Chapter 215:
Tom, a very ordinary name, so common that people were reluctant to name their children something so plain and unremarkable.
But it was indeed a person's name, and its owner was currently hiding in a state of fear in an alleyway.
A military vehicle slowly drove past the street, and the people on it couldn't see Tom, who was hiding in the deepest part of the alley. The soldier with his hands on the machine gun only looked at figures that might appear in the light.
The strike had ended, and the military control had slightly relaxed, now reduced to a curfew.
From 6 PM every evening until 7 AM the next morning, for eleven hours, no one was allowed to be on the streets without a valid reason.
Originally, the military intended to issue passes to those who needed to go out at night, but someone thought this was too much like the oppressive rule of a dictatorship, undermining the free image of the Baylor Federation. So, they scrapped this idea.
Instead, people who needed to be on the streets had to provide their social security number and an explanation for their presence outside during curfew to the soldiers on patrol.
This seemed much more free. No one interfered with the people's free will; they could appear wherever they wanted as long as they could provide a reason.
This was the sweet smell of freedom. Long live the Free Federation!