Reality

Fletcher Haywood, middle-aged IT officer, is unsatisfied with his lot, even though he's not sure precisely what his lot is or what's wrong with it. One night, unable to sleep, he leaves home for the office in the early hours of the morning. In the surreal streets of the deserted city his eye is caught by something gold lying in the gutter; it turns out to be nothing but an abandoned newspaper and a trick of the light. He tucks the newspaper in his bag and thinks nothing more of it. Later that week he looks through the paper and finds the thing that (perhaps) he has been looking for without knowing it: an invitation to audition for a reality television show.On a drunken whim, Fletcher makes a video of himself, submits it to the reality television company, and is surprised to be contacted for an interview. A beautiful, enigmatic man meets with him and offers him a spot on the show, which, in a sort of a trance, he accepts without even attempting to examine the fine print. He finds...