A shadow of a man on a balcony of the enormous room spoke casually to the group of people.

“What are you talking about?! Why are we here?!”

“What the hell just happened?!”

“Send me back quickly. I don’t know what this is, but some mistake has been made.”

Jensen had no idea why he was here, but when he remembered he was about to be in a life or death struggle and got yanked over here, he quickly became angry. ‘How dare you interrupt the climax?! The fun was just beginning! This was perhaps the most exciting moment of my life, and you ruined it!’ He was more upset about the timing of this strange turn of events than the actual abduction itself. ‘Still… how did we get here? The shadow doesn’t seem to be in any kind of rush to explain things to us.’

“You 100 humans of Earth have been brought here for the entertainment of us. Well, not just us. Right now, there are 1,467 galaxies watching this broadcast. You could say this is a kind of ‘game show’ if that helps you to understand it.”

The 100 people stared blankly at the shadow in utter disbelief at the shadow man’s words. How could they process what he was saying? Less than a minute ago, they were cleaning dishes, studying, filing papers. The human mind isn’t a computer- their emotions and past experiences told them that this was nonsense.

“Well, to prove it to you, look at the screen up front.”

In front of the group of people appeared a video feed of a planet that appears to be Earth. Next to it was video recording of a woman watching television and eating potato chips.

“That’s my wife! What the hell is this?!”

As the man ranted, more video screens appeared, each with a different person.

“That’s my son!”

“Why do you guys have a video of my brother?”

Jensen saw the video of his mother preparing dinner. ‘For now, I’ll believe what they tell me. After all, I did just get teleported here.’ This is the type of person he was. Quickly adapting to his surroundings, Jensen was a cut above most.

“Now that we have proven our legitimacy, please look to the center screen. This planet, while resembling yours, is several hundred galaxies away. It is called Gattica. The lifeforms on this planet are incredibly crafty- over the course of only a few million years, their technology far surpasses Earth’s.”

The crowd of people looked at the planet and listened with interest. Even though they were curious as to why they were there, some hoped that they were chosen beings of some sort and were happy to see the fantasy of so many people from Earth. As they watched the planet, a beam of light shot towards the planet. Upon contact, the body of mass that resembled earth completely shattered and scattered out into space. The shockwave from the explosion reached the camera, and the screen turned off.

The people were shocked. This planet was completely annihilated by a single beam. Jensen, on the other hand, was practically shaking with intrigue.

“Now that you’ve seen what we are capable of, please do your utmost to entertain the fine viewers across the galaxies.”

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“As I call your name, please go through the door to your left. You will watch have your life observed and be given a starting grade. This grade has no physical impact on you- it is merely to help the viewers place bets before the season begins.”

“What will we be doing..?” A scared man volunteered. Completely ignored, he shrank back into the group.

“Allen Smith.”

A terrified looking man slowly slumped towards the door. As he reached the doorway, he looked back towards the group. After a few moments, he proceeded through the door. After a few minutes, the shadow read off the next name. And the next. Eventually, he read..

“Mary Nakamura.”

Jensen stared blankly as he realized she had been brought as well. ‘I guess I’ll have to deal with her even on another planet, too.’ Two minutes later..

“Jensen Livelot.”

Jensen unhesitatingly walked through the door without thinking twice. Upon entering the room, he began to smile as he noticed a screen larger than movie theatres. Above him were other shadow figures. Unlike the first, they were completely silent. The lights in the room dimmed and the screen began to play the video of a boy.

The scene opened on a boy that appeared no older than nine. He was playing soccer in an arranged tournament. The dark-haired boy, happy and excited, scored goals consecutively. No one on the opposing team was able to keep up with his speed and his footwork. The blurred voices of astonishment among the parents and players were heard through the background. The boy enjoyed the praise from everyone, and went home with his proud parents. In the car, his mom began to speak.

“You played well today, Jensen! To think this is just your first time playing soccer!”

“Of course my son would be good at sports. The other kids can’t compare. Isn’t that right, Jensen?”

“Right, father.”

Jensen became quiet and stared out the window, seemingly in thought about his father’s words.

The screen flashed twice, and turned to a boy that seemed slightly older than the one from the last. He was in a desk at a classroom. The teacher at the front of the room read off from some papers.

“The results from the exams are in. Once again, the first place is Jensen.”

The classroom turned their heads toward Jensen in awe. The kids began to whisper among each other about the results.

“Jensen always comes in first, that’s not a surprise. However, he didn’t even come to class for the last 3 weeks! How is he able to keep up with us when he doesn’t even learn the material?”

The dark-haired boy sat in his desk, seemingly in a world of his own. ‘Why are they so surprised? This is normal, isn’t it?’ The boy begun to immerse himself in thoughts about the people’s reactions, and why he had actually placed first place when he didn’t put any effort forward.

The screen flashed again, and unveiled a boy no older than 12. He was outside with a group of classmates in gym clothes. The boys lined up in a row, preparing for the race that determined their gym grade. The boys looked towards Jensen, and begun to speak amongst each other.

“He might be athletic, but he skipped gym class consistently. There’s no way that he’s conditioned and trained like we have. Today, we’ll finally beat him.”

The coach blew his whistle, and the boys took off. Jensen pulled away from the crowd and won. He looked at the boys with a confused look on his face. ‘I haven’t done any physical activity for months, and they have been training hard.. How is this possible?’ Suddenly, an enlightened face swept across the boy. ‘Ah, I guess I really am superior. No matter what these people do, they can’t compare or compete with me. That explains the boredom and loneliness I’ve felt. My father was correct.’

After this scene that showed the birth of an extreme narcissist, the screen blurred multiple scenes together. It showed the boy fighting, antagonizing, and even robbing people. The boy’s entire life flashed throughout the screen within the 2 minutes Jensen had entered the door. The screen turned off, and the shadowed figures turned away from the screen and towards the grown dark-haired boy. The figures wrote down on some kind of tablet, and entered some information into nearby monitors. One of the figures spoke.

“Go out the door opposite the one you entered. Wait for further instruction once inside.”

Jensen walked obediently toward the door. He felt a sincere admiration for the technology these people had developed. Curious about his future, he begun to feel a sense of excitement towards the “entertainment” he was supposed to provide.