There was something about the activities of the Central Bank he did not authorise. Perhaps someone watched his papers as Demi’s ram managed the accounts of the World Bank, where Murlo was in charge. Murlo was the head of the bank and complied with his orders and Money Master’s instructions and the group for the money emission.

 ‘What are these energy-consuming experiments that bothered Murlo so much?”

 ‘Quantum teleportation with the ability to move physical objects into their created digital images. I used the bank network to transport entities with artificial intelligence. I also created the model to register and deliver the information with ram assistance. I sent this ram to collect the information about the bank for your convenience. I had to check how the teleported digital entity could collect and deliver information using the bank network.’

Skydle instantly put two and two together.

‘So, you did not ask Murlo’s permission to access his files?’

‘That is right. Your ram entered the system without his password… More precisely, he found the password within seconds.

Demi felt there was no need to continue. Skydle noted his mistake. The car was driving silently.

‘So, you used the bank network for your private experiments,’ concluded Skydle.

Demi had nothing to add. His head sank. Skydle was silent. He memorised the details and considered how to help his friend survive. Purchasing the processors consumed all the money Demi had accumulated over the past ten years of his work.

Skydle remembered walking along the beach with Demi and discussing the technical details of his project a week after his group moved to the offered premises. Looking at the cape jutting out into the ocean, Demi said that he could reorganise the space for object teleportation. He was close to getting it.

Only with time, Skydle learned that this step was inevitable before travelling in space….

‘Look,’ Demi said that time, ‘The distance on the water is shorter to this headland than the walking distance on the beach. However, suppose the plane of the water surface is bent. In that case, the coordinates of any physical object here may coincide with the geolocation or coordinates of its projection onto this cape. I calculated the process for space reorganisation. This requires minimal energy to send an image there to learn the conditions before teleporting the physical object. The question is how to get the information to teleport the physical object safely. Another issue is the energy needed for the object’s entry into the hyperspace tunnel.’

At that time, Demi explained his work in simple words. He said, ‘If you pierce the map of this Bay with a knitting needle at your location, you get a hole. If you bend the map and make a hole in the coordinates of the cape with the same knitting needle, you can align the coordinates by bending the map sheet. These coordinates will match. The map sheet will be in the form of a sail, reflecting the reorganization of the space. That means you can exist in two places simultaneously. That is why the changes in entangled particles are congruent. Virtually this is the same object regardless of its digital or physical nature. This is the essence of the theories of quantum teleportation and quantum entanglement, the theory of a single object that unites entangled particles.’

Then Demi said he had learned to reorganise the space for teleportation of the codes of digital entities and was already using it. This process requires energy to be used in areas outside of a bank network.

The car drove out of town, and the landscape changed. The neatness of the cityscape was left behind, and the dirt roads were already more in line with Demi’s old but proven car's tasks. The car stopped in front of an unkempt, old building. It looked like a suitcase without a handle and even had no windows.

Demi quickly jumped out of the car. The proximity to technical innovations seemed to breathe enthusiasm into him, and with a creak, he opened a massive door.

Skydle left the car and looked around. Meters from the building, the earth was clean as if someone had shaved it with a blade. This place reminded Skydle of the original inhabitants of Fairy World. He sat down and touched the surface. It was smooth earth. 

He heard the flip of the toggle switch, and Demi walked out, inviting Skydle to come in.

‘There are probably ways of accessing energy sources without wires. It is needed to teleport physical objects and find an entrance channel. The first experiments were unsuccessful until the accident happened during the search for the entry.’

‘The entrance channel means Digital Gate or a portal for you to another dimension,’ Skydle decided to joke as he entered the spacious hall, but Demi did not get the joke.

‘Yes, of course,’ he replied, glad that Skydle had begun to understand the essence of his work. ‘However, I used the bank network as an entry point. You may call it a Digital Gate.’

