Sentinel

He watches the screens. The tubes pump fluids into him - nutritional, medicinal, recreational - and the tubes carry away the wastes.

The images flicker and change. His eyes track movement. They do not rest. They do not stop. The lights stutter.

Surrounded by screens, which are in turn surrounded by darkness. He does not watch the darkness. He never even turns his head. The screens are positioned to make this unnecessary.

He looked away from the screens, once. The consequences were intolerable. He must watch, must keep watch, must see it before it happens again.

Always, he watches the screens. For us.