lin, as it is hospitable compared to the harsh desert environment of the rest of the land.

The Arsinian government controls both water and electricity in Kaa Lin. Water is supplied by the nearby Great Lake. The city is composed of factories and facilities; the primary exports are refined and manufactured metal components, especially for machinery such as trains.

### Daily Life

Working class life in Kaa Lin is divided into two shifts. The first shift takes place in the early morning and ends at noon, when the sun is at its peak and the heat becomes dangerous. The majority of Arsinki people take lunch and sleep until sunset, when the second shift begins, which ends at midnight when the nighttime cold is an issue. Arsinki people generally take 4 meals in a day - breakfast (before the first shift), lunch (after the first shift), dinner (before the second shift), and nightmeal (after the second shift).

Kaa Lin provides residents with small apartments and all meals. Residents must be reported as employed by a company or factory in order to receive these benefits. Criminal acts often put one at risk of losing one's job, which in turn endangers one's housing, water, and food supply. Kaa Lin apartments are small, with a bedroom, bathroom, dining/sitting area, and a small food preparation area. Because meals are delivered in controlled portions, large kitchens are not required; instead, apartments come equipped with a multi-use electric cooking unit built into the wall, which has a small toaster oven/baking drawer, single round flat-top griddle, and hot water kettle. There is generally not refrigerated storage in Kaa Lin apartments. Meal boxes are delivered every day during the coldest part of the night between 1am and 4am to preserve their contents, and include instructions for preparation that utilize the simple electric cooking tools of a standard apartment.

Breakfast, early in the day when it is still cool outside but rapidly heating up, is generally some kind of hot cereal such as muesli or oatmeal with fruit. Lunch, taken around 1pm at the hottest point of the day and at the end of the first working shift, typically consists of thin-sliced meat cuts, salads, or vegetable salsa; dairy, breads, and heavy foods are avoided during this meal. Dinner, also called "night breakfast" or "nightbreak", is eaten before the start of the second work shift at sundown, and is meant to prepare the body for the rapidly-cooling night air and provide a burst of energy, and often includes caffeinated coffee or chocolate. Nightmeal is the final meal of the day, taken at midnight after the end of the second work shift. This is often the heaviest, warmest meal of the day, meant to induce sleepiness and stave off the cold of deep night and early morning. A common dish enjoyed for nightmeal is "smush", mashed potatoes with diced meat, corn, and sometimes other vegetables topped with warm buttery gravy.

Those who are not employed by a company or factory often become homeless "alley people". Alley people generally have no access to food, water, electricity, or shelter, and often must resort to petty thievery for survival. Alley people caught in any criminal acts are typically ejected from the city and left to fend for themselves in the surrounding desert. There are some good Samaritan organizations in Kaa Lin that exist to temporarily house and feed alley people until they can acquire a new job.