Simultaneously with standard lighting, a bright LED light flashed over the hall's centre. As if at the exhibition site, a cyclopean construction shone in an illuminated circle. At six meters from each other, there were two spheres of different sizes, wholly studded with cables and nozzles. The wires fell to the floor like thick, armoured snakes. The needles, on the contrary, bulged like pipes. Each of the spheres rested on a massive steel frame made of channels. The edges were also pulled together with beams and wrapped in shiny film. A thick tube of wires ran from the larger sphere to the table in front of these spheres. Electrical cables hung from the ceiling, extending into spheres, and a cylinder sat gracefully on the table.

‘This is the remaining processor, coordinating the interaction of magnetic fields in spheres that change the configuration of space,’ Demi said proudly, pointing to the cylinder.

Rejoicing Skydle’s attention, Demi walked over to the smaller sphere and stroked it on the surface.

‘I’ll try to describe it just before the demo.’ In his words, there was enthusiasm and pride in participating in the project, which he wanted to complete.

‘Have you heard of quantum entanglement?’

Skydle nodded, remembering the unfamiliar topic, but he had heard the term more than once.

‘When it’s not clear, ask.’ Demi thought about not using terms that his friend didn’t understand.

‘At the level of elementary particles, there is a possibility of creating a specific connection between two particles. This connection is called entanglement. Manipulations over one of the particles lead to a change in the second state. Moreover, the link is maintained when particles move away from each other at any distance, which acts instantly. One attempt to explain the very fact of entanglement is that the two particles are not separated. They are two points of the same object. This object may lie outside of our three-dimensional world. Two entangled particles are linked through another dimension. Measuring more than one is possible, but it does not matter now. I have already told you about the mapping of coordinates. Do you remember our conversation on the beach? ‘

Skydle nodded, looking apprehensively at various instruments, including radiation dosimeters and pressure meters.

Demi looked at Skydle, trying to catch an understanding, and he was satisfied. He began to express his thoughts.

‘I found the technical solution to change the space near the object. That would assist in teleporting the object instantly at any distance. Eventually, there was a choice to leave in selected coordinates with a copy of the object’s image and use the energy to reorganise the space. After that, teleporting any physical object towards the chosen coordinates is possible.”

Demi explained that the experiments resulted in pairs of entangled particles placed in three-dimensional space and two circles in parallel planes in different spheres. Following the theory of a single object uniting entangled particles, a contour was formed in space, isolating the area between two circles. In other words, the modified space created a transportation channel. As a result, the space around the object for transportation changed. The object fell into selected coordinates as a holographic copy. That was the first step of teleporting.

Demi said that the technical implementation came to his mind by accident after he analysed the Information Stream content obtained by his friend Doctor Fair, which included formulas for calculating the intensity of magnetic fields.

Demi’s speech was losing its effectiveness. He decided to demonstrate to Skydle his theories in practical terms.

‘I want to show you a miracle.’ He put his hand on the sphere where he stood, ‘Here is a camera with a contour, and there is an emitter.’ He nodded towards the table. The spheres are to re-arrange the space and send holographic images of the objects.’

‘This pipe…’ He pointed to a Y-shaped trunk between the table and the spheres, ’… serves as a tunnel of particles. It also balances the pressure throughout the system. More precisely, its absence.’

‘Next.’ He signalled towards a door in a dark corner,  where a compressor and refrigeration stood.

‘Come closer to the big sphere,’ Demi asked, moving forward.

Skydle stood next to him, watching inside the sphere.

‘Look.’ He jabbed his finger at the window on the end side of this sphere. ‘Inside is the generator of the magnetic field creating the image of the objects outside of the sphere. We are such objects. Inside the vacuumed space, our images with untangled particles are created. As soon as this is done, the space will be changed to bring our images to different locations, towards the small sphere, at a metre distance.’

.Skydle could barely make out the dimly lit two circles opposite each other. A high-frequency noise was heard, and it was getting louder.

‘I hope the walls are thick enough,’ Skydle remarked, to say at least something, worried Demi’s demonstration was safe.

