As Kino rides Hermes along an old railroad, she meets a railway track polisher who has been working for fifty years. Stopping for a break, he asks her to tell him a story about her travels. She recalls a modernized country with advanced machines, where people chose to do meaningless tasks instead of work, encountering a working stiff who did calculations all day just for the stress. As she rides further, she meets a railway track demolisher who has also been working for fifty years. As she rides even further, she meets a railway track layer who has been working for fifty years as well. After three days of exploring ruined buildings in the next country, Kino finally meets a survivor who tells her that the people removed the oppressive king and formed a democracy ruled by majority vote ten years ago. Unfortunately, anyone who questioned the democracy was executed until the graveyard was overflowing. Kino prepares to leave, but the survivor pulls out a gun and insists that she stays. However, Kino and Hermes outvote him so that they can ride away, hearing gunshots echoing in the empty streets behind them.