Sera continued to study my face. It was unclear what she was looking for.

"…maybe just a push," she softly muttered.

Getting up off the bed, she faced me and looked like she was steeling herself for something. Then, she clapped her hands and said "The gig is up!"

Suddenly, the ceiling lamp started spinning and shooting out vibrant multi-colored lights. A showy, masculine voice filled the room.

"Saaaaaato White! Congratulations. You have paaaassed the test!"

Sera walked around the bed until she was next to me, then held out her arm.

…What the fuck is going on?

My dumbfounded brain failed to process the scene, but habit caused me to shake her hand anyway.

"Absolutely fantastic deductive work, Mr. White. Not only did you correctly call out our agents and recognize the use of paralytic drugs, but to even realize that this immaculate reproduction of a hospital room was fake. Truly a genius display of insight." Sera seemed genuinely impressed.

I was… right?

Sera's eyes gleamed with a small hint of triumph. "However, you made one miscalculation. This isn't a reality show."

Clapping her hands again, the four walls of the hospital room collapsed outward and suddenly I was surrounded by an audience of hundreds of Colonists. They were seated in velvet chairs and seemed to have been watching my conversation with Sera through a large holoprojector right above the faux room which had turned into a stage. A few were cheering at the top of their lungs.

"Elysium! Elysium!"

"I love you Sato!"

"Neptune Colony Forever!"

The announcer's voice boomed again. "Sato! Welcome to Ticket to Elysium, a game show where contestants compete for their very own shot at paradise. You've successfully completed the preliminary round!"

A game show? Why have I never heard of it before?

Sera was now waving at the crowd with a smile. Despite the fact that we were right next to each other, I might as well have been completely invisible to her.

"Now then! My dear audience. Ten unsuspecting individuals were slated to enter today's contest, and faced with the undeniably obvious choice of whether to enter Elysium or save trillions of troubled souls, nine of them idiotically picked the latter!"

"Booooooo!" The audience roared.

"But fear not, for our hero has arrived. Choosing self-interest over the protection of others, Mr. Sato White has fearlessly reminded us of the significance of Elysium, the pride and joy of Neptune Colony."

"WoOOoOooOo!" Sato's ears started to ring from the voracity of the cheers.

Um. Wait. This isn't what I--

"Now then, Sato. I have great news. Normally, our contestants would compete through a series of challenges to prove their loyalty to the Colony and their usefulness to the Singularity, but since you were the only one that passed the preliminary round, we can move directly to presenting your selfish ass with the reward!"

What's with this passive aggressive tone? Are they still playing tricks on me?

The hospital bed slowly lowered into the ground. In its place, an operating table rose up. Several Providers, augmented with surgical equipment, suddenly manifested themselves onto the stage.

"To accept your Tiiiiiicket to Elysium, simply lie down on the operating table. The state-of-the-art Providers around you will drain your blood and harvest your organs to replenish our hospital medical supplies, and your bones and sinews will be ground up and recycled at our department of nutrition. But fear not, your sacrifices will not be unrewarded. For your brain, the very container of your consciousness, will be masterfully extracted from the rest of your body and inducted into the Singularity, where it will be kept alive for centuries to come. From there you will enjoy... the bliss... OF ELYSIUM!"

Thunderous applause shook the stage. "Sato. Sato. Sato." the audience started to chant my name.

Directing her attention back to me, Sera raised her arm in a flourish and opened her palm towards the table. "Whenever you're ready."

But I was already backing away. This… this isn't right. A few steps was all it took for the Providers behind me to notice. Their arms wrapped around my torso and dragged me back towards the operating table.

"H-hold on. Wait!" I exclaimed to no avail.

The Providers placed me on the bed and strapped me down so I couldn't move. The paralytic injections came afterwards, and my entire body froze. The audience quieted down in anticipation of the main event.

Sera leaned next to me and whispered into my ear. "If you change your mind, just call out my name three times."

I tried to do it then and there, but my tongue wouldn't move. The Providers' arms buzzed and whirred as they picked up their scalpels.

Soon, the darkness came.