‘The walls are thick, and there is a vacuum inside. Currently, there is no risk, at least for the people near the spheres. The space distortion will be outside the nearby space. The process is not visible.’

He dashed to the panel and turned on the switch. Something boomed behind the wall, and then the sound began to rise. The compressor appeared to have started working. The pressure arrow on the Y pipe did not move.

Demi caught Skydle’s gaze.

‘Don’t look at the pressure gauge. The pressure is zero, and the mechanics won’t show you anything. And yet, it will take some time to pump out the leftovers.’

Skydle waited for further action, listening for sounds. He became anxious. If he did not trust Demi, he would have never entered this trap, but it was too late. He was directly involved.

‘Well, now you can. The identification of the images has been completed.’ Demi walked quickly towards the table and clicked a machine gun on the cylinder. A high-pitched and extremely unpleasant sound came from the table, and the small sphere began to sparkle. There was a hiss, and Skydle smelled the air as before the thunderstorm.

‘Don’t worry, this is the emitter,’ Demi said, ‘Now you can see the space near the small sphere.’

The whistle-like noise had risen even higher and was now barely audible, but it pressed on the ears perceptibly. Skydle became uncomfortable.

‘Now look, don’t touch the casing. Please do not take a step without my instruction.

Demi gestured again to Skydle. They watched the space. At first, Skydle did not see a thing. Demi turned off the overhead light. Skydle could now see the blinking of indicators with his peripheral vision. Nothing was going near the small sphere, but the sphere started to spin and change colour.

‘Look, look.’

Immediately after these words, it seemed that the space near the spheres was filling with a barely noticeable glow. A few seconds later, the silhouettes of two bodies appeared next to the sphere as if they had emerged from nowhere. These were the bodies of Demi and Skydal. Shocked and bewildered, Skydal raised his hand and waved at himself, greeting the guests. The guest mirrored his movements in sync. Skydal's eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and he noticed how Demi's doppelganger was watching another entity with pleasure. It was him—Skydle. Skydal turned his head and saw Demi looking at him.

“This is a copy of your image in space, a copy of the body and its atoms in form. We can send a digital code to create an object at a distance, but moving something 6 meters requires energy. We can use a video helmet to see what surrounds our replicas, although you will be able to feel and see what is around us,” Demi added with pride.

“This is the future. This is a stable two-way channel. If I sent our images over the horizon, we could see the environment there while being here through the video helmet. The information can be recorded and transmitted to us in real-time. You can see everything there as if you were there. If a self-developing code of an entity with artificial intelligence is sent, the entity can behave as if it were a robot, and we can control it. This entity can reproduce a physical object from the given code, be visible or invisible, but with the ability to materialize. Energy is required for this. The main thing is that by observing

what is happening, there is a possibility. We don’t need a lot of energy for this process. Another problem is related to transporting a physical object into its digital matrix. Energy is needed for that. This part of my work is not finished,” Demi said, thinking about returning the keys to the machine.

The friends looked at their reflections, immersed in the moment's uniqueness, when suddenly Skydle felt changes in the scene. The scene with their images flickered as if captured in a moving mirror, and at that moment, a sparkling purple cloud appeared, revealing a dark figure forming within. From the mist of the cloud emerged the black cat. Increasing in size, its form became both majestic and threatening. At the exact moment, between the cloud and the duplicates of Demi and Skydal on stage, a shimmering sphere of yellow and blue appeared, from which a face with an evil eye emerged, glaring fiercely at the black cat from beneath its furry brows, revealing a sparkling white tooth from its mouth.

Demi felt that the face of this entity, with fangs directed at the cat, was familiar to him. However, as the cat emerged from the cloud, it seemed to focus solely on existing, in reality, Demi and Skydle, as if the threat lay within them or were its legitimate targets. The cat's malevolent gaze reflected its intentions.

