At three o'clock in the afternoon, Theo arrived at the gates to the park. It was already crowded. Most of the city had arrived at their respective stations by three, and by three-fifteen the gates to this one would open.

It was voting day. Theo was voting Blue. The Blue party had crossed all their Ts and dotted their Is this week.

He was in a wonderful mood because the time chosen for voting this week meant a short work day for him. Usually the votes took place at six. The Authority often threw unexpected changes at the citizens, sometimes bringing about reserved grumblings behind closed doors. Theo wasn't about to grumble about this one. Not even in a whisper, alone in his basement.

Shortly after he arrived, the gates opened. A swarm of people--three, sometimes four wide on the walkway--made their way into the park. Well manicured lawn behind a colonnade of stately Elms flanked the path. After a brief, 5-minute walk, the main walkway would branch off into smaller paths which, in turn, led to the various color-coded voting stations throughout the park.

It was about half way to this divergence of the path that Theo noticed her in the shade of an Elm to the side of the walkway. She was a small woman, fragile in appearance. A dress of thin white material hugged the contours of her body and exposed her small, dainty shoulders. She was staring at the grass below her, a wan smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

At first he'd passed her by, paying her a glance and nothing more. But a woman, alone, and not doing much despite the hoards of people on their way to the voting stations, begged a second look. Besides, she was a looker. He dug his heels into the coarse texture of the walkway. Some of the crowd walked around him, some pressed against his back. Turning, he shouldered his way out of the mess of bodies and off of the walkway. He put on his most charming smile and walked toward the woman.

Her face was speckled with shards of sunlight spearing through the Elm, highlighting a scrape and a bruise on her cheek bone--a logical place to begin the conversation.

"You've been injured," Theo said, once close enough to allow it without garnering unwanted attention. The woman ignored him, occupied as she was by her study of a small insect.

"Excuse me, Ma'am," he said. If aware of his presence, she hadn't made it known.

He took a place standing next to her under the Elm and began watching the insect that gripped her attention so. It was not a smart thing to do, it being voting day, but his parents had a saying for him--before their unceremonious euthanasia--when faced with these simple conundrums. You'd better be good at sports, they'd say. Theo disagreed with that, but still, after inspecting his surroundings, he took the time to watch the bug. It was an ant, on its own, stumbling across the dirt and the blades of grass.

"Interesting creatures, aren't they?" he questioned, vying for her attention before the lawmen noticed. "Every one of them has a job to do. And they do it without being taught, without asking why."

"Not this one," she said. "This one's lame. Been running in circles for hours."

Upon a second look it became clear that, indeed, it was turning in one direction only.

"What's so interesting about it, then?"

"Maybe I like to watch it suffer," she said and shot him a quick, hard glance.

Theo's smile faded. The woman continued to watch the ant. She smiled at it all the while.

"If the ant is suffering, I would quite like to step on it. I'd be pained to end your amusement, of course, but it isn't right."

"No?"

"No."

She studied Theo for a moment, furrowed her brow. "Can I tell you a secret?"

Theo nodded guardedly.

"I don't think it is suffering at all. I think it is overjoyed. Had you been watching it as long as I have you may think, lame as it is, that it has been abandoned by its colony. I think it has escaped its colony and is now enjoying freedom."

"Interesting. But, apart from its colony, won't it eventually die?"

"I imagine it's already dying."

"So, really, you are just watching this ant suffer."

"If you'd like to think of it that way."

"It isn't right."

"I couldn't help myself. It broke apart from the group," she said, and flashed him a sly smile.

Theo looked toward the succession of people--avoiding eye contact with the approaching lawmen. "I see your point."

She flashed another smile.

"Then the question begs: Are you suffering?" he asked, looking at her injured cheek.

"That depends who you ask. They might think so," she said, nodding toward the crowd, "but you and I know better." A wink, and then she resumed her study of the dying ant.

Theo, after taking a quick glance toward the lawmen, followed her eyes. The ant was going in circles, yes. Its sketchy movement had a note of panic. Then again, that could as easily be attributed to glee as panic.

The crowd was silent except for a few stray voices here and there and the consistent, low rumble of the people's footfalls. From somewhere in the trees birds could be heard chirping, some of them singing. It was intimate, this moment Theo shared with the woman, but as the lawmen drew near, it became clear it had to end. Finally, Theo spoke: "It's voting day, you know."

The woman ignored him.

"I'm voting Blue,' he added. "They definitely have a leg up on Red this week."

"Blue is the same as Red is the same as Green is the same as Yellow. They're all the same," she said.

"They are not. Say that about Green and Yellow, if you want, but Red and Blue are full of great ideas. They're unique from each other and the others."

