Beside Gelman's teleportation array, List used several large machines to create a swirling sphere of energy, right under everyone's gaze.
On closer inspection, the sphere appeared to be made of countless tiny particles of light orbiting and circling its core.
"Did it work?" Gelman asked, standing off to the side with his arms folded.
"In theory, it should have," List replied, his expression tense as he watched the readings on his tablet gradually stabilize. "But we need to test it."
"How?"
"With this." List took out an apple and looked at Gelman. "I'm starting."
Gelman nodded. "Go ahead."
The others watched from a much greater distance. Only he and List stood there, because Gelman could rescue List if an uncontrollable crisis struck.
Gelman's presence ensured their safety.
List slowly exhaled, composed himself, then carefully tossed the apple into the sphere of energy.
Whoosh—
The apple tumbled around inside the sphere a few times, then suddenly vanished.
List explained to Gelman, "This kind of teleportation is like broadband internet. Speed and quality are both important."
"Anything swallowed by the sphere of energy is briefly broken down into bytes, like zeroes and ones. When it reaches the Teleportation Point, it's reassembled."
"So teleportation itself isn't the key. What matters most is the 'packet loss' after teleportation."
"Only when the 'packet loss' is negligible can we consider the connection successful."
The actual process was far more complicated, but List explained it in simple terms so Gelman and the others could understand this "method of teleportation" more quickly.
Then they waited in tense silence for about three minutes, until they heard a strange hum.
Whoosh—
A shadow suddenly appeared inside the sphere of energy. It spun around several times, then flew out of the sphere like a spacecraft free from the pull of gravity.