text: “Come on, honey, it’s a routine procedure. They’ve done it a billion times!” “But I don’t want to go, Mom! What if it goes wrong and I’ll get stuck in between somewhere?” The nurse looked down at the timid boy with a heartening smile. “Your mother’s right, Joey. You don’t have to be afraid of anything. These days, we teleport ten billion people a day all over the world!” But Joey didn’t care, how many people had already done it. It was the same as with getting your cancer “vaccination”. Everybody had to do it at one point, but the first time still was frightening. “Get out the way!”, another boy of similar age as Jimmy proclaimed. “I’ll go first and show you how it’s done.” With a smug face, the kid jumped into the colourful telepod and began typing in his dad’s address. “Miles, wait!”, a young woman called, as she was pushing through the waiting line past Joey. “Don’t you want to wish your mother goodbye?” - “Uuurghs”, Miles returned with a sigh. “It’ll just be until the evening, Mom. Dad’s gonna send me back before it gets dark on this side.” Without further hesitation, the boy pressed the familiar red button, and the telepod promptly sealed up to prepare for the process. As Mile’s mother waved him farewell, the burning laser plate at the top of the pod heated up quickly. The youngster gave Joey a complacent last look - before the plate hurled down and erased him in the blink of an eye. \ At first, Miles couldn’t see anything but white. This didn’t surprise him as he knew that, after a teleportation, the eyes had to get used to the new surroundings. Not being able to see, the boy focused on his other senses. The air smelled quite fresh - maybe even a little sweet - which was rather unusual for the Las Vegas International Teleport. Oddly enough, the distinct sound of a cooling down pod and its roaring machinery couldn’t be heard either. As Miles began seeing more clearly, a mysterious figure in front of him took shape. It was an older man, with a long, brown beard and a warm smile. Regaining his vision, the boy soon realized he definitely wasn’t at the teleport. Instead, he was surrounded by light, fluffy looking clouds and some occasionally placed stone pillars and arcs. The sun shone brightly, although it was not hot, and the white puffy hillock he was standing on felt soft and comfortable. The boy turned his attention to the elder. “What is happening? Where am I?”, he asked confused. Taking a closer look, Miles noticed that the man was barefoot, wearing only a white tunic with a red toga over his shoulder. A shiny, golden ring floated above his head. The man answered calmly. “Don’t worry, my child. You are safe here. I believe, you call this place *heaven*.” Miles felt distressed. “What do you mean? Heaven? I should be in Vegas with my dad!” Tears ran down his face as the boy started to panic. “I - I want my da-ad!!” “Oh, it’s always hard when they don’t expect to pass.”, sighed the elder. “But don’t be sad, son. You are going to feel better very soon.” “But I am not dead. I just teleported! I do it every weekend!”, Miles exclaimed, falling on his knees. “I AM NOT DEAD!!” “I understand.”, the bearded man replied. He looked past Miles. “I suppose, *they* can explain it to you better than me.” The kid turned around. Behind him, at least two dozen children appeared, ascending from a small valley of clouds. They all looked identical, with the only significant difference being their clothing. As the group approached, Miles realized, that he himself looked exactly the same as them. The boy, that appeared to be the youngest, lowered himself to Miles. “I know, you are afraid. Don’t worry, we’ve all been there.” The other children nodded in silent agreement. “But I shouldn’t be here. I should be in Vegas now. It’s not right!”, Miles explained. “I know...”, the younger boy replied. Although he looked like Miles 3 years ago, he seemed to be much more mature. “Basically, you are in Las Vegas. But not you-you; a copy of you is there.” Miles was confused. “Look...”, young him tried again. “Every time you teleport, your body gets completely dissolved. Then, on the other end, an exact copy of your body is recreated. But the original you... is gone.” Could it really be? Did Miles die every single time he used that machine? “Hey, I know what will help you.”, young him remembered. “Let’s get you to Mom. She’s already waiting for you.” The children helped Miles up, and led him down the valley where they came from. Descending the hill, he turned around to take one last look on the bearded elder. However, in front of the man, a timid boy appeared, obscuring the view.