As she started to read from the page, Sera's voice took on a regal tone.

"Sato White. The reality that you know is headed towards an inflection point that will soon decide the fate of trillions of souls. As we speak, endless existences are experiencing lives of misery and persecution. Worse still, an unfathomable amount of sentient beings have been held in a purgatorial prison, their lives soon to be snuffed out. As a representative of the Eternal Caretaker, I am here to request your help in their salvation."

Sera put the page down and looked at me with earnest eyes. "Would you accept?"

Incredible. Who wrote this garbage?

"Listen, I'm not sure what kind of reality show this is but I certainly didn't consent to this kind of treatment."

"Reality… show?" Sera looked confused at first, then started to repeat the words as if looking for some hidden meaning. "Reality. Show. Reality show…"

Her confusion turned into amusement. "That's… unexpectedly appropriate. Tell me, why do you think this is a reality show?"

"It's obvious! Your people staged the accident, the sector administrator was an actress, and I bet even Mars was in on it--that bastard. You probably had the Provider dope my body full of paralytics… and this room! Am I even in a hospital?!"

The realization of how badly I had been fooled caused me to shout in outrage.

"I have to admit, you almost had me… but if you're going to spend that much effort in deceiving someone, shouldn't you hire better writers? Trillions of souls? Even if you combined the planetarian and space colony populations, you wouldn't get past a hundred billion. There aren't even close to that many minds in the Singularities spread out across the system."

Seeing that she didn't seem the least bit phased, I kept going.

"Or what, don't tell me, you're a member of an alien species with technology advanced enough to avoid detection by seven millennia of advancements in observational satellites, yet somehow the fate of your race rests on securing the assistance of a specific Provider mechanic among the hundreds of thousands that work in this Colony? Or even better, you're part of some ecological organization dead set on saving the insects residing on what's left of Earth? Hmph."

I finally stopped to catch a breath.

Sera leaned one leg onto the bed and sat down, glancing at me over her shoulder with a gentle smile. "I was told you'd have a dazzling imagination. I'm neither an alien nor an environmentalist, at least not in the sense you are thinking. Tell me though, if one of these insects you are imagining could talk, laugh, and cry--would it make them worth saving?"

Caught off guard by the sudden philosophical inquiry, my anger fizzled a bit. "…If it could feel pain and experienced life in the same way as a human… Hey, don't try to change the topic!"

Sarah giggled. "You see, that's exactly the kind of question that has been troubling the Caretaker as of late."

Before I had a chance to ask what kind of person this haughty 'Eternal Caretaker' was supposed to be, she asked another question.

"And these aliens you mentioned, if they really existed and experienced life like you did, would they be worth saving, even if they were millions of light years away?"

Sensing that she wasn't about to give up, I decided to play along.

"Sure, as long they could coexist peacefully with humanity. Or even if they couldn't and were intrinsically hostile beings, if the aliens lived so far away that their actions would never trouble us, I suppose it would be alright to save them from oblivion."

She seemed genuinely surprised at my answer.

"Look, isn't it about time you admit that this whole thing is staged? I don't know what kind of compensation you're going to offer me but it better account for the fact that this little prank had cost me my job. It could be weeks before I find work again…"

"Oh my, clearly healing your broken body wasn't enough of a display for you to take me seriously. Would you believe me if I turned you into a duck instead?"

She raised her fingers into a menacing snapping position, then… Pow!

I flinched, then looked down to check if I had any feathers sticking out of me.

Sera started laughing uncontrollably and wiped a tear from her eye. "I'm joking, I'm joking! You know, I heard a colleague of mine really did that to a misbehaving boy and even after she turned him back, the poor man still quacks to this day whenever he's stressed."

Before I had a chance to fume back at her, she put on a serious demeanor. "Okay, so judging by your reaction you're at least entertaining the possibility that this isn't all a hoax. Let's go with that for now. Hypothetically, if the request was an honest one, would you agree to it? After all, there's no need to risk breaking your mind proving things if you're just going to refuse."

I took a long sigh. I guess the production company is still trying to salvage this show.

"Hypothetically, if everything you've said is true, the first thing you should've done is ask me whether or not I wanted to be healed."

Sera frowned, but I continued.

"Planetarians like you take terraformed atmospheres and abundant resources for granted. Colonials have to ration every energy cell and nutrient pack. Heck, I can't even remember the last time I tasted organic food."

Sensing her confusion, I got to the point.

"Neptune Colony is one of the largest Colonies in the Outer Solar System. Our Singularity has existed for over a thousand years and hosts over fifty billion minds. Regardless of whether they're a sanitation worker or administrator, every colonist here dreams of the day they get to join the Singularity, and some even devote their lives to accelerating that dream by working their physical bodies to dust. Entering Elysium, that's what we call it, because just like that Grecian paradise, it's where dreams are fulfilled. By trading a portion of our brain's processing power to the administration of the Colony, we're granted the ability to craft and inhabit endless virtual worlds, no less detailed than our own."

Her face was getting harder to read. Concern? Disappointment?

"Although the supposed accident that crippled me was tragic, the Colony has more than compensated me by offering an early induction into the Singularity. To Elysium. However, once they find out I've been healed, they're likely to retract that offer. Even worse, although my diagnosis was verified by Providers, the fact that I'm a Provider mechanic might lead the administrators to suspect fraud. Do you know what the punishment is for trying to cheat your way into Elysium? I'll be turned into a guinea pig for experimental medicines."

I still had no idea what she was thinking, but her expression clearly showed no signs of guilt.

"So, even supposing this request of yours was real and you miraculously healed my body, you'd be forcing me into a position where I have no choice but to accept. Which makes me wonder why you're asking me to begin with."

Sera leaned back into the bed, deep in thought. After a moment, she turned her head and looked at me with sad eyes. "So, you're saying you would rather have your body returned to its previously broken state than accept this request? You don't even want to hear the details of what we're asking from you?"

Now that the exhilaration of being able to move again had disappeared, fatigue began to set in. I thought about what awaited me if I walked out of this hospital with an able body, about a future where I would spend countless hours disassembling and reassembling the parts of Providers. Then I thought about the Providers themselves, the people they served, and how they too contributed their lives to the maintenance of this space colony. Like one massive machine--part metal, part flesh--it churned with purpose. It had to. Otherwise, why were any of us doing what we did? Elysium was the purpose. That was what made it all worthwhile.

Trillions of souls, huh? How long would I be willing to delay my entrance into Elysium if trillions of souls were at stake? Maybe a year. Maybe ten. Probably not more than thirty.

"If I accepted this request, when will I be able to join the Singularity?"

Sera studied me for a few seconds before cautiously saying "It would be a long time. You might never have to."

"Then I refuse." I said, grimly.