A cold realization swept over Skydal. He sensed that the creature resembling a ram-beast that had emerged from the sphere clearly intended to destroy the black cat, and its entity was also aware of them. Instinctive fear filled Skydle, warning him of the inevitable. He felt danger.

On stage, silhouettes of animals were forming, transforming into beasts. The enormous black cat, now human-sized, realized that another entity had intruded between him and his legitimate victims, focusing solely on him. The gazes of the cat and the forming ram-beast met—silence hung in the air. They were ready for battle.

At that moment, Skydle and Demi realized they could become victims if they didn’t sever the connection. A chill ran down Demi's spine, and he felt his body's hair stand on end in response to a visible threat. He was not in control of the situation. The black cat, scanning the distance between the objects on stage, was ready to attack and chose between them and their replicas. Its size was comparable to that of a large panther, with defined muscles and sharp white teeth. Its precise movements and predatory demeanour left no doubt about its intentions.

The distance between Skydle and Demi and their doppelgangers was assessed, along with the time it took for the image of the rambeast to form, becoming a reality as the sparkling sphere around it faded. The vector of attack was determined. The cat was ready to leap. Demi remembered that the attention of the new entity, this ram-beast, was directed solely at the cat, and only later did Demi understand why. It was not clear to Skydle what could have happened to them if their twins were damaged.

Sensing Skydle’s rising panic, Demi severed the connection with unwavering determination.

With a click of the switch, the entities vanished, leaving the friends frozen in thought about the inexplicable event or hallucination.

They could not discern how the events in the space that had disappeared with the severed connection had concluded. Moments later, Demi rushed to the place where their images had been. It was empty; the only reminder of what had occurred was a faint smell of ozone, an aura of visions that had just unfolded and disappeared. Only after realizing they were safe again and back in the laboratory did the friends grasp the seriousness of what had happened. It was unclear whether the entities from another world could cross the boundaries of space within the laboratory. Were they visible to these entities?

Demi knew that in his Fairy World, the appearance of images was intertwined with the technologies of his world, allowing these entities to operate in the space of their materialization; however, the transfer of objects and physical mass over distances remained a topic for research. These entities were programmed, and their actions were linked to a specific goal, but the black cat was not just an image; it had become a threat to them or their counterparts, a threat that someone was eager to eliminate. Who had sent this rambeast?

“Can you teleport physical objects?” This was the first question Skydle asked after the silence as everyone tried to explain the appearance of transformers in space.

“I’m trying to do that. It should work. When materializing our duplicates there, in another space, it might be possible to use the same technology to return our images first and then materialize the physical body. The only issue is the energy expenditure in this process. What would you think if you saw someone like you, Skydle, but with different intentions?”

After reflection, Skydl replied, “Yes, that might be a way to produce a labour force related to the amount of energy required to transfer a physical object with a DNA structure.” An element of irony or humour pierced through these words. Composure was returning. “What destroyed the area around the building?”

“I thought about that. This explosion, which interrupted the final phase of the experiments, was caused by a discharge of electricity from the channel transmitting energy for this, and one of the processors failed. I linked it to my mistake; however, it is possible that someone altered the energy transmission vector, which was the basis of the damage to the space here, around the building. Since then, I haven’t dared to transmit a physical object. Only one processor remains. It will work with anything, but I haven’t had time to test it in a magnetic field to determine the energy transfer vector. Keeping objects close to each other can be dangerous. The process of changing space consumes energy. For tests, we could place a manipulator and change the design of the spheres. I know how to redesign them. How I wish to repeat that test.”

Demi's face changed. He returned from an excited state to reality. “At least I could show you something before the electricity was cut off.”

Skydle pondered, recalling the meanings of those diagrams in the ram's report, which reflected the digital processing of physical objects and had unauthorizedly appeared in Murlo's files. This unresolved issue troubled him. He felt danger for himself as well. Someone was controlling Demi's work, and that meant they were controlling him too.

