“My colleague here has the other key ingredients of a basic integrated circuit or microchip: planarized copper and our substrate.” She pointed to two more pieces of material, one coppery, the other a tarnished green, that were clasped between tweezers in the hands of one of the white-coated technicians. She nodded to the man, smiling a little, and he placed them in the big sphere. When they had first tried this it had seemed so strange. Like adding a few grains of salt to a meter-wide paella dish, one grain at a time, or pouring a jug of water into an empty swimming pool. She looked down into the lower hemisphere of the open machine where the three pieces lay in its golden apex. How little we knew. She smiled and then glanced at Mr. Matsuoka.

Oh, my stern-looking Japanese friend, you look so doubtful. You have no idea what you are about to witness. In about five minutes your mind is going to be thoroughly blown.

She came back to stand in front of the president and smiled as she heard the three techs carefully closing the sphere again, the big machine sealing with a dull thud. Matsuoka was starting to look anxious, glancing every now and then at Ito Hanso standing at his shoulder. He wasn’t sure whether he should really believe what he was witnessing. It had seemed plausible in theory, and the ladies had been more than adamant. But now, as he sat facing this monstrous machine with its gaping, hollow core, he found himself worrying if he had fallen pray to biggest prank in history.

Returning to their computers, the technicians activated the machine. After a moment’s anticipatory silence, a bass hum could be felt around the room as the big machine came to life. More than one of the technicians looked from side-to-side, a little concerned, as this was still only the fifth time they had powered up the miraculous machine. Matsuoka did his best to remain impassive and Madeline smiled. She had done this several more times than the rest of the team, wanting to test the more elaborate applications of the machine when the others were at home or asleep. It took longer to set the machine up without assistance, but it could be done. She had done wonderful things with the beast. It was going to change the world, in more ways than one.

“Now,” said Madeline suddenly, making several of them jump, “we cannot see anything inside the sphere as there is absolutely no light inside that block. But the devices attached to its outside, by the very virtue of the way they control what occurs inside, can show us what is happening to the objects inside as well. This information is shown to the machine’s operators in a graphic representation which allows us to operate the machine, and for your edification we are going to show you the same view which they enjoy.”