Significant changes had occurred in his small house because the furniture had arrived, and someone had already set it up: two beds and two smaller wardrobes. A table with four chairs was placed in the middle. Tim was relatively silent during lunch; he didn't like that more and more strangers were arriving in the small village. But he also saw the worried looks of the locals, who were concerned that this might become permanent. Even Sara had more work now; she no longer served the food herself; a young girl was going around the tables instead.

Too many changes had occurred in just a few days. Tim had to get used to not being alone in his house anymore, which reminded him of the old days. When his two housemates arrived in the evening, he didn't know whether to be happy. He was partially pleased because they brought dinner and offered some to him. But beyond that, they wanted to talk, and Tim was too absorbed in his thoughts about Mara. He was too worried about the girl.

After finishing his mandatory tasks, he went outside into the yard to hear his thoughts. He stood in front of the scarecrow's junk again and only managed to lift some dusty pieces of clothing. Pluto also came out. He heard a deep, rumbling voice behind him: "What are you planning to do with these?" the inspector asked curiously.

"I wanted to make a scarecrow because I planted corn behind the house," he gestured in that direction with his hand. "And if they sprout, I must scare the birds away. But I might be too late because the crows have gotten used to it; you can hear them cawing even now."

"If you want, I'll help. I don't have anything better to do."

Tim was surprised at how helpful he was, but he had to admit that the work went much easier this way, and the inspector boy had some perfect ideas and insights. By dusk, they had finished the crooked little scarecrow and were satisfied with their excellent job.

The next day, the gatekeeper was also greeted by changes at the teleport station. A pole had been dug into the ground in the middle of the hill, and a camera was mounted. Tim eyed the device suspiciously and looking around, he saw that it was the only one he could see. His two housemates didn't stand to the side but followed Tim and sat behind him. They watched his every move, or at least that was the feeling he got. Pluto noticed his discomfort and leaned closer to reassure him: "Relax, Tim, we're not monitoring you. The fuss is just because of the camera, to show that we're doing everything here!"

Tim felt somewhat reassured because he had almost thought someone would come and accompany him. Fewer travelers arrived, but those who did were much more thoroughly checked. His housemates also examined the papers and asked questions and other inspectors randomly checked travelers in the line.

This was all too much; he had yet to experience such strict checks in the city. Besides, he didn't understand why there was such a fuss about questioning travelers who weren't going to Heiné.

His previously routine job now felt like he was balancing on a tightrope, afraid of swaying to the right or left.

He didn't see Judith anywhere; he saw only the uniformed inspectors pulling people out of the line and leading them away.

Later, they walked together with the other inspectors towards the inn. For the first time, Tim realized just how angry the locals were. Their usual quiet life had been disrupted. Not only did Tim feel the change, but the locals also disliked the constant bustle, the comings and goings, and the many uniformed soldiers. This was clearly shown by the woman who, upon seeing them approaching, grabbed her child playing outside and ran into the house. Tim also saw people loudly slamming their doors shut elsewhere when they saw them coming. Tim couldn't understand why they expressed their anger this way.

At the inn, he faced another surprise. After lunch, everyone suddenly stood up, and champagne glasses appeared from somewhere. Holding one in her hand, Judith stepped forward and handed it to him: "Tim, I would like to convey the management's gratitude for how you perform your work and protect the teleport station from unauthorized crossings. We've chosen you as the employee of the month. Allow me to congratulate you!" She raised her glass high while the others received their champagne.

Tim took a big sip of champagne just as Judith mentioned the employee of the month title and successfully choked on it. The person next to him patted his back, and when he felt better and no longer needed to cough, he clinked glasses with everyone with his now-refilled glass and accepted the congratulations.

Sara had also prepared a cake, with a gray marzipan piece on top resembling a teleport station, which ended up on his plate along with the cook's smile. The chocolate cake was delicious, possibly with walnut pieces, but Tim didn't pay attention because he felt the whole situation was ridiculous and embarrassing. After the cake, he received a certificate with his name beautifully drawn and signed by two top officials. The employee of the month badge, which seemed small, somehow looked enormous in his hand. Judith saw how he was focusing on his palm, interpreting his distant gaze as profoundly moving. She took the badge from his hand and pinned it onto Tim's uniform.

She looked at her protégé proudly as if looking at her child since he could have been her son. "Well done, Tim, I'm proud of you! I know this gate will be in good hands when I leave. At least I won't have to worry about that!" she said gratefully, looking at Tim.

"Are you going back to the city?" Tim asked as he walked back to his house with Judith. It became a habit for his boss to accompany him home and then stop by Noir's place for a chat.

"As a matter of fact, I received a mission, an assignment. And although it's confidential, I still have to tell you because you'll have to let me through tomorrow," Judith said, glancing suspiciously at one of the locals who poured a bucket of water onto the road before them.

Tim paused. "You're going to Heine?"

Judith also stopped, but she gestured for Tim to continue walking. They both felt like the locals were watching them everywhere and giving them hostile looks. Judith even vocalized this: "What's gotten into everyone? When I arrived, not everyone was this hostile!"

