[ WP ] To prevent only the dumbest people in the world from reproducing , everyone is implanted with a birth control device during puberty . It can only be deactivated once it 's been determined you are intelligent and stable enough to raise a well-adjusted human being by an `` Auditor '' . You 're an Auditor .

The Watcher sat at the table, cold eyes unblinking; ebony skin glossy and bald head shining. He wore a grimace and barely moved when I sat down opposite him. Watchers always creeped me out, they were always so robotic and lifeless, this one was no exception. Its host probably had no idea what was going on, just like the rest of them. 
 
 “ We greet you. ” It said through the lips that weren ’ t its own. 
 
 “ What do you want? ” I asked. 
 
 “ There has been a discrepancy. ” I waited for it to continue. “ You have not been filling your quota. ” 
 
 “ I do what I can. It ’ s not easy to find the smart ones amongst the hordes of cattle. ” 
 
 “ We have little patience and little interest for excuses. There are many of us requiring a body; we can not survive in your strange environment for long. We expect more. ” 
 
 I exhaled slowly. “ Fine. The conditions you ’ re after are hard enough to come by as it is. I ’ ll try harder next time. ” 
 
 “ Yes, you will. Because this is the last time we will meet you. There will be no more chances. Do not fail us again. ” 
 
 It stood up awkwardly and strutted out of the room, its legs moved as if they were stiffened, if this wasn ’ t such a serious matter I probably would have laughed. 
 I sighed and pinched the bridge on my nose, closing my eyes. There weren ’ t many Free-Thinkers like us left, the Watchers made sure of that/ Those of us who could resist them enough to not play host were conditioned into Auditors. It was our job to find the smartest amongst the humans and allow them to breed. It was hard enough finding smart ones, let alone compatible matches. Their offspring would be taken to the Watchers where they would grow up to become hosts. I hated myself for what I had to do, but what was the alternative? If I was lucky, they would kill me. If I was unlucky well… I ’ d either become one of their skin puppets or a scientific experiment. 
 
 No. At least this way I was able to keep my free will and live at least for the moment. Self-preservation made us all selfish cynics, it seems. 
 It took a few hours to get there, but I arrived at one of the many paddocks. Inside were thousands of people, walking around aimlessly. Their free will had been taken away and so it left them with only the basics of human instincts, eat, sleep, and exercise. Until the Auditors found any worthy enough to breed; they would be taken to a separate came and forced to breed until they died and the process would repeat itself. 
 
 I walked through the crowd, they didn ’ t pay me any attention; how could they? They were like zombies. The Caretakers would supply them with any food or water they required, keep their sleeping quarters and excrement rooms cleaned. I shuddered, grateful that I wasn ’ t tasked with that job. The Caretakers were much the same as the Watchers, though in terms of intelligence they weren ’ t much different from the humans that wondered around aimlessly. 
 I caught the eye of a middle aged male; we stared at each other for a few seconds before he hastily looked away and continued to shamble around. 
 I wasn ’ t fooled. 
 
 Stopping him in his tracks I studied him for a moment, “ You really think I wouldn ’ t be able to notice another Free-Thinker? ” 
 
 He dropped his act and sobered, “ Please don ’ t report me. ” 
 
 I sighed, “ I have to. They will find out one way or another and then I ’ ll get punished for not bringing it to their attention sooner. ” 
 
 “ Please… ” he begged, “ I have people counting on me. ” 
 
 My eyes widened and I sucked in a deep breath. “ You bred with another? ” 
 He looked away, guilty. “ We have a daughter- but there is something wrong with her. Please will you help us? ” 
 
 Curiosity got the better of me, I could just report him after I ’ d investigated… right? 
 
 He led me to the far end of the paddock, tents and troughs lined this area in a labyrinthine maze. I was skeptical about where he was leading me, could it be a trap? Surely not. Free-Thinkers were generally smart, smarter than those who were allowed to breathe. Attacking another would be suicide. Especially an Auditor who was equipped with ways to deal with any Free-Thinkers they came across. 
 
 He lead me behind a tent and into a small cave opening. True to his word a little girl sat beside a rock, playing in the dirt and singing to herself happily. 
 Her face lit up when she saw her father approaching. “ Daddy! ” She wheezed. 
 After my eyes had adjusted to the darkness I could see clearly that there was something indeed wrong with this girl. She was small and dangerously thin. There was never a shortage of food in the paddocks, the Caretakers made sure of that. No it was clear that there was something wrong on the inside of her. 
 She was sick. I stared in bewilderment. The Watchers, when they first came; eradicated diseases and viruses. Their otherworldly technologies made it so that no human could or would ever get sick. I hadn ’ t seen this before, not in my whole life. 
 
 The girl let out a hacking cough, blood stained her lips. She labored to breathe; deep rasping breaths came short and fast. It wasn ’ t the man ’ s fault, he probably had no idea what sickness even was. I wouldn ’ t either if I wasn ’ t an Auditor, we are taught to look out for these things but I figured it was just a myth. 
 
 “ I had to hide her here when one of the Caretakers got too close. They became like her, and shortly after they died. ” 
 
 “ Please help us. ” He begged, holding his daughter tight; tears welling in his eyes. 
 “ There isn ’ t anything I can do. I can put her out of her misery or she will expire on her own. I estimate it ’ ll take a few more days, if that… ” I trailed off as an idea slowly struck me. “ There isn ’ t anything I can do, but there is something she can do. ” 
 
 “ What do you mean? ” 
 
 “ You said that one of the Caretakers became like her? ” He nodded. “ I have an idea. Let me take her with me. ” 
 
 “ Will you help her? ” 
 
 As an Auditor, I had the ability to come and go from where the Watchers were situated. It was the Watchers who came and with their technologies removed all of our free will. It was the Watchers that herded us like cattle and locked us in paddocks. It was the Watchers who enslaved us all, years ago. It was the Watchers that *infected* us that they had deemed worthy enough to be their hosts. 
 
 But it would be the Humans turn to *infect* them- the Humans who would put an end to the Watchers and an end to their reign. 
 
 “ I might not be able to save her, but *she* can save *us*. **All of us. ** ” 

