AN: Hello Everyone. For those of you who don't know, I'm Daliastarr (duh it's in the story info) and this is the second story I'm posting on this site. I don't expect many views for this story because it is such a niche category, but I felt this was a fun idea and an interesting story so here I am! I will be honest and say that I don't expect to update this story regularly because it isn't my main project at the moment, but I do have a good chunk of this story already written out, and the rest is already planned so there shouldn't be anything drastic like months in between updates. Please Review. Constructive criticism is always welcome. I want to improve. Thank you and Enjoy!
Johnathan Brown stood in the center of the lab, completely overwhelmed by the chaos surrounding him. All around him dozens of scientists, assistants, and engineers ran about double and triple checking every system; making sure every bolt was securely in place and that every computer was running perfectly. He could barely hear himself as he barked out orders to random workers who immediately rushed to fulfill his request. Nervousness and excitement pounded in his heart. The emotions clashed against each other causing a wave of nausea to overcome him. Everything was riding on this one moment, his only chance, if something went wrong now he would surely be demoted to mopping floors and dusting equipment like so many before him.
Up above him, behind three layers of bullet-proof, shatter-proof glass sat the people who held Jonathan's fate in their hands. Dressed in professionally pressed, individually tailored suits, and sitting on plush leather sofas while sipping the most expensive wine money could buy- these men could destroy his entire career with one flick of a wrist- A thought that made Jonathan's knees buckle slightly in fear. Currently, he could feel their skeptical stares piercing him even as they idly chit-chatted away about various other projects among themselves. In their eyes this experiment was already doomed to fail; a valid opinion considering the extremely outlandish nature of his project. Despite all this, Jonathan just knew everything would be just fine, and thus, he was so excited.
"Final systems check." Johnathan strained his voice to be heard over the whirling of machinery and hurried talk of workers. When all systems were reported to be working perfectly, Johnathan carefully picked up the microphone from his desk and addressed his audience. "Gentlemen, shareholders and supporters of Future Industries, I welcome you to the first demonstration of Project Expedition. Gentlemen, what you see today, could very well change the world as we know it."
With great vibrato, Johnathan gestured to the machine behind him. Twenty feet tall, and just as wide, Project Expedition most closely resembled a large gazebo than anything else. It consisted of a circular platform with six support beams which held in position the actual machine, which looked, from the outside, like a domed roof. Johnathan slowly stepped onto the circular platform and made his way to the small "x" under the contraption's "roof." Turning to once again face the observers, he produced a small box from his lab coat pocket. "Please watch the screen to my left and notice that this small device can be tracked anywhere from within this room and across the globe." Jonathan demonstrated this by pacing the platform floor a few times watching as a small red dot mimicked his movements on the large screen beside him. He then placed the box on the small "x" and stepped off the platform returning to his earlier position by his desk.
A wave of anxiety and anticipation washed over him as he gave the order to proceed. The loud sound of engines starting and the machine coming to life filled the room. The businessmen above him seemed to finally become interested in the demonstration below. The contraption's roof began to spin, and the floor started to radiate heat, but for many seconds, nothing else appeared to be happening. Finally the small box began to shake. It shook with increasing violence until the box's image split into many separate images, slowly fading until nothing remained and the machine stopped. The box had simply disappeared. Johnathan smiled. Everything was working perfectly.
"Gentlemen, what you have just witnessed is the first recorded act of teleportation. We have not yet determined where the teleported objects are sent, but as you can see, they are not sent anywhere on this earth, at least not anywhere we can detect." Johnathan once again gestured to the screen which displayed the distinct lack of a red dot on it's world map. "This crude form of teleportation does not allow us to decide where to send the objects, nor can this prototype handle the teleportation of larger objects; however, using the object's known chemical makeup and signature, we are able to target the last teleported object, and bring it back to its original point of teleportation. In this instance, we can bring it right back here."
Johnathan signaled for the retrieval. The machine once again came back to life, roof spinning as it should. An image began to appear on the platform, but it was much bigger than the box had been. The machine began to overheat, alarms began to sound, and the workers immediately went to stop the teleportation.
"NO! Keep going!" Johnathan screamed above the panic. He had too much riding on this demonstration to stop.
The machine began to buckle under the stress. It was not intended to teleport an object of this mass, whatever it was. A bolt flew loose nearly hitting an unlucky worker, but it was too late now. The teleportation must be carried through. The image of the object was clearer, though Johnathan still couldn't see what it was. Another loose bolt flew off and one support beam began to slide while another beam was crumbling under the pressure. Luckily, at that moment the image solidified and the machine stopped, floor steaming. The teleported object crumpled to the floor as the workers stared at it in awe.
What had come through the teleporter was not an object at all. It was a small boy! He couldn't have been older than 14, no older than Johnathan's own son, Max. The boy looked like he had gone through hell, which in a way, he might have. Burns, most likely from the hot surface on which he landed, covered what little exposed skin he could see. The kid was tanned, with black hair. Sunglasses covered the boy's eyes and his clothes were torn in many places. In his hand was the little box.
"It's a person!" Someone exclaimed. Breaking out of his trance, Johnathan raced to pull the boy from the scorching hot platform; medical teams following closely behind him.
As the medical team lifted the boy onto a stretcher, Jeremiah Brandwein, CEO of Future Industries burst through the laboratory door, screaming at the top of his lungs. "BROWN! What the Hell was that!"
"That kid, he must have grabbed hold of the box when it teleported, a-and come through with it." Johnathan trembled under his boss's wrath.
Brandwein seemed to consider this as the boy was carried off. There was a small clang as something fell out of the kid's pocket. Brandwein carefully picked it up and gaped at what he saw. It was an electronic device of some sort, though it looked like nothing more than a piece of glass between two metal rods. Some images flickered across the cracked glass briefly before they disappeared all-together.
"This is it!" Brandwein exclaimed. "This is what Future Industries has been waiting for! This technology surpasses any I've ever seen! Stuff like this will put Future Industries back on the map!" The CEO looked at the kid being carried away before quickly turning to a security personnel. "Search that kid for any other foreign technology. I don't know where he came from, but he just made me rich. Brown you're fired." He added the latter as an afterthought.
"Fired! But what about Project Exposition? It was a success. I've proved the concept of teleportation. There is still so much to do, and we need it to send the boy back! We don't even know where the box went. He might not even be from this world!"
"Your project is now nothing but scrap metal, it would cost millions to rebuild, and to do what? Send one lost little kid home? It's not worth it. Besides, if this kid has such advanced tech, chances are he knows how to work it, possibly even build it. I'm sure you understand."
"So you're keeping him from his home? His family? You're kidnapping him!" Johnathan accused angrily. "I won't let you get away with this!"
Brandwein sighed. "I expected as much. You always were so fond of your morals."
The CEO nodded to another security agent before turning to leave. The last thing Johnathan remembered was a loud bang, and then darkness.
one last note: I find it very amusing that any version of the word "teleport" isn't recognized under any spelling on either this site or Word, especially in today's science-fiction cultural aspects. I don't know why but that fact seemed relevant.
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