"I think they don't like having their quiet lives disrupted... So, where do you need to go?" Tim insisted.

"Yes, there. It's quite a dangerous mission. We received a solid tip-off about who has the invention. I volunteered to retrieve it because I used to know one of the FYI members. Now I'll have the opportunity to interrogate him," Judith explained.

"I've heard of them, but what does FYI stand for? For your information?" Tim asked curiously.

"The official version, yes, but I think it's more like fuck you inquisitors, in my opinion... They'll do anything to undermine our existence, the inquisitors'," Judith grimaced.

"I never understood why they call the inspectors that. If I remember correctly, they used to call torturers that in ancient times," Tim pondered.

"Yeah, I believe you're thinking of the Spanish Inquisition, but this is different."

Tim wondered how this could be different since their methods were the same. Destroying the enemies of power at any cost.

"The girl who wanted to cross here, some Mara," Judith began, and Tim stumbled, even though the road was smooth. "She's also in Heine. She was identified, but there is no data in the system where she crossed."

"Wow!" Tim muttered.

"But it's only a matter of time before they catch her, so we don't need to worry about her. We're very close to unraveling the entire FYI organization in Heine and cleansing the place of them," Judith spoke passionately, showing her commitment to the authorities. And Tim felt like he used to be like that a few weeks ago, but then this girl came, and he started to think about things.

Suddenly, he thought, what if he told his boss he let Mara through? Would he be punished, or would they overlook his mistake? After all, he received an award today; it would look bad if the employee of the month made such a big mistake! But no, he couldn't do that to Judith; it would also be a failure for her.

"Traveling was always my dream," Tim said. "Maybe that's why I wanted to be a gatekeeper. I never thought about it, but gatekeepers don't travel anywhere; they just stand in one place. And they can only see the adventurous spirit of excited travelers. I envy you for being able to cross. I've always been curious about that island..."

"Well, I've been there once. It's a trendy vacation spot for the wealthy; you can imagine I wasn't there for a vacation... It has beautiful lagoons, and you can even take boat trips in the city. Quite lovely. But the real deal is not Heine; it's the smaller island next to it, Iop."

"Are there still vacationers there?"

"The rich society couldn't be banned, so this situation is complicated. Because permits were still being issued, costly permits that no one wanted to miss out on. But at least the local teleporters aren't working, so you have to swim from Heine to the little island. We've stationed guards on both shores, so the traffic is heavily monitored."

"That's why you said they'll catch Mara soon?"

"Sooner or later, yes," Judith said, and she was about to say goodbye to stop by Noir's place as usual, but Tim stood before her as if deeply contemplating something.

"Could you take me with you? As some sort of reward?" he blurted out, gathering his courage because he had been thinking about this for a while. This way, he'd have a chance to save Mara.

Judith was taken aback by Tim's determination. "How did you even think of that? This is a secret mission; I couldn't even tell you! And it's dangerous!"

Tim hesitated, but he felt more and more that he had to do this. "I was in the training for deployment, weapons handling, shooting, close combat. I excelled in all of them; you can look into it."

"I understand, Tim, but you've never been on a real mission. Learning the theory and going through the training courses is one thing, but a real mission is a bit different..." Judith seemed to be deep in thought.

"Judith, please. I'll never have another chance to leave this place. Let me go with you, let me practice, the real deployment. I could even be of help to you. I always knew I wanted to travel!" he pleaded with his boss, feeling like he needed a better reason: "I want to benefit you, catch the enemies of the authorities. And only I know what Mara looks like..."

"Hmm, interesting that you say that; we found an old recording of her... but that could also be a good reason. Let me think about it, Tim! In any case, I like how determined you are. I'll bring it up to the management, and then we'll discuss their decision in the morning."

They said goodbye, and Tim was glad that he still asked Judith despite his concerns, gathering courage. He didn't know exactly what he was doing but knew he didn't want to stand by the teleporter anymore.

With an unusual cheerfulness, he threw himself into his tasks, and he even had time in the evening when his inspector roommates arrived to welcome them with dinner. The two boys looked somewhat tired.

"What happened to you?" Tim inquired.

"It was quite a workload; today, we had to interrogate those whom we ejected from the queue yesterday and today," Pluto replied, and it was evident from his hand that it hurt; he kept rubbing it. Tim had no doubt about the nature of this challenging task, which must have been interrogation, but he didn't think they did it here in the village. He thought everyone was transported to the city.

"And was the work successful?" Tim asked as he cut bread for everyone.

"You know we can't answer that question. What's gotten into you?" Pluto took the bread and started eating.

Tim already regretted bringing it up; it was just a friendly conversation. He hoped he could leave soon because he also began to find the presence of the two inspectors oppressive. He knew how things worked in the system, but these had always seemed distant; now that he was part of the terrible things, he didn't like how things were going.

He entered the garden, looking at his cornfield with the scarecrow in the middle. Not a single seed had sprouted yet. Perhaps it was better because he knew he couldn't stay here after the day's happenings.