The Watchers

"The Watchers" by Roger D. Aycock is a science fiction story from the 1950s that looks at the idea of aliens controlling humans. It is about Earth being close to destroyed because of sneaky alien powers. Peter Manson, who believes in peace and has strong ideas, tries to find the alien Watchers who he thinks are making humans start wars. He looks for ten years and eventually finds one, Leonard Havlik, and tries to find out what they are planning. He realizes that the Watchers might not be mean, but that they were trying to help humans, even if they were wrong. When Havlik says their work is done and they are leaving, Manson understands the sad truth that humans might destroy themselves. It's a story about how hard it is to figure out right from wrong when big secrets are being kept.