Crossover Earth '98
Beam Me Up, Scotty
The United States' Advanced Transportation Research lab just announced the availability of teleport technology. Don't excpect to be beamed up to the Starship Enterprise anytime soon, though. The booth-style teleporters require you to get to the booth under your own power.
While exact figures were not released, the teleporters are enormously expensive to produce. One source, who declined to be quoted, had this to say:
"The teleporters use technology that is as advanced as anything on the planet. Building them is simply not an economical prospect, and will not be until industry starts catching up with the technology and we can get some economies of scale working in our favor."
So don't toss away your car keys yet, unless you're a duly elected federal representative. The booth style teleporters will initially be used to enhance the security of members of Congress and other federal officials. Milton Howe, chief of security for the White House, said:
"The teleporters will eliminate the possibility of a key member of government being assassinated on their way to work. Or even just the possibility of an ill-timed car crash taking their life."
The transportation unions have declined comment at this point, although union members have been heard to vigorously oppose the development of teleportation technology.