10

You don't talk much longer; time is ticking away too fast. Both of you step out onto the porch, and as you lock the door behind you, you wonder: just how different are things going to be by the time you get back?

Gritting your teeth, you turn back to face Marlowe—but just as you're about to set off, you see them standing and looking with a strange expression at a nearby streetlamp. Then, to your surprise, they turn and look at you as if a thought has just struck them.

"Hey—did you hear about what happened this morning?"

Confused, you shake your head.

"Apparently they had to shut down the whole office because all the computers suddenly crashed," Marlowe tells you. "And then they found out it wasn't just our office, but pretty much all the computers in that part of town. They don't know what caused it yet, although I heard somebody say it might have just been a power surge or something. But there are already people commenting online that they think it's something to do with the vote—like, maybe it was somebody trying to sabotage it somehow. I kind of don't think so, but it's definitely a weird time for something like that to happen."

You hesitate for a moment as you take in what Marlowe has said. You don't know a lot about computers—but it can't exactly be normal for a lot of them, in totally different buildings, to malfunction at the same time. And on the day of the vote…could it be more than a coincidence?

All the way into town, though, you can't quite shake off the thought that something isn't quite right. You've been so preoccupied with thoughts about the vote, and what it might mean for your future—but even so, the process of it all always seemed quite straightforward. In a few hours, the Town Council will vote, and that will be that. But what if that's not the whole story? What if there's more going on beneath the surface—things that nobody is supposed to know about—that could influence the outcome in ways you can't even imagine?

As flat fields turn into apartment buildings and "For Rent" signs around you, you remind yourself that it would be easy to make up a conspiracy about almost anything that happens today. But when you catch sight of a flickering streetlamp just ahead of you, you can't quite help but watch it with a wary eye until you pass it.

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