Chapter 248
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The sector election occurred without a hitch. Sector guards stood by to prevent violence, there was none. Eve was given adequate time off to vote. It didn't take long, most people weren't voting. The feeling of apathy was widespread. Why vote when they'd all be dead in barely a year, if that. Also there seemed little point in an election when governor Jenkins would decide the winners anyway. Many in the sector feared none of them would be admitted into the Arks. Some would be taken into the transport buses on lottery days for the cameras, then be murdered in private. Maybe a few would be let in if they had special skills, which applied to almost noone in this sector. Eve thought about how many chances she had. One for everyone, eight she earned working on the Pennsylvania Ark, three as Murphy's informant, two working for Park, and two months fighting for the collective army. Eve had sixteen chances, unless the theory about it being a ruse was true.
Eve was working at councilman Wilkins' home on election night. His campaign staff had a small party. Not much food, but they'd likely soon be celebrating. A young sector guard named Brian was telling a joke about George Mason.
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Brian: "A man walks into a bar and asks the bartender 'What do you think of George Mason.' The bartender brings this patron to a back-room, looks around to make sure noone is listening. Finally the bartender says 'What do I think of George Mason? I like him.
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Eve wasn't entirely sure what the point of the joke was. Maybe it implied that people were too afraid of George Mason to talk about him, even to praise him. Or the joke was that people actually liked the president, but were too afraid to admit it. Eve wasn't sure what the joke meant. Thinking about it, the sector guards were in a very precarious place, not really belonging to one side or the other. Most had fought for the collective army during World War III, only to defect before it ended. To a lesser degree Eve and councilman Wilkins were also unsure where they belonged, like most people these days. No wonder the joke was popular in the sector.
The polls closed at 8pm on June 30th. At 8:19 councilman Wilkins got a call from mayor Ford. He'd been re-elected. People here were happy, including Wilkins' children and grandchildren. The grandkids were too young to really understand, but they liked seeing their grandfather happy. Wilkins began preparing his statement. Brian seemed happy. The sector guards weren't suppossed to care who won. Perhaps Brian was happy because he used this opportunity to do what he'd wanted to do for over a month now. He kissed Eve.
When she finally finished clening up the party Eve wet home. Julia was still out, too bad. Eve could've used a friend to talk to right now. Eve was pregnant, had no idea who the father was. That made this a bad time to start a relationship, at any time, but especially now with ELE coming. She liked Brian, maybe she was even a little attracted to him. Eve was also a little attracted to Jamal, a young man from her mosque. Under different circumstances, maybe she could've gotten involved with one of them. But Eve was too worn out from the last two years with so uncertain a future. Partly out of kindness, party because he was a sector guard, Eve needed to find a gentle way to let Brian down.