About six months ago, the ruling government was approached by a group of five scientists who requested an audience with the Prime Minister.
At first, the Prime Minister considered dismissing them, believing they were merely seeking funding for one of their trivial inventions. However, after witnessing their passion and determination, he decided it wouldn't hurt to meet with them and give them a chance.
He did, however, vow to personally throw them out if they wasted his valuable time.
As the five scientists presented their research, the Prime Minister realized he had been too quick to judge. The prospect of their discovery—a faster means of transportation—was too enticing to ignore. "What did you say it was called again?" he asked.
"It's called the Quasiparticle Transporter, Mr. Prime Minister," replied Ron Banks, the leader of the scientists.
The Prime Minister leaned over his desk, deep in thought. "So you're saying that realizing your research would make teleportation a reality?"
"Yes, sir. That's our goal. With the Quasiparticle Transporter, traditional air and water transportation would become obsolete. Additionally, it would significantly reduce the risk of shipping losses during plane crashes or shipwrecks," Ron explained.
The Prime Minister shook his head in astonishment. "Wow! This... This changes everything."
Although the scientists later asked for financial support, they were far from being dismissed. However, the Prime Minister noted that such a monumental project would require unanimous approval from the various leaders in his administration.
He also wanted to verify the validity of their claims by consulting some of the country's leading tech experts with whom he was affiliated.
Initially sceptical about involving outsiders to evaluate their research, Ron and his team eventually agreed, recognizing that they could not afford to miss this opportunity.
The day after the evaluation, Ron received a message from the Prime Minister's office. After careful consideration, the office stated that they found no compelling reason to fund a project of such magnitude, which posed a high risk of causing permanent damage to both the ecosystem and human life.
The Prime Minister expressed regret, stating that while their research seemed promising, his hands were tied by the concerns raised by the experts.
The basis for these experts' criticisms was that if the Quasiparticle Transporter could truly be realized, the energy it required would be immense, potentially leading to numerous health issues and chronic diseases.
They suggested that obtaining the necessary resources for such a project would be challenging, likening it to searching for something as rare as pitchblende.
Upon reading the message, Ron felt utterly devastated. Not only had he failed to secure funding from the Prime Minister, but he had also been prohibited from pursuing the project in his own country.
Anyone facing such devastating news might easily succumb to hopelessness, break down in tears, or even contemplate drastic measures.
However, that was not the case for Ron. Although he often felt disappointed and pained, he refused to wallow in it like a teenager heartbroken over a lost love.
He reminded himself that he was under no obligation to accept others' assessments of him or his work.
Moreover, he knew that for every opinion, there was often an opposing perspective.
Ultimately, it did not matter if the experts disapproved of his project. What mattered was that he recognized the potential of his research, and he was determined to manifest it—whether or not he received support from the Prime Minister.
**
But despite Ron's ironclad determination, he still couldn't come up with a solution to salvage his current predicament.
Several weeks passed, and every formula agreed upon, every solution employed, every route taken, and every decision made all led to the simple yet devastating concept of...
...Dead-Ends!
At one point, Ron couldn't force himself to look calm anymore. The more the day went fruitlessly by, the more frustrated Ron became. His cruel fate was more than halfway into breaching his wall of emotional defence.
And if the latter were to come to pass, Ron was afraid that he would undergo the simple process of self-destruction.
But yet, he still felt that somewhere within all those streams of hopelessness, lays a flicker of hope. A flicker that he was very much intent on grasping.
However, after countless errors and failures, that flicker became more elusive, overshadowed by darkness.
At times, Ron imagined that his situation would be more bearable if it were not as dire as it seemed.
But reality was unyielding.
His failure to gain government backing posed a threat to his job as a robotics engineer.
His employer had repeatedly threatened to fire him if he couldn't contribute anything significant to the company.
Ron's boss was also furious with the government for their complete disregard for Ron's ingenious project. But since he couldn't openly express his anger towards the government, he redirected it towards Ron instead.
This is why the project was so crucial to Ron. It was not only about gaining fame and recognition; it was also about securing his job for as long as he wanted.
"This can't get any worse than it is," Ron often thought to himself.
But life had its own unique way of treating its subjects.
One day, during one of Ron's trial-and-error runs, he received a call from a local police department.
They informed him that they had just recovered his brother's body from inside his basement.
The officer noted that it had been a robbery and that his brother may have tried to defend himself but was shot in the gut.
Sadly, the neighbours who heard the gunshot were not quick enough to alert the police.
Had they acted sooner, they might have saved his brother and possibly identified the perpetrator, as his brother was, unfortunately, the only witness to the incident.
"I need to see my brother!" Ron demanded as soon as he arrived at the crime scene.
The officer who had called him watched as Ron tried to force his way past five other officers who were restraining him to prevent him from entering the scene.
"Mister Ron, please calm down. Your brother's body isn't here," one of the officers said. "We just took his body to the morgue a few moments ago. You missed him."
At this, Ron's struggle came to an abrupt halt. He shot a confused glance at the officer who had delivered the news.
"You sent his body to the morgue? Which morgue?"
Ron's question went unanswered as the officer who had originally called him approached.
"You must be Ron," the man said, extending his hand for a handshake. "You can call me Dan. I was the one who called you here."
"Why won't you let me into the house?" Ron asked.
"Well, my team is still trying to determine what exactly was taken from the house during the robbery. I assure you, you will be granted access as soon as we finish our search."
Dan paused before adding, "Just you, though."
"How can you possibly know what was stolen if you don't know what was there in the first place?" Ron asked.
"Let me in. I know my brother's house better than anyone, and I'm certain that with my help, we can correctly ascertain the nature of the stolen items, which may help identify the culprit."
Dan considered Ron's proposal for a moment before responding, "Okay. But you have to promise not to withhold any important information from us."
"I promise, officer. If there's one thing we both want, it's justice for my brother. You don't have to worry about that," Ron assured him.