The First State of Being: Chapters 9–11

Welcome to NPR Doubletalk Globalcast, an open forum to discuss controversial issues of the day with the world’s leading minds.

The unveiling of the STM and the planned demo, scheduled to take place later this year, has ignited fervor across the globe.

The University of Delaware has taken a leading role in the evolution of spatial teleportation sciences, with Dr. Sabio at the helm.

On one side, there’s a palpable level of excitement about the new possibilities offered by spatial teleportation.

I hope to put their minds at ease by reiterating our position at UD: we don’t plan to use the STM until we’re certain it’s safe and in service to the global good.

Can you expound on that, Dr. Robinson?

If the GSC ever gives the green light for us to put the STM to use—which we wouldn’t do until we’ve completed all safety protocols—we would send trained scientists to their preselected timeprints with clear orders of what they can or cannot do.

JAMESON: That’s the only way to mitigate some of the risks.

MEDINA: Thanks for chiming in, Dr. Jameson.

My specific focus is on infectious diseases and their role in spatial teleportation.

Not just the risks of dematerialization and rematerialization, but the risks of contracting and transmitting infectious diseases from one timeprint to another.

JAMESON: We’ve eradicated many of the diseases that have plagued humankind.

ROBINSON: I’m committed to pushing the limits of science in areas that don’t threaten the lives of everyone on this panel and everyone watching at home.

“I told you, this was incredibly expensive. And of course my clothes don’t make sense in this timeprint. But where I’m from, this is projecting holoimages. Any ones I want. If you had adequate technology, you’d see it. Besides, I have nothing else to wear,” Ridge continued.

“Civilization as we know it,” said Michael.

“There’s one thing that I really want to do, one thing I really want to see. Something I’ve read about. A place filled with contemporary sights and sounds and teenagers and everyday, ordinary life. A place where you can get anything you need in the 1990s and find all kinds of things you didn’t know you needed. A place where people shop in real life, in real places,” he said.

As the 2000s progressed, however, consumer habits shifted away from department stores and malls, which triggered their eventual decline.

Gibby once joked that she resented her mother for abandoning the family.

“What are you doing there? You have your own hovel now. I thought it was supposed to be your so-called bachelor pad.”

Wide-shouldered and beefy, like Beejee, so he could shove him against the fridge and maybe punch him in the nose.

“My dad says he’s going to make this into an office,” Gibby said as she cobbled together a makeshift wardrobe of cargo pants, wrinkled shorts, and a few T-shirts.

The folds of his skin looked deeper than usual, and his smile seemed forced, like he was grinning through a grimace.

When the bench came into view, Gibby immediately started muttering, “Oh no, oh no, oh no,” because Ridge was surrounded by the Prince brothers, presumably on their way to the basketball court, since Elijah had a basketball tucked under his arm.

Maybe he’d inherited an athletic gene and didn’t even know it.

“I got you some clothes so you don’t look like a total maniac, though I’m not sure it’ll help much if you go around telling people you’re maxing and relaxing,” Gibby said.