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A day in the �open� colony

�Remind me why we�re here again,� commented the tall, tanned man as he shoveled a clump of dirt cake over to the side.

�You want to get paid,� the pale one replied simply.

�Yes, I had forgotten,� nodded the other.

The digging had taken most of the day, leaving both men perspiring towers of rippled flesh. They enjoyed their scent, but could not deviate from their course. They were close.

�Comrade?� the tanned man asked in mid-toss.

�Aye?�

�Since the moon is so full tonight, my friend,� he said, �I am going to walk around in my underpants.�

�What a lucky thing for us,� said the pale, smiling man, �the early morning begins right.�

The two seemed to have accepted their fate, uncovering clumps of rubble and various debris as shovels arced into the hard earth. The moon, anxious in its glow, silently echoed off brilliant white chests and briefs.

�Now,� said tan, �we are to deliver this item post-haste.�

Pale considered the querying with a frown. He whispered, �Must we?�

�Come on,� said tan, �we�re not going to worry about this today, are we?�

�A gentleman always knows how to make fun,� pale agreed, �but this��

They continued their assault upon the earth, intent only on what was to be exposed. The chains of their servitude had been loosened briefly, allowing them to escape for a short while into the city ruins. Nothing seemed right amidst the foreign gray landscape. The silence was avid; it licked their nerves to agitation.

A dull thud echoed across the barren landscape. Tan blinked several times as he pointed downward. Pale nodded. Dirt was quickly pushed aside. Groping hands rubbed against a smooth, yet unforgiving surface. The off-white was surveyed in all its bare essentials, thudding and echoing to the dark one�s fist.

�Curious, how it sounds melodious,� the tan man spoke.

�It is of no importance, really,� pale replied.

�What do you fear?� Tan keenly looked at him.

�He will not be pleased; we will be shot and eviscerated for nothing.�

�Let us uncover our treasure,� the dark one pursued uninterrupted.

The hole-bestrewed walls and dead terrain looked on disinterestedly as the forgotten white hulk was lifted out of the ground. The tan and pale slaves bit their lips and said nothing. They had not known at first what to do with their artifact. It was a simple thing: square, half their height, and dully inscribed by a silver placard.

�We shall get paid now,� the dark man said after a long while.

�It will be all right, won�t it?� pale attempted to say with assurance.

�We shall die some day,� dark remarked, �come on. Let�s go.�

Two days of travel found them within the confines of the forest glens once again. The valleys had become their bastion, housing the remnants of their people. Nothing was left. From the tops of the valleys, they could see the hulking gray forms of the city undulate in the summer heat.

�Oh, how nice,� pale commented, echoing an unspoken disgust for the breath-taking scene. They continued their movement, placing left feet in simultaneous rhythm with right feet.

They arrived at the Tinkerer�s place. A large, hollowed out oak looked out to the world with one window. It was a place they did not frequent, either. A small, twisted up man hobbled outside, smiling with rotted stumpy teeth.

�You are alive, my little babies,� the tinker commented off-hand.

�We brought what you asked for,� said the dark one.

�I cannot bear it any longer,� the man suddenly gasped, �drop it! Open it up!�

The two men blinked at one another and dropped the device as one. Leaves sprayed from underneath them as a clunking sound filled the breezy area. Now the tinker stood there. The two men bit their lips and said nothing. They knew very well what might happen at any moment.

�Let me see, let me see, now,� the tinker said, �what to do��

Pale whispered to dark in a thin voice, �I wish to remove my underpants; he makes me uncomfortable.�

Dark said nothing as the two looked on. The twisted man kicked the device several times. He ran his appendages over and over its surface, until he at last seemed satisfied.

�Yes,� he said finally, �It is a-�

�Shall you use it as a stool?� asked the dark one.

�You have the mind of a sprout!� yelled the tinker, �away with you and my money! Go!�

�Do not move so hastily,� a sharp, soft voice spoke.

The two slaves looked to one another blankly, lowering their bodies to the ground simultaneously. A host of leather-clad men moved from the trees, positioning lethal looking spears in their direction. A single figure emerged from the nameless mass, carrying herself well.

�Why have you moved beyond the boundaries of the collective, doves?� She said.

�I don�t want to be unkind; I want to sit in the sun more, I want to sit in the sun more,� repeated the man in a panicked tone.

�Still you tongue, comrade,� She adamantly commanded.

�You,� she pointed to the tinker, �have brought filth and pestilence into sacred space. Put your pants on�and never remove them again.�

�But-�

�Now,� she demanded.

The tinker put his pants back on. His smile was gone.

�My doves,� she cooed as she stepped closer, �Do you enjoy work?�

�We have worked long and hard,� they said in unison, �to do well by our commune and our selective, if but superior and healthy, eating habits. May the tofu grow from the blood of our toil.�

�Get dressed and don�t cry,� she said after a moment of thought, �I feel better, my little babes.�

The dark man swung his pants from around his shoulder, eyeing the woman carefully as he slipped the dirty canvas over his slick thighs. He sighed and collapsed within himself.

�You both will learn in disgrace; you may not show your underpants for a fortnight to any for appeasement or comfort,� she nodded thoughtfully. They nodded mutely.

The tinker lovingly ran his hand along the surface of the device. �May I keep my new child?� He spoke.

�You are infected; live with your disease,� she waved off.

�Excellent!� The tinker smiled widely, �I shall endeavor to use my infection to the utmost."

�Pray why?� She said in a confused tone.

�This is a maytag; built to last,� he recited, �It shall wash my clothes with solar energy and look over my grave when I die.�

�Very well,� she spoke evenly. The company turned and left, the maytag washer dully gleaming in the light of a summer�s day.

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