The Morning Question

Marker Buck stood at the window of his apartment on the fifteenth floor of Marker Tower, watching the morning sun paint Line Forest City in golden stripes. The geometric buildings stretched out below him like a giant ruler, each street perfectly straight and orderly.

"Same old lines everywhere," he muttered, adjusting his blue mask in the reflection.

His roommate Sketch, a human artist with paint-stained fingers, looked up from her breakfast cereal. "You sound grumpy today, Buck."

"Not grumpy. Just wondering." Buck turned away from the window and sat down at their small kitchen table. "Why do markers only draw straight lines?"

Sketch nearly choked on her cereal. "What kind of question is that? Markers can draw curves, circles, squiggles—anything you want."

"But here in Line Forest City, they don't. Look around." Buck gestured toward the window. "Every building, every street, every design. All straight lines. It's like someone decided that's all markers should do."

"Maybe you should ask someone at Marker Corp," Sketch suggested.

The Forty-Second Floor Question

Buck grabbed his helmet from the counter and headed for the door. "You know what? I'm going to Marker Corp right now."

"Wait!" Sketch called after him. "Don't you want to finish breakfast?"

"Questions don't wait for cereal," Buck said, pulling on his black gloves.

Twenty minutes later, Buck stood outside the gleaming Marker Corp headquarters. The building looked like three giant markers stacked on top of each other, each one a different color. A security guard, a humanoid otter wearing a crisp blue uniform, sat behind a curved desk in the lobby.

"I need to speak with someone about marker limitations," Buck announced.

The otter's whiskers twitched. "Marker limitations? That's... unusual. Most visitors want to know about our new products." He tapped his computer screen. "I can get you fifteen minutes with Dr. Ink on the forty-second floor."

Buck rode the elevator up, watching the city shrink below. Line Forest City really did look like someone had drawn it with a ruler.

Dr. Ink turned out to be a tall human woman with silver hair and thick glasses. "Marker limitations?" she repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Young deer, that's the strangest question anyone's asked me in thirty years."