You had the same lost look in your eyes as every other person in that small room where you were taking the infamous IQ test. Life changed radically under the new system, but after 300 years of successful ruling the bee system remained in place and the inequality became so stark there were basically two types of humans, the tiny few that could have whatever they wanted from life and the billions that struggled to make this possible.
It was safe to say that the system failed to reach its goals. The overpopulation continued being a problem because killing a few thousands per month didn't offset the nativity rates at all, in fact the rate just kept increasing for different reasons, from a desire to ensure a lineage thwarted by the random probabilities of the murderous system to the eventual need to establish families almost as big tribes that could provide the resources among themselves and also protect and assist each other, the limited prospects and the sheer impossibility of becoming one of the "rulers" changing the previous notion of families.
The technology advancements meant all people could survive with the resources available, but it was also the key behind the power that held things like the bee system in place. Any revolts were swiftly exterminated, and the constant desensitization of citizens lives thanks to the streaming of the contests was effective in silencing any dissent from inside.
You reflected on all this as you half heartedly filled the quiz, knowing the possibilites of death were quite high. You were a smart young guy with an interest in technology, aware of how bridging that knowledge gap between the commoners and the rulers was the most important problem in the world right now, but of course, now you were picked in this death contest. You wondered if they could somehow know about your feelings and if you weren't picked at random as they advertised, there were so many people out there, but to be fair everyone that influenced you to have your current mindset was still alive. Maybe you were just unlucky, destined to die for entertainment and nothing else.
You wondered about this because you were thinking about cheating the IQ test and scoring lower, according to the rules this would mean you would get easier words and could increase your chances of survival. But should you do it? This part wasn't streamed on TV of course, only the exciting part about murdering people was transmitted so you didn't know how people were actually sorted in those groups. Your fear was that if they knew about you and you weren't picked at random then they would know you're cheating, or if with their technology they would have a way to know this and punish you for it. Would they kill you outright if you did it? What was the smartest choice in this sick game?
You shook your head wanting to clarify your thoughts and move forward, you didn't have unlimited time and didn't even know what happened to the actual winners, from what you knew they were shown on tv but never came back with their families or loved ones. You needed to take a decision and fast, knowing it could mean the difference between life and death
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