Dr. Richard Watts, a physicist, created the world's first teleportation device.

It performed as expected ...

He knew of the philosophical quandaries. Did he kill the test animals, and merely make copies of them? Or did they remain original, and their essence carry over? No matter, the teleported animals behaved identical, choosing the same routes and treats in a maze.

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On a hot summer day, Richard left the basement windows open and formulated equations. He heard a bark and growl, whimpering, and more barking.

He peeked through a window and saw the neighbor's dog behind a fence in their front yard, barking at every passerby. The neighbor rarely stayed at home. The heavily panting dog clearly looked exhausted in the simmering heat.

Richard stepped out, grabbed the dog, brought it downstairs to his lab, then fed it water and a snack.

He tried petting the dog, but it growled and nipped at his hand.

"Ah, ha!" Richard raised a finger.

He made some calculations, scanned the dog, and put it in the teleportation device.

The dog reemerged passive and cuddly. No more barking. No more growling. And its teeth not quite as sharp as before. He passed the dog through a few more times with minor adjustments, so it tolerated the heat outside.

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Some years later, Richard pitched the idea of his teleportation device to a group of angel investors. He assured his new stakeholders that the original stayed intact and showed proof and demonstrations that each human test subject turned out to be the same person.

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Richard's teleportation device overtook other transportation methods. It became ubiquitous and monopolized the industry.

Once that happened, Richard opened the backdoor to his teleportation code and triggered a series of changes ...

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In the beginning, people acted a little more stupid, a little less passionate, and reserved.

In time, with additional programming, humans transformed into beings without greed, hate, or love—but instead, cuddly, loyal, playful, trainable, and, most of all, obedient.

No more crime, hunger, poverty, illness, or wars occurred.

Richard commanded his new pets, as he became the shaper of human destiny.