The two friends exited the building. Skydle remained silent and glanced around as he headed to the car. Demi understood that more information was needed to make a decision.

 ‘Are there other danger experiments that may affect the environment?’

 ‘Skydle, the basic experiments are completed. I can send the entity with self-developing digital code and a hologram of the image to another space and record the environment there. It is safe, as you can see. I seemed to know how to teleport physical objects, but I needed the time and resources. You know how I am interested in developing these technologies.’

 ‘I see.’ Skydle squatted down and touched the land. It looked like a blade cut the surface, removing the layer and creating a geometrically accurate circle with the building in the centre. You were lucky no one was here during your experimenting’.

 ‘I dismissed the rest of the team. As funding ceased, the leading specialists left as if they received the strict order from elsewhere. That was unusual to me.’

Skydle thought. He felt that there must be consequences and explanation for what happened.’Perhaps you did not let your team know the aim of your experiment and the associated risks. If I did not know you all your life, I would have left myself.’

Demi had nothing to add. He was not in charge of making any decisions.

Demi thought of how to solve his issues. He discussed the next plan of action.

With a sullen look, Skydle pulled out his phone and began getting used to the organiser's role. He dialled the Central Bank's number. The expression in his eyes changed. On the outside, he already looked like a different person. Demi realised it was better not to interrupt Skydle with questions now.

‘Skydle, The Chief Coordinator of the Banking System, the Federal Bank Activities Coordinator speaking. Could you please connect me with Murlo, The Banker in Charge and the Chief Executive of the Central Bank?’   

There was a pause in replying regarding Murlo’s business. Without any hesitation, Skydle responded.

‘Is he conducting an interview? Tell him to know to postpone his business and meet me in one hour in my office. Urgently. Thank you.’

Skydle looked at Demi, thinking about how to save his skin. He knew what the Bank would do with a debtor unable to return their loans, but he had to understand what had happened.

His phone rang. It was Murlo calling back.

Without greetings and in a tone that did not bode well, Skydle said, ‘Explain, Murlo. Why doesn’t your secretary immediately connect the Chief Banker with the Chief Coordinator of the Bank Activities, as your job responsibilities require?’

In response, there were excuses and assurances that everything was under control.

‘Okay,’ Skydle continued, ‘Why is Demi, the State Digital Writer, ordered to carry out the tasks of the Money Masters, being disbanded and his funding cut off without my knowledge? Whose decision is this, and why did you not inform me?

 The pause on the other end was suspicious. Skydle sensed something was wrong. The answer came as a vague explanation. Murlo started to speak about the report and security violations.

Skydle’s response was dry and laconic.

‘This is not up for a discussion over the phone. Find out who is responsible for violating my recommendations concerning Demi and his work for the bank industry. I will be waiting for you in my office in an hour. I hope you can review your assigned obligations. I would suggest selecting new premises for Demi’s laboratory and organising the transportation of his equipment. This is essential for the survival of our Industry.’

After the reassurance of Murlo’s availability to attend the meeting in one hour, Skydle ceased the conversion.

Demi looked to Skydle as his saviour.

‘Demi, due to the data being collected by the ram, the digital entity you created, you became a bearer of the banking secrets. This should not be within your official duties. Murlo is concerned about privacy and security violations.’

‘I made no mistakes and am grateful for your time and support. Skydle, I’m not a big fan of CBDC codes, but I did everything on your terms and requirements. The exchange value of money is difficult to measure. If you can't measure it, you can't improve it. Collecting data was a condition to know how to manage the system.’

‘I know, there is no point in repeating my cautions,’ replied Skyldle, encouraging Demi to continue.

‘My opinion is that our previous project will not benefit the people of our world. Everything called cryptocurrency now depends on the money generated by the Central Bank. Yes, we created the code for convenient control of CBDC over the distribution of benefits and various currencies with different algorithms for their formation. Functionally, this money will be pegged to a dominant currency. I know another way to use financial codes as finance. That approach I learned from Doctor Fair’s letter you conveyed to me. Strangely, the code formation uses the same technologies for tokenising the objects. Those technologies are partly related to what you just saw. ‘

The friends looked at each other.

