Klktz was quite excited to start their day's work. Today was one of the rare occasions when the department would be studying a potential Existence Atoms. There would of course be the legal and bureaucratic hurdles to get through, checking all the boxes to satisfy the rules of thousands of heads of state, but Klktz was still looking forward to it everything.
Most Existence Atoms are detected during mining operations. This one was a special case as it had been found within the Atom Stream of a citizen during teleportation. The stream was redirected immediately and was being held in stasis for further research. Klktz wondered why people still wanted their original atoms beamed instead of simple deconstruction and reconstruction with new atoms. It made no physical difference in the end product and even caused more problems for transit. Regardless, as it was they held an atomized citizen in the facility which meant more boxes than usual needed checked off.
There was an optimistic anticipation during the several days of paperwork. More so than usual, thought Klktz. Their department had only discovered routine tangent timelines before. This one must have had a higher match percent during the initial scanning. No doubt the suspended citizen would attain a degree of fame after all this. Even if it was just random chance of absorbing a random atom somewhere, people would attach significance.
After two months the buzz gave way to distain over bureaucracy. At this point it was clear the department was processing one of the few known Existence Atoms. Most people were no longer allowed to leave the facility. Klktz was one of the few still bright with anticipation. Klktz was tasked with separating the atom from the Atom Stream. They always found this task to be highly interesting. It took a delicate and focused touch to pull the right atom and replace it with an appropriate substitute, without damage the Atom Stream, or worse, the atom.
After the extraction, after checking all the boxes, sending the Atom Stream on its way, the department felt more relief than celebration. There was the weight of new security, of course, but it didn't hinder the department any. It wouldn't take long before a transport fleet arrived to move the Existence Atoms to a properly secure location. After it was safely tucked away the news would be released publicly, Klktz was sure to be promoted, or perhaps transferred to help with processing the atom. The old guard tech, what was left, were appreciative that departments weren't wiped anymore after a discovery like this.