Lifebomb
Ben Martin (Bill Macy), corporate executive and chronic workaholic, has begun suffering from heart issues brought about by his workload and the toll it's taken on his marriage to Lianne (Samantha Harper). Henry Harris (Robert Riesel), a representative from the mysterious Vita-Eterna Assurance company, soon presents Ben with the Lifebomb, a miraculous medical device that senses when someone is about to suffer a major health risk, such as a heart attack. Should this happen, the bomb preserves them in a cocoon that keeps them alive as it radios for medical assistance. Ben offers to have this device installed onto his person to soldier on with his failing heart, but it isn't long before he grows tired of repeatedly being brought back to life, especially since the Lifebomb doesn't actually fix his heart in the process.
Tropes:
- Affably Evil: Henry has all the gravitas of a salesman making a pitch (which he technically is) as he persuades Ben to purchase the Lifebomb.
- And I Must Scream: Ben's final fate by the end of the story, never being allowed to die just so Vita Eterna could avoid paying the massive settlement they promised him.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Ben is a downplayed example, as he's not particularly happy being fleeced or having to produce a hefty compensation settlement to the families of miners who were severely wounded or outright killed in a cave-in in Wyoming. Despite this, he genuinely loves his family and takes on all the stress to provide a good living for them.
- Death Seeker: Ben wants his life to end after Lianne leaves him and nothing else remains for him, but the Lifebomb renders that impossible.
- Dramatically Missing the Point: Lianne often nags her husband for not thinking about their future together. When Ben gets the Lifebomb installed and Lianne expresses distaste for it, he tries to justify that he got it in order for them to have a future together. Lianne points out she wasn't talking about him getting a device installed on him to keep him alive, but rather him putting aside his work and making time for her.
- Downer Ending: Ben has lost his wife and is essentially unable to die, being brought back to life by the Lifebomb even though his heart keeps quitting on him.
- Establishing Character Moment: Ben entering his office and placing Alka-Seltzer in a glass of water, showing how too much stress isn't good for him.
- Evil Is Petty: Henry reveals to Ben that Vita Eterna installed the Lifebomb on him, and in the process doomed him to a constant state of agonized immortality, just so his insurance company could save themselves from awarding the massive settlement they would have to produce when he finally died. As insurance companies across the country were the only parties interested in Vita-Eterna, it's possible that they're all just as corrupt as Ben's.
- Fate Worse than Death: Ben ends the story as a heartbroken mess, having lost his wife and constantly suffering from his ailing heart, but never allowed to die and have the pain stop.
- Immortality Hurts: The Lifebomb keeps bringing Ben back to life, but it does nothing to actually fix his ailing heart, dooming him to a never-ending existence of pain.
- Ironic Echo: Upon being reminded of the ongoing lawsuit for compensation of the families of miners who were killed and/or permanently injured in a cave-in, Ben argues that these people "got what they've been promised". At the end of the episode, when the Lifebomb has saved Ben's life twice over, but his wife's left him and his heart is still failing, Henry throws these exact words right back in his face.
- Jerkass Has a Point: While he's stressed and uptight, Ben remarks to his secretary Kelly that the dead miners whose families are demanding compensation weren't being cheated by being forced into their line of work; they knew the risks and took the wages, therefore "getting what they've been promised" in Ben's eyes.
- Meaningful Name: Vita-Eterna Assurance, which produces and sells the Lifebomb, is known for keeping their customers alive for eternity.
- Red and Black and Evil All Over: Henry, who sells Ben the Lifebomb, wears a red jacket and a black tie in his first scene, but the colors swap later on.
- Sadistic Choice: Henry tempts Ben with the choice of either quitting his company and dropping his life insurance to get rid of the Lifebomb, or keep it on to spare him (and his insurance company) millions of dollars.
- Stealth Pun: When Lianne leaves him, Ben gets a heart attack and is revived by the Lifebomb. The Lifebomb keeps him alive, but it can't fix the fact that his marriage is destroyed, nor will it fix the continual pain of his failing heart. At the end of the day, he still has a broken heart.
- They Called Me Mad!: While discussing how Vita-Eterna needed startup funding, Henry tells Bill that health foundations and government institutions weren't interested or outright laughed at them, but that insurance companies listened and took ownership of the company, which they use as a front to keep their clients alive and avoid paying settlements.
- Time Skip: Acts one and two skip ahead a week or two, where Ben has adapted to having the Lifebomb on his person.
