[ WP ] Immortality has been achieved , but overpopulation is a problem . To solve this , society has created a new job field : `` Angels of Death '' , people who 's job it is to simulate a natural death rate by killing a certain quota of random people a day . You are one of these `` Angels '' .

Today the number was twenty-one. Twenty-one lives I had to take. Twenty-one hearts to stop, twenty-one futures to cut off. The rules say it has to be random. Yeah, there are the ones that break it: only the old ones, only the killers, no children. I used to be like that, but I ca n't, now. Just does n't work like that anymore. I do n't know how the others do it, but for me, I go old-school. I keep old phone books, and in the morning, at the breakfast table, I let a random book fall open, and wherever it lands, I take an address. Repeat until quota matched. By mid-afternoon, I've finished the letters. Each an apology, for those who might have loved them. At nightfall, I start going through the list. I pick one from every household I stop in. No judgement, no bias. I count the number of rooms, and roll for it. I finish the job, instantly and painlessly, leaving the letter behind. On to the next, and the next, and the next. I finish by sunrise, and return to bed. Today the number was twenty-one. Today it was twelve men, seven women, and two children. Tomorrow is another number.
