Spoke of Freedom

Written for https://mymindmappings.com/2026/09/01/fandangos-story-starter-262/

After the way they’d been treated, why shouldn’t they help themselves? It wasn’t just the lies; although they meant nothing if the truth spared them. Their leader spoke of freedom, yet whenever they spoke their minds, he told them they were foolish to believe the propaganda of the only other party in the race.

Alice strode past the poster on the billboard. What were his promises again? The algorithms on social media were all saying the same thing. A saviour of a new world would lead to a better lifestyle.

No more poverty, fear, and control. This new party could instil hope. Her children could finally go to school instead of learning from the computer base. It was a boring course on how to assemble artificial intelligence implants. As each generation passed, their intelligence dwindled.

She remembered school where they learnt about different religions. Christians, Muslims and Sikhs all held similar viewpoints, but told the story in different ways. Teachers encouraged reading books. Her favourite hidden in a cupboard; a story written by a teenager called Anne Frank.

‘A vote for Simon is a vote for change.’

She regarded the stranger, dressed in a suit of pure cotton. A polititian of the first party, he carried a fear that silenced free thinking.

Alice nodded, recognizing that the mantra instilled since the last election in 2030 demanded attention. ‘Yes, the change we all expect.’

It could be her only answer-there were citizens who argued, but they disappeared into the unemployment void. If this new party were brave enough to run, shouldn’t she show the same courage? The ballots were still anonymous and counted by hand.

Nobody would know.

She entered the booth, picked up the pencil, and added her cross. Today had to be the day she fought back. She folded her choice into four pieces. As she put the sheet of paper in the ballot box she kept her gaze straight.

If they found out she would never see her children again; but this was for them, a chance to think as humans should.