60 Seconds With No.26

    “You’re pretty good at your job, aren’t you?”
    “Who are you?”
    “I am Number One-one-three, and this is my photographic colleague Number One-one-three b, we contribute to The Tally Ho.”
    “Smile” click goes the camera.
    “You can’t expect a man in his position to smile, he’s got an important job to do, he supervises the Control room.”
    “Look.......”
    “Yes you and your Observers do a lot of that don’t you?”
    “We help keep order through surveillance.”
   “You see One-one-three b, he never smiles, very serious is this Supervisor. He’s second to two, and two away from one.”
    “I’m Number Twenty-Six. Now if you don’t mind......”
    “A secure job is it?”
    “As secure as any I suppose.”
    “Well a number of Number Twos have come and gone, but you’re still here, in this inner sanctum of yours.”
    “Yes.”
    “So you have no ambitions of being promoted to Number Two?”
    “I have none.”
    “So you are a contented man.”
    “Yes.”
    “You are in charge of all this about you.”
    “I am.”
    “There you are One-one-three b, we have met with perhaps the only contended man in The Village. He’s happy in his work, has no ambition, and yet he has all this about him.”
    “Smile” click goes the camera.
    “I can’t afford to smile!”
    “Why not?”
   “It’s unseemly for a man in my position who has to maintain discipline to be seen smiling. Besides which, someone might be watching!”
    “Who?”
    The Supervisor lifts his eyes to the roving stainless steel eye orbiting the Control Room.
    “Oh, the all seeing eye of.............”
    “Precisely, now what was it you wanted?”

    “The Observers are themselves the observed, there’s irony for you. How does it go, me watching you watching me!”

Be seeing you