The devil, or something close enough, sat down across the table from me. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a plastic box, about six inches on each side, with a big red button on top.
"If you push this button," he explained, "You will receive one million dollars, and someone you don't know will die."
"You know," I said, "I think I've seen this Twilight Zone episode."
"What is a Twilight Zone episode?"
"A TV show. Fiction, or so I thought. Specializing in scenarios like this. Let me guess, if I do push the button, as soon as I get the money, you go away and offer the same deal to someone who doesn't know me."
"That is also what I will do if you don't push it. You cannot affect your odds of survival that way." The devil paused, then added, "But your odds are good. The button kills at random, and I'm only going to be offering it to a few thousand humans. If you take the money, you will probably live to spend it."
"Can I believe you?"
"I'm here to study how your race handles moral dillemnas," he said, "My IRB doesn't allow me to tell direct lies." He passed some paperwork across the table. It was in order.
"So we're not the first race you've made these offers to?" I asked.
"Not even close," he said, "but I won't tell you any of my results thus far."
There was a moment of silence. I broke it: "How does this button work, anyway?"
"Magic," he said with a shrug.
"Magic," I echoed. I reached out and wrapped my left hand around the box. It felt like plastic. "Doesn't feel very magical," I said.
"You don't have the ability to feel magic."
"Still," I said, letting my voice trail off. I pulled my right hand out of my pocket and wrapped it around the other side of the box as if concentrating. The devil showed no sign of noticing what I'd palmed.
Still, best to assume he would soon. I shifted my hands to hold the box tightly in my left, and flick the cigarette lighter concealed in my right.
The box caught quickly, and the harsh smell of burning plastic filled the air. Still I held it tight in my left hand.
"What have you done?" The devil demanded.
"Fire destroys magic, doesn't it?" I said calmly.
"How did you know?" he ground out, between clenched teeth.
"I figured entropy is the ultimate rule of the universe, to which not even you are immune. Also, I've read The Dresden Files."
A flame licked my left hand, so I pulled it away. The box was well beyond saving anyway.
"The... Dresden Files?" the devil asked, exasperated.
"More fiction. Meet humanity," I said with a small smile, "the genre-savvy race."