The Time Stone, Third Edition (Extended Version)
Chapter 7

“Lives in wealth and poverty split in two, but no longer.” Broad Staffnight speaks with a reverent voice rivaling any who he went up against as he stands on the stage of the auditorium before a crowd of military and civilian individuals ready to eagerly embrace the unveiling of a new technological advancement by his company. Broad remembers practicing the speech in his head a dozen or more times and thinking of what he is working on is going to change civilization as he echoed the words before the podium microphone as he has done to the mirror in his bedroom over a thousand times over. “We are on the threshold of a new era where the technology we dreamed of for centuries will become a reality and the power our ancestors envisioned as the scourge of their gods will help us turn myth into reality, legend into truth, and hope will come to the world.Along with our philanthropic endeavors to rid the scourge of homelessness from our city streets within one generation, we will focus on producing new innovations and technologies to challenge us and bring hope and prosperity to humanity along the way. This technology behind me is the key to the beginning of our journey into the next step of humanity’s transgression into the new frontier of exploration” Broad says gesturing to the curtain behind him that connects to a gilded string hanging before him. “This will help us in many ways and be used for the benefit of humanity and we at Temporo, Inc. will lead the way! Godspeed on our journey with this new device that will be the first of many more to come as our future depends on it!”

The crowd applauds and stands, eagerly ready for their exposure to the promise of tomorrow.

Broad pulls the string and the curtain drops, revealing a large pod with circuitry and computers attached spanning almost the entire auditorium. “There it is, the Temporo, Inc. Matter Stream Generator, the world’s first Teleportation Device” says Broad. Broad grimaces as he unveils the device he has helped build and that he and others like him have dreamed of for so long. Broad then remembers the story he read as a child by Herman Melville, about a sea captain who has been obsessed with the hunt of the great white whale and how he is often warned by his superiors that “a healthy obsession is one thing, but a crazed one would ultimately destroy you … how odd of me to remember that now?” Broad thinks as the crowd erupts into further applause to the glowing smiles of the white coated scientists and dark suits on stage. Broad merely smiles and rejoices in the moment.