Proposal: Earth

“Hey now listen here bro, you better watch yourself, I’m not joking when I tell you that I’ve had enough of your fooling around, enough is enough you hear me, if I catch you messing around again, just one more time and I’ll….”

Mesmerized by this sudden outburst, Frank considered his options. How could he use this direct hit to his advantage?

“Its great to see some life in your eyes Drew, its been such a bore knowing you until now. I’d highly recommend voicing your opinion more often, it makes for much more interesting television.”

The fear had taken control of Drew. There was no more hiding it. It had rotted his insides and the stench was escaping through his anger.

“I’ll tell you what Drew… let me help you out. Why don’t you tell me everything you hate about me, go for it and don’t hold back.”

Frank didn’t know if Drew’s outburst was one last desperate attempt to stay alive, or if he’d just had enough. Regardless, his own approach was different. Instinctively he knew the only way to captivate an audience was to shock, and what was more shocking then appearing obnoxiously calm in the face of horrifying terror.

“I see your game Frank, you think you got a chance with that act. It’s all been done before, you got no chance. That’s the difference between me and you, I’ll tell you that right now, I’ve accepted my fate, I know what’s coming and I know there’s nothing I can do about it. Be my guest and waste your time on scheming, you and me are going to end up in the same place, I promise you that.”

In the back of Drew’s mind he questioned whether this might actually help him out. Could loosing his cool end up turning into captivating television. It had all been seen and done before, he knew that for certain. But the thought of escape did cross his mind. Drew was brought back to the present moment by a slow, sarcastic clap.

“Well done Drew, truly captivating. You really do deliver. Although I have to ask, Is this a common theme for you, procrastinating until the very last moment? If we get out of this alive I’ll have to ask you to work on that. I’d like to have some time to relax next season.”

The fear had paralyzed Frank until now. But unexpectedly Drew had broken him out of his trance and a stirred the fighter in him. He really believed this performance gave both of them a solid chance.

“Ha! You think I want to spend another moment with you? I’d rather sacrifice myself then continue living this joke of a life with you, I mean it when I tell you this is the end. Accept it Frank, you and me might as well beg to torn apart and used as lab rats!”

Drew recoiled, had he taken it too far? He knew he’d lost the authenticity of his initial fear and rage. His optimism had intervened and the result was a corny, predictable soliloquy.

Frank was equally conscious of Drew’s misstep. Mind racing, he opened his mouth to twist the dialogue back into something more riveting when the sound of an automatic door opening behind him caught him off guard.

“I love you Melody! I’ll make them pay for what they’ve done to you! I wont let them get away with this!”

The hysterical man barged into the scene dressed in a felt costume of an oversized heart shaped locket, complete with hinged opening. With both hands he pulled the front of the locket open to reveal the face of a woman. He wailed and fell to the floor, directing all the attention towards him.

Frank and Drew looked on in disappointment. The poor man thought a cheap costume and a comedic display of passion was going to get them out of this. They gave each other a look of appreciation, walked towards the heart shaped locket and helped the man up.

In a boardroom on the 1000th floor, a creature grabs a remote and turns off a screen hovering above the table. Ten similar creatures sit around the table, having just watched the scene of possible new reality show being trialed on earth. Someone yawns disrupting the silence.

“I hate it, predictable and boring. There’s been absolutely no character development over the whole season”

“I disagree, I think we can sculpt these ones into something. We need to give some of these shows a chance if we are going to continue using earth as a reality show making machine. There’s more then enough human stock for experimentation. Lets try and make something of this one. We cant reject every single show put forward."

Everyone directs their focus to a figure at the head of the table.

“We’ll end this one. The subject matter was dull and the dialogue was lackluster. Send them off to be stored for experimentation. Now lets move on to the next, I’ve got lunch in ten."