‘What do you think to do next? It is better to think about yourself, Demi.’

‘Skydle, there is another place with access to the state electricity supply near the Parliament House. One of the specialists who I taught is in charge there. He reassured me that if we move there, the drainage of the energy may be prevented by his facilities.’

“ The Parlament House….” Skydle jumped to see the picture to explain how Demi’s setup related to his work. He remembered the diagrams copied from Murlo’s file. He gave those diagrams to Demi for workup after he received the correspondence from Parliament House. Demi, however, lodged the audit report related to Central Bank activities with the diagrams pinched from Murlo’s file. Murlo also belonged to the 1st Power Vertical. Skydle knew his responsibilities. He also knew how the government was selected and who was in power.

Several verticals of power on the planet conflicted, and Skydle thought about how those diagrams appeared in Munro’s file. Skydle aimed to ask Munro how he understood the role of a financial regulator, coordinating profit distribution from transactions on the approved digital platform.

The 1st vertical of power created and distributed print money between bank leaders, the elite and working people who learned about the budget after the location of the finance for war companies that protected the hegemon. This country gave prices for world commodities and regulated the national bank money conversion between world territories where other power verticals controlled the population. Skydle was elected for his position to coordinate the business activities between banks where the bank system selected country rulers to act as the 1st vertical of power demanded. There was a concern that other power verticals didn't obey and more and more finance should be spent on the war industry.

Skydle tried to find the outcome, and his thought returned to his teacher, who addressed the last words to him as to his favourite student. That was a while ago before Skydle learned how his teacher was killed.

The move to the CBDC was imminent, and Skydle's professional relationship with Murlo had to be tested. Skydle and Murlo were its representatives and considered their place in the finance hierarchy. Entering the office, Skydle saw Murlo respectfully waiting for his boss.

He kept his conclusions about Ram's report to himself, recalling the fears of his Master.

It has been a while since that meeting when Skydle began understanding the essence of the conflict between the Teacher and the Sages and the reasons for his death. Skydle felt that his Master learned something about the prospects for the planet's development but did not have time to transfer knowledge. He managed, however, to ensure his appointment to the post of Coordinator. "You will understand everything with time yourself," were his last words.

Within a week, Demi resumed work in the new premises with a revised plan for his activities. He was supposed to improve the digital code of the latest means of payment. He agreed with Skydle, who became the head of Demi's activities. Friends shared the results of their work.

Due to Murlo's report to the Money Masters, Demi lost some of his qualifications. He became a regular code writer to work under supervision. It was a sad outcome for Demi. His right to freelance for the government to create digital objects for sale has been forfeited.

The good news was that Skaidle became Demi's direct supervisor. Under his duties, Demi got the opportunity to work on the second part of his project—the teleportation of holographic robots and physical objects into their tokenized copies.

The new building met the criteria for Demi's experimental work.

Demi carefully selected the employees in his group. As before, he tried to hire the best. When Skydle set out to find out who was in his group, he noticed with amazement that most were astrophysics, energy and artificial intelligence specialists. When asked how the codes of the new Legal TenderTender will be formed, Demi replied that the choice of technologies depends on the purpose of using finance. His counter question was how he solved the issue of maintaining equipment and funding the laboratory.

Smiling, Skydle said, "In addition to central banks, there are Masters of Money. They elect governments. There is disagreement about the basis on which to generate monetary codes. Your code generation work is in demand and will be supported here."

Demi's answer was well thought out.

"The new Legal Tender must be the ground of the economy and not serve as a mere means of distributing goods and products of labour for minorities. The Tender should reflect the exchange value of an object to teleport or exchange locally for the benefit of value item creators. We may work out this topic together."

"I did not expect you would have offered differently, Demi," Skydle encouraged him.