[color=D6FFFF][b]Swathe Street Commons[/b][/color]
[color=D6FFFF][b]Reclaim Zone, South City Sprawl[/b][/color]
[color=D6FFFF][b]April 1, 2065[/b][/color]

[color=00BB77]”So, just to be clear, you were [i]not[/i] joking about the civics lesson thing back in high school?”[/color] Theresa Howland looked around at the well-dressed crowd, and self-consciously pulled at the fringe of her dark-teal evening dress. [color=00BB77]“Dad, that was almost two years ago!”[/color]

[color=C0C0C0]”I wasn’t joking,”[/color] Howland replied, mildly. His eyes scanned the crowd, carefully taking in every detail. Each mayoral candidate entered the Commons one at a time, and of course, each one had to make an entrance of it - immediately abandoning any pretense that an election was about issues and ideals. It was, as all elections, all about the candidates themselves.

[color=00BB77]”Can’t you waste Mom’s time with this?”[/color] Theresa complained. [color=00BB77]”It’s not that I don’t [i]care[/i] about the mayoral race, I just…”[/color] She trailed off, lapsing into an awkward silence. [color=00BB77]”...don’t...er, care...”[/color]

Howland chuckled under his breath. [color=C0C0C0]”I told you when you wanted to join the SFROTC, two years ago, that you have to understand a nation if you intend to devote your life to serving it.[/color] He looked ahead, walking along the edge of the crowd with her. [color=C0C0C0]"Three hundred years ago, the king of Great Britain decreed the first direct tax on American colonies. It ultimately prompted a war in which the military you’re joining was founded...”[/color]

[color=00BB77]”So you [i]haven’t[/i] forgiven me for that American History test,”[/color] Theresa replied, dryly. [color=00BB77]”I was just too exhausted from PT to study. If I had a certain E-Brain implant I wanted, I could easily retain all that information, you know.”[/color]

Howland continued as if his daughter hadn’t said anything. [color=C0C0C0]”...and that war was fought for [i]this,[/i] right here.”[/color] With a sweep of his hand, he drew his daughter’s attention towards the center of the room, where the candidates stood in a group. His patient, Lott Ramana, ambled towards her employer amidst the crowd. Howland pretended not to notice how inebriated she was; she at least was experienced at hiding the more obvious symptoms of intoxication. [color=C0C0C0]”All I’m saying is that I think a USSF cadet should experience, at the ground level, the ins and outs of what it is she fights for.”[/color]

[color=00BB77]”And that means I have to volunteer for one of their campaigns?”[/color] Theresa frowned, looking at the group of candidates skeptically. [color=00BB77]”I’m not even sure which one I’m gonna vote for, let alone which one I should [i]work[/i] for!”[/color]

Howland shook his head. [color=C0C0C0]”I said you had to volunteer on the campaign trail; I didn’t say you had to volunteer for a specific campaign.”[/color] He paused and added, [color=C0C0C0]”You could always volunteer for the TCHD. We’re concerned about legionella in public drinking fountains at campaign venues caused by insufficient chlorination - I’ll get you a few petri dishes and sample swabs.”[/color]

[color=00BB77]”...Yeah, no thanks,”[/color] Theresa shot back, unenthused. [color=00BB77]”...which one are you going to vote for, Dad? I know you have to be neutral as a TCHD representative, but I mean, you’re too smart not to have an opinion personally.”[/color]

Howland sighed. Theresa was an intelligent and well-intentioned girl, but she didn’t [i]understand[/i] what it truly meant to seek change in society. He refused to give any of his children cybernetic implants, but he couldn’t stop her from getting one on her own. She couldn’t be a pilot without an E-Brain and cyber-eyes, and the Space Force would augment its pilots themselves. All he could do was instill good values and sound judgment in his daughter before then. How, then, to answer such a question when his own conclusion had found every party, and the entire race, detestable?

The fatal flaws of cybernetic society were something Theresa would have to experience for herself. He would just have to trust that his daughter was intelligent enough to learn from personal experience. When she saw how corrupt, how utterly morally bankrupt, the business of politics really was - then she’d be closer to [i]understanding[/i] what it means to oppose Futility. And besides, he had work to do tonight, and couldn’t spend the whole evening engaged in an intricate philosophical debate with her. 

Howland smiled. [color=C0C0C0]”That would be [i]telling[/i], Theresa! All I’ll say is that I think you should always be skeptical, and never fall for the lazy thinking that any one party always has the answers.”[/color]

[color=00BB77]”An inoffensive statement,”[/color] Theresa mused, [color=00BB77]”spoken like a true Centrist Party moderate.”[/color] When Howland didn’t rise to the bait, she shook her head. [color=00BB77]”Alright, well, every campaign, and I’m sure plenty of others too, are all here looking for local talent, right? I’d like to go and introduce myself around, see if maybe I can’t find an open position or internship or something for the campaign season.”[/color]

Howland nodded his approval. [color=C0C0C0]”Good idea. I do have some work to do, anyway.”[/color] He patted his daughter’s shoulder, a gesture she had always found reassurance in. [color=C0C0C0]”It’s not about a political stance, Theresa. I just think you should be involved; [i]how[/i] you take part in society is something you’re old enough to decide for yourself. Now go on, there’s lots of important people here - go introduce yourself to some of them.”[/color]

He wasn’t discomfited with the thought of leaving his daughter in such an unsavory crowd. She was capable of handling herself, and besides, staying in a comfortable and safe bubble was how society kept most people like her in line. Behind him, Theresa looked around, obviously wondering to herself just who amidst the crowd she might possibly seek an opportunity with.

Howland, meanwhile, had [i]other[/i] work to do...