This 13-Word Paper Ballot Will Decide Scotland's Future

— -- The Scots wasted no words when they settled on language for the ballot used to determine whether they'll break away from the United Kingdom: "Should Scotland be an independent country?"

"Vote (X) only once," the white-paper referendum reads. Yes or No. That's it: 13 words in total.

Such simplicity belies the potentially complex future that awaits Scotland if a simple majority of its citizens decides they want to strike out on their own, which could be thousands of pen marks away from reality.