“From the first swallow? I’d say maybe…maybe six minutes. The length of time was fine. Six minutes is a long time on television, but it was worth it. I’ll tell you this, it was absolutely hypnotizing to watch Denko die. He sat for a moment just smiling. Then you could see his face twitch ever so slightly. Then the twitching increased and Denko suddenly became quite spastic. You’ll see it all on the video.”

“For God’s sake, when can I see the damn video?”

“How about now.”

Sitting there beside the cripple about to watch The Death Game had the producer’s heart racing and his palms sweaty. The producer found it hard to believe that a chance meeting on the street with this miserable piece of shit had progressed to this, to his actually watching the cripple’s bizarre creation. He also couldn’t get over the fact that he was so tense and nervous.

The show began with the usual hyperbole regarding what the viewers were about to see. “The game show to end all game shows,” ranted the high-pitched, melodramatic voice of the show’s announcer. Then the announcer introduced the four contestants as cheerfully as possible. The four were sitting behind a dated console with old-fashioned running lights that spelled out The Death Game. The ancient and sickly quartet of contestants, two men and two women, waved happily. One of the two men sat behind the console, stone-faced. The other, also behind the console but sitting in a wheelchair, winked at the camera.

The winker was Jonathan Denko.

The host was introduced. He appeared to be a clean-cut, wavy-haired blond named Dusty Rhodes. Rhodes fairly skipped out to center stage, bowing modestly to exuberant recorded applause. He spoke as if the television program was already on the air. He said, “Welcome to The Death Game, America’s most watched television show.” Overstatements, lies, and exaggerations drooled from the man’s mouth. Eventually he explained the same rules the cripple had already outlined to the producer. Then Rhodes clapped his hands merrily and shouted, “Okay, let’s get started.”

The first round was won by the winker in the wheelchair, Jonathan Denko.

The second round by a woman named Caroline Sedaka.

Denko and Sedaka were asked the important elimination questions of the championship round.

Caroline Sedaka didn’t know the answer to her question. Jonathan Denko knew the answer to his. Denko was declared the finalist! The audience sound track blared wild applause.

A black slot indicating a commercial came and went within ten seconds.

When the show returned to the TV screen, Denko was in a hospital chair at center stage. Host Dusty Rhodes said something cheerily stupid and out of place like, “This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for!” Rhodes proceeded to move the table with the glass of poisoned Madeira closer to Denko and placed the straw in his mouth. Denko sucked the contents out of the glass into his body through the straw. The program’s host disappeared from view as the camera crawled closer and closer toward the face of Jonathan Denko.