Searching Far and Wide

[intricate_engineer]

Glen was creating a prototype for a new gate design. It was meant to be affordable and provide quick transport between individual homes. She tests several objects and a rat and everything seems to be working.

She steps through. Instead of finding herself in the room next door, she finds herself standing on a sidewalk in an empty city. The buildings are tall and perfect, colorless with doorways far too tall for any human. The roads have no straight lines and twist in on themselves. There is no life or sound.
Glen tries to stay calm. She begins to walk along the road, randomly opening doors and exploring buildings that are as silent as the rest of the world.

She opens a door that she hopes will lead onto a roof and is instead met with warmth, and soft noise, and color.

Comments

[the_very_best]

"Um, Sinnoh, which, I guess likewise," says Bella, squinting at the napkin.

[intricate_engineer]

"If you give me a quick summary of your world, I can tell you if it's a blueprint I'm familiar with."

[the_very_best]

"You know a bunch of them?"

[intricate_engineer]

"Yea. I travel a lot. Sometimes worlds are completely unique, but sometimes they fit onto a familiar pattern."

[the_very_best]

"Um... there's a few billion people, we've got what I think of as pretty decent tech which I don't know how indicative that is but probably people from a couple centuries ago wouldn't think to classify their world in terms of tech at all? The planet's round, it goes around a sun, it has a moon. Buncha kinds of Pokémon, they kind of dominate the economy, I guess they wouldn't necessarily have to do that everywhere."

[intricate_engineer]

"What would you say is the most recent or advanced piece of technology you have? Are there other planets in your solar system? How many continents are there? What are Pokémon?"

[the_very_best]

"Did you just ask me what Pokémon are? Do I need to - um, we also have plants, and bacteria, and I'm a human..."

[intricate_engineer]

"Are Pokémon a type of animal? You may just have different categorizations. Sometimes labels don't translate well."

[the_very_best]

"What's an animal?"

[intricate_engineer]

"Maybe that's the problem then. I have some pictures."
Glen turns on her computer and pulls up a picture of a kitten, a rat, and a blue whale.

[the_very_best]

"Those look sort of like some species of Pokémon but not the same."

[intricate_engineer]

"That does suggest your world isn't an Earth variant. They typically have these animals. Do you have any pictures of Pokémon?"

[the_very_best]

"I have six actual Pokémon, or do you just want pictures? I can pull up pictures?"

[intricate_engineer]

"You do? Where?"

[the_very_best]

Bella pats the six red-and-white capsules on her belt.

[intricate_engineer]

"They're inside? I'm impressed. That's some advanced tech."

[the_very_best]

"Pokémon can be stored as information."

[intricate_engineer]

"Why are you carrying them with you? Are they your pets?"

[the_very_best]

"Uh... some people keep Pokémon as pets but mine are a field and battle team."

[intricate_engineer]

"I think I'm missing something. Can I see?"

[the_very_best]

"Sure." She tosses a ball to the ground. It pops open, releases a flash of red light, and returns to her hand; the light resolves into a unicorn with fire for its mane and tail. Bella reaches unhesitatingly into the fire mane and scritches.

[intricate_engineer]

"Can I?" Glen asks, reaching out her hand, but not yet touching the Pokemon.

[the_very_best]

"Avoid the fire, she doesn't know you yet, but she'll probably let you pet her nose."

[intricate_engineer]

Glen gently runs her hand down the Pokémon's nose.
"Would the fire burn me?"

[the_very_best]

"Yeah, it depends on whether she trusts you or not."

"Dash," says the fire unicorn, tolerating nosepetting.