Krishna kumar Mani - SFS1 - Science Fiction Short Stories

Now I’m on stage in New York, behind me there is a teleportation machine and on the other side of the stage there are two screens. One shows the San Francisco stage, and the other shows its audience. The same setup exists in San Francisco, except of course, their screens show the New York stage and audience. Along with this, everything is being live streamed to the internet.

I show my hand to audience and start to talk. “Science fiction concept becomes reality. This is my invention, the teleportation machine!”

The audience looks at the teleportation machine. It looks like a glass wardrobe with two cables connected into the back of it. I begin to explain what teleportation is to the audience, but most of them are familiar with the concept.

“Of course you already know what teleportation is!” I say. “Well then, let’s proceed to the demonstration. I’ll be going to San Francisco by teleportation, please watch me arrive on the screen.”

Once again I wave to the audience and enter into the New York teleportation machine and exit in San Francisco in a fraction of second. I welcome the San Francisco audience and am met with a resounding cheer. The New York audience is clapping from there as well. Some are taking out their phones and calling people, others are hurriedly talking to the audience members next to them.

To impress the both audiences I tell them from San Francisco stage: “I left my water bottle in New York, I’ll be back in just a second.”

I interrupt my speech and enter into the San Francisco teleportation device and exit in New York after I take the water bottle, I see the San Francisco audience by screen and smile. Once again I go back to San Francisco.

I start my speech. “You can’t believe this right?”

Most of the people clap, a few members of press replied.

“Yes. We’re not going to believe it unless we can see it for ourselves. Maybe it’s just an elaborate magic trick. You have one twin here, one twin there. Let us prove it for ourselves.”

I’m not shocked by the reply. Some Hollywood movies have shown how this trick would work with twins.

“Alright then! Any one of you, please come with me to New York! I will teleport you there and get you back here safely. No transport charges! Choose a representative to go, I’ll be waiting.”

After some discussion, they decided to send the CNN reporter. First I sent him by pressing the destination terminal as T01 using the keyboard. The audience and myself see him appear on the screen in New York When he got there, he looked out into the audience and began to talk with them. He asked them if he was really in New York, took some photos and then walked outside the auditorium. After that, we couldn’t see him any longer on the screen.

After a few minutes, one of the reporters suddenly came to the stage and told me that the CNN reporter was on video call on his iPad. We hooked it up so that we could show it on the screen.

“I went outside and checked to make sure that I was in New York,” he began. “I also I checked the current location in Google maps and saw that the city it said I was in was New York. But I can’t believe this, seems to be a dream.”

The audience clapped, they still could not believe what is happening.

“Alright, now I will go to New York and send a different reporter from there to here.”

I sent Francisco, Francisco surrounded me and took photos and started to interview me.

Press: “How does it work?”

Me: “It’s much too technical and complicated to explain in a brief press meeting. I’ll simply say it converts an object from one form to another form after successful transmission and then regenerates the original object at the other end.”

Press: “What is required to operate this machine, is any fuel required?’

Me: “Only electricity to power it and an internet connection to transfer the data. It couldn’t be simpler.”

Press:”What is the use of the internet connection?”

Me: “It could be LAN, WAN or the Internet. the NY Times reporter to San and I appeared again in San right after him. Everybody A connection is required to transport the data like I said. The teleport terminal will convert the object as digital data and transfer it over internet to the receiving terminal. Then the receiving end regenerates the object. After a successful regeneration, the digital data will be automatically erased in both terminals as to prevent copying.”

Press: “Then you mean, a human can be cloned using this?”

Me: “It could be, but that’s really not the functionality of this invention.”

Press: “is it safe?”

Me: “100%, it uses lossless conversion. If there’s an internet connection problem, the data is here so it will either resend it again or regenerate again in the same sending terminal.”

Press: “How can this invention be used?“

Me: “In the future we’ll have no more airports or railways stations, only teleportation stations. People will come to the teleportation station and then can go where ever they want.”

Press: “Can even go to other countries?”

Me: “All the teleportation machines will be linked, they can go to any terminal by entering the terminal number. It can be in any country. It might not even have to be on Earth.”

Press: “Space travel? Other countries? Won’t this be a security risk?”

Me: “Absolutely not. Just like at airport, teleportation will be overseen by the government and everyone will still have to follow the visa and security checks of course.”

One of the press reporters told me that this would be the headline tomorrow and for days to come. They started immediately publishing the news on the internet and I thanked them for their kind words. I sent and received back the reporters. Now I am at New York.

The venture capitalists were eager to meet me. In truth, they’re the ones I wanted to meet with all along.

“Wait a just moment,” I told them. “I will say goodbye to the San Francisco audience and be back in a couple of minutes.”

It took me fifteen minutes to dismiss the meeting and enter into the San Francisco teleportation device after which I reappeared in San Francisco. Business people were waiting for me in New York. Already it was a longer delay than I would have liked I urgently pressed T03 and I exited in New York. No… it was not New York. It was my lab. And my stupid boss was standing front of me. Now I understood. I wrongly pressed the lab’s teleport ID T03. During my work day I tested this machine hundreds of times. I pressed the wrong teleport number by habit and accidentally teleported here. My boss is looking at me angrily and I cannot look him in the eyes. My plan is to run again to the teleportation terminal before my audience wonders where I’ve gone.

“I was busy with my newest research and, in fact, had just completed it when I saw you on the television,” he began. “I hadn’t even noticed my missing teleport machines until I saw the CNN live report and understood what was going on.”

I was silent, just waiting to get out of there. He continued, “You don’t know anything about how the teleportation machines work and still you stole them.”

I run to the teleportation machine and enter the New York teleport ID correctly. Luckily the device is working. I exit and open the door. Again my boss is standing right in front of me.

He pointed his finger at something to my left. That’s when I saw it, the San Francisco teleportation terminal. Now, three teleportation machines were in the room. I’m shocked and I ask him how this is possible.

“This is teleport 2.0,” he said with a smile. “It’s my extension to my teleportation invention. Now I’m able to teleport objects remotely and I can even teleport a teleportation device itself just as I’ve done with the two teleportation machines you thought you could steal.