Omar sat in his office pondering the speech he had memorized for the board. His confidence wavered as images of General Klaus’ sneering face flashed in his mind. Omar had been researching teleportation for five years on government grants and this board was meeting to pull his funding. The demonstration might work but it was a gamble.

He thought back and remembered 5 years ago when he created his first portal. Since then Omar had tested the portal, trying to figure out where things went when he put them into it. The board wasn’t going to believe the results of his experimentation, but he had to try. The board had chosen him for his broad view of science. It helped that Popular Science Magazine had named Dr. Omar Metzger as “The Most Brilliant Scientist since Albert Einstein”. All of his past inventions paled in comparison to his recent findings. Omar’s concerns rose as he considered the government’s tendency to pull funding on research that didn’t meet the original goals.

Tyree Stackhouse burst into Omar’s office. “Dr. Metzger, where have you been? The board is here and they are meeting without you!”

Omar Metzger never ran so fast in his entire life. He instructed Tyree to go get the machine and the robot. Tyree was a great assistant. Omar couldn’t believe that he had let time slip by on him so fast.

Dr. Metzger slipped into the room only to see all six members already seated and talking. General Klaus was seated at the head of the table. “Nice to see that you could join us Dr. Metzger. Unfortunately, we had to come to a decision with out you.”

Omar knew that the General was engaging him in a game of political chess in which he would never win. His reaction would be crucial. Omar’s heart began to beat at a rapid pace. He would have to take the General completely off guard.

Omar slammed his clipboard down on the table right in front of the General so hard that it broke into three pieces. Omar got in the General’s face and looked him square in the eyes. “I know that you would love nothing more but to pull my funding, General. And that is well and good, but I WILL NOT be treated like one of your minions. That brass on your shoulder may mean you always get your way in the pentagon but today, YOU will shut your mouth and listen to what I have to say.”

The General’s face had turned red. Omar wondered how far he was from being a victim of combat reflexes. Omar looked around at the other five members. There was Professor Sasha Romanov, General John Elder, Millionaire Richard Mayes, Doctor Robert Benfield, and Jack Raven. Omar looked at them all, “I am ashamed that all of you would let this man bully you into a decision without first hearing from me. All of you, except for General Klaus, began all of this with me because you had faith in me. And I believe that my reputation far precedes me. “ At this time Tyree rolled the machine into the room. It was covered by a sheet.
General Klaus began to open his mouth in protest, but he saw that he no longer had sway over the board. Omar got him at his own chess game. Tyree put the machine at the front of the room and then brought in a little robot that had thick tread wheels.
Omar took the sheet off of the machine to reveal a complex bulk of gadgetry attached to a stone archway that looked like something one might find in an archeological dig. Several board members began to ask questions, “Where did you get the door, how does it work, does it really teleport people?”

Omar explained, “This doorway was found somewhere in the Mediterranean in the 1940’s. It has been waiting in a government volt until we had the technology to study it. And it does teleport.”

General Elder then asked, “What is that faded writing on it? It looks to be Ancient Greek.”

Omar looked at General Elder with a smile on his face “You are correct sir. Most of it is faded, but what we can make out reads, “I am the Way.”

Omar took a quick gaze around the room and saw that he had everyone’s full attention. Even old Klaus was fighting a look of anticipation. Jack Raven, the youngest in the group cleared his throat before asking, “Why did you need the coma patients? Where are they and how do they fit into all of this?”

“Good question Mr. Raven. I will explain that after a quick demonstration.” Omar pointed to a grid screen attached to the machinery on the archway. This device will show me where the robot goes. It will track anything in the world by satellite. I have tested the equipment and it is very sound. However, when the robot goes through the portal it is gone. At first I thought the portal was malfunctioning the device. But now I think it is something much larger than that.”

“Are you saying that you are teleporting it into space?” Asked Professor Romanov.

“No, it will be easier to explain by demonstration.” Omar pulled a switch on the machine and electricity shot out into a dome around the machine and settled to a translucent screen in the middle of the archway. Omar took a remote from his pocket. “Now, I am going to tell the robot to go on the other side, pick something up, and come back. I have to program this into the robot ahead of time because we will lose contact with it.”

The robot left the room through the archway and disappeared. The blip on the map screen disappeared. After a few minutes it came back through the archway holding a rock. Once again they could see the blip on the screen.

Omar took the rock. “I have had the robot come back with rock, sticks, and grass. I have analyzed the minerals in the rocks and almost all of the elements are recognizable. But there is one element in the rock that has never been seen. The cellular make up of the grass is entirely different than that of any known. It is more (for the lack of a better word) pure. It is my hypothesis that the robot is not going to outer space or this planet, but to another dimension.”

General Klaus got out of his chair. “I don’t know about you all, but I am done. We asked for teleportation not a science fiction novel. My vote is to cut funding.” He then walked out the door.

Omar smiled, “I thought he would never leave.”

General Elder then said, “Tell me what you are doing with the coma patients. I don’t see how this all fits in with them. I don’t even know that I believe what you are proposing. But I need to know what you have done with these people.”

“With much testing I have found comma patients who exhibit a large amount of brain activity. Dreams have never been explained. It is my hope that dreams are our connection to alternate dimensions. If this is true then the average person slips in and out of multiple dream dimensions, but someone in a coma could be stuck in a more permanent state. This is why I chose individuals who went to sleep and never woke up.”

Richard Hayes and Jack Raven began whispering to each other. Professor Romanov just sat silent in her chair staring at the rock. General John Elder was rubbing his temples and grimacing. General Elder asked, “And how long have you been using government money to research this dimensional travel.”

Omar looked him in the eyes, “Five years.”

General Elder looked at Omar and said, “There is no doubt in my mind, Omar, that you are a brilliant man. You may even be on to something, but you are nowhere close to the initial task given to you. I am going to have to vote that we pull funding. The government has given Dr. Metzger six million dollars in the past 10 years. The military needs teleportation not dimensional travel.”
Richard Hayes finally spoke, “The government should pull his funding. However, Jack and I have decided not to pull our funding for one week. We will give you one week to prove your hypothesis.” Jack and Richard then left the room.

Omar looked at Sasha Romanov who was still gazing at the rock. “What of the scientific community Sasha? Where do my peers stand on this matter?”

As Omar spoke General Elder nodded and departed the room. Sasha looked at Omar, “It would be foolish to pull your funding. You are on to something. I want to look through your findings. May I have a copy of your records?”

Omar handed Sasha a thick document. “This will be a start.”

After everyone had left Omar sat down at his desk. He was drained. He only had one week but he needed several years. There was only one way to prove his findings, but it was probably the most scientifically unprofessional thing one could do. One week would give him plenty of time to gather materials and books. A portal is a strange concept. It is like a door, but there are many kinds of doors. Some open both ways and some revolve. Others only open one way. If a portal was like a door, there was a 33% chance that once he got to the other side, he would not be able to return. But the only way to prove his findings was to step into the portal and video tape his findings. Omar was glad that he had already tested the passage of time between both sides of the portals by sending a watch with the robot. It looked as though one day here was two days there. He decided he would use two days to gather supplies and books. On the third day he would enter the portal in hopes of being back after one day on the other side which would be two days here. That would give him enough time to find what he needed and get back before his funding was pulled.