"Repent Harlequin! Said the Ticktockman," by Harlan Ellison, is a short story set in the future which explores the relationship between the individual man and the overall system. The story begins with a short excerpt from "Civil Disobedience" by Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau theorizes that men exist to serve the state, some with their manual labor and others with their brains. Still there are others, the great few, who serve with their consciences. These men are called martyrs, heroes, and reformers and are rarely celebrated for their service.

Ellison does not explain the excerpt by Thoreau or its place in his story; rather, he does explain that he will begin in the middle of his story. An unknown man was becoming a nuisance to those who controlled the system. At first he was just a blip on the radar, but now his antics are cause...