Watcher 411

Watcher 411

It is 2208. Conformity and obedience is imprinted in the minds of all. Every expression eradicated. Every identity invisible. Each thought is vigorously checked and filtered. Every movement is monitored. A thousand eyes for every pair. To follow is to learn. To agree is to know. Ignorance is perfection because, quite simply, if you opened your eyes, you would see a world without purpose. A world shrouded in darkness. A world not worth living in.

Watcher 411 is a woman, like many others, who spends her days intruding. Watchers, employed by the state, serve the purpose of monitoring each and every citizen’s movements. Every hour of every day. They control cameras which are unavoidable, and are attached to every possible surface. If they witness an offense of any nature, they can report it, and the state will respond immediately.

Watcher 411 was chosen to spend her life doing this based on her thoughts. On her sixteenth birthday, like everyone else, she visited the clinic. Here, her every previous thought was assessed in detail, regardless of its significance. Thoughts raced through her head. The concluding report indicated she spent the majority of her time pre-occupied about her appearance, and judging the appearance of others. This led her to become a watcher, and she must now serve this duty without question until retirement at eighty-five.

However she relished the opportunity to scrutinize the lives of others. Any minor flaw, any slight personalization of clothing, and she would immediately report them. It was well publicized that being reported to the state resulted in certain imprisonment. Regardless of severity, any offense results in detainment in ‘Labour Camp’. Yet she felt no sympathy for anyone. If they were offending they deserved the punishment. The authority gave her a buzz, a thrill, a sense of power like no other.

She had just finished her weekly shift, and was walking home at a gentle pace. Night had fallen, yet the light...