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

[intricate_engineer]

"Nope. We even brought in some people with different kinds of magic, and none of them could join."

[the_very_best]

"How functional are the people if they aren't in a group?"

[intricate_engineer]

"Functional, but kind of blank. Time seems to help, but they don't have many independent thoughts. Something about getting used to immediate feedback."

[the_very_best]

"This must make families weird."

[intricate_engineer]

"Children grow up a lot faster. They are pretty much in a group with their parents 24/7 until they start school."

[the_very_best]

"How far apart do groups get?"

[intricate_engineer]

"They are initiated by touch, but aren't limited by distance. A few are even maintained in-between universes, though at least one member has to be in their home universe.

[the_very_best]

"Oh, what happens if they all leave?"

[intricate_engineer]

"The group breaks. Apparently it feels like the others all died."

[the_very_best]

"Yikes." Bella shakes her head. "Okay, third choice?"

[intricate_engineer]

"In one universe, humanity had a religion that worshipped beauty as a god. It was only a minor religion for the first part of that world's history, but it had a huge revival around the time of their technological revolution. They were fortunate enough to live in a solar system with several habitable planets. The members of this religion had the belief that it's easier to create new beauty than it is to fix what isn't beautiful. So, their religious leader led the colonization of the first new planet. Only the truly devote went. Everything was a work of art, everything. They converted more followers, and led the colonization of several more worlds. Eventually, humanity stretched across that universe, and most of the worlds were colonized by this religion. It's spectacular. I can't put it into words. Every world became more beautiful than the last."

[the_very_best]

"I bet that's a popular tourist destination."

[intricate_engineer]

"It is! It's made them really wealthy, and they're still building new worlds."

[the_very_best]

"The multiverse sounds fascinating. I hope you find a way to join up to the rest of it."

[intricate_engineer]

"Me too. I'll show you around."

[the_very_best]

"Maybe I too can find something that wants to give me dodgy immortality!"

[intricate_engineer]

"Yes, or someone who kills you for the presumption of asking."

[the_very_best]

"...I will be cautious in my search for immortality!"

[intricate_engineer]

"Good. If I can connect us, at the very least I can get you more time to search."

[the_very_best]

"Life extension tech?"

[intricate_engineer]

"Yep, and we can make accidents less deadly."

[the_very_best]

"Like how?"

[intricate_engineer]

"Pretty much, if we get to someone while they are still alive, we can save them. Sometimes even after. We can create blood and skin from the person's own. We have machines that can temporarily function as a heart or stomach or liver or whatever is needed while a new one is grown."

[the_very_best]

"We've got some of that but yours might be better."

[