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Jane took the professors hand and shook it, saying 'I know we went over this last time, Professor Kauffman, but could you please tell me again if this procedure is truly safe?'
The professor smiled at Jane and, with his free hand, he pushed his glasses back up to the top of his nose. 'Now, Ms. Bergman, I can understand you getting nervous so close to the experiment. But, please, let me reassure you that we have tested this process on numerous living and non-living things-plant, animal and mineral.' The professor cupped his hand under his chin and continued 'In all of the tests we have done, we have seen no adverse side-effects, short or long term, in the subjects-whether the transportation worked or not-had we seen anything bad occur, at all, then we would not be proceeding to human testing, no matter HOW good the results looked.'
Jane thought about this for a moment then asked 'so, this 'teleportation' thing REALLY does work?' 'Well, yes and no', said the professor, 'sometimes the object transports and sometimes not-and we are yet to determine what factors are required for success. Still, we need a humans "subjective" view of the process before we can adequately move on to further testing of the process itself!' The professor paused for a moment, then continued 'remember though, Ms. Bergman, that you ARE a volunteer, and can back out at ANY time!' 'What, and give up the easiest $5000 I'll ever make' laughed Jane, 'not on your life!'
With that, the Professor ushered Jane into the laboratory-where she immediately saw two large dome shaped objects, each covered with wires and a host of scientific paraphanalia, at opposite ends of the room. 'Well, if you're ready, we'll begin', said Professor Kaufmann, as he led Jane up the steps to the nearest dome. At the top, she opened the sliding door-panel, and stepped inside.
© Copyright 2004 aussie (UN: aussie_lurker at Writing.Com).
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