She didn't respond.

"Why have an election, then?" This was borderline noncompliance, and guards were approaching. Theo stared at her harshly. If she noticed, she didn't react to it.

"They are all the same," she said simply.

"I don't believe that for a second. In any case, if you don't vote, you'll--" he began, but stopped abruptly. He'd noticed the small, horseshoe shaped sore on her collarbone. "You've been killed," Theo said uneasily.

The woman shrugged.

"Why were you killed?"

"For having this conversation with a lawman."

"That's it?"

"Well, it got a little heated," she said, then gestured to her bruised cheek. "You should see the other guy," she added with a wink.

"You should contact your loved ones. Go and make your peace."

She shrugged.

"Go and make your peace while you can."

"I am," she said and pointed to the ant. "We're kindred spirits."

The lawmen drew near. One was tall, clearly a new recruit the way he followed the lead of the shorter, stalky one. The latter sported a Golden Star on the center of his chest. They had quickened their pace.

"I should go," Theo said.

"Yes, you should."

The lawmen arrived just then, brushing past Theo. It was too late to leave. He stood as straight as he could, waiting for them to dismiss him.

"I've killed you," the senior lawman said.

"Yes, I know," the woman replied.

"Go and make your peace."

"I am."

"You should not be here. I've already used the deferred. You know what comes next."

"I do." She smiled, nodded.

"Then I have no choice," the lawman said, and turned to his partner. "Ben, you've witnessed this?"

"Sure have," the other lawman said, a growing smirk showing beneath his visor.

"Okay." The lawman turned back toward the woman. "Under the General Compliance Act, section 4a, you are hereby condemned to death. As this is your second offense, you will receive an immediate death. If you still wish to contact your loved ones, you may take a moment to write their contact information and a brief message on this." He held out a small form.

"I've no messages," the woman said.

"You heard that, Ben?" he asked.

"Yessir," Ben replied.

"The arm is the least painful," the senior lawman told the woman.

She looked to Theo. "Do you like watching?" she asked, and lifted her arm slowly, daintily from her side. He looked away from her.

"If only you'd been this cooperative earlier," the senior lawman said with a snicker, "this might not have to be done."

The other lawman was no longer fully able to hold in his excitement: his figure tensed, his smile grew to obvious proportions.

The senior lawman aimed his weapon.

Theo's head was lowered, but his eyes strained to watch.

The weapon discharged silently and without recoil. A tiny red horseshoe appeared on the woman's bicep. Her eyelids fluttered and she collapsed.

Theo turned to the senior lawman. "I saw her cheek, thought she'd been injured. I didn't know--"

"Chip, please."

He extended his upturned wrist.

"Clean. But your family has a history of noncompliance."

"My parents were heretics. Deserved what they got."

The lawman looked Theo up and down, his visor hiding any expression beyond the frown of his mouth.

The other lawman, Ben, had removed a bottle from his belt and was sprinkling its contents giddily over the woman. Soon she would be gone, the better to avoid stressing onlookers. Theo, one of them, watched in amazement as the woman shriveled. He'd never seen it happen live before. The lawmen had moved him to another room when it happened to his parents.

The senior lawman followed Theo's eyes. "Incredible substance."

"It works so fast."

"It does. And we used to have to heave their entire weight onto a cart and bring them as far as the nearest disposal."

"Incredible," Theo said.

The woman shriveled further, now appearing vaguely like a grotesque fetus.

"Isn't it? Not many truly appreciate its usefulness. We'll escort you to a voting station. We're on our way there."

"The lawman's station?"

"Yes."

"Can we skip the line?"

The lawman chuckled. "What line?"

"You are two very lucky guys."

The other lawman had turned a small plastic baggie inside out and was using it like a glove to retrieve the small, tarry lump that was moments ago a woman. He picked it up, tied the top, wrote a series of numbers on it, and then placed it into a sack attached to the side of his belt.

"You've got the size," the senior lawman said.

"Pardon?"

"And you've shown interest in the substance. Ben, what do you think?"

Ben nodded.

"Would you like to join--"

"Absolutely," Theo interrupted.

"Good. I'll put in a recommendation. Ben, let's get going," he said. He placed an arm around Theo, ushering him onto the lawn beyond the Elms.

"Just like that? It's that easy?" Theo asked.

"It's either that easy or impossible. Invitation only."

"I really appreciate this."

The trio traversed the immaculate lawn. Birds sang happily from the trees around them. The sun projected a warm glow onto their backs.

"Red or Blue?" Theo asked the senior lawman.

"Green, actually."

"No kidding?"

"None at all. Between you and me, they're all the same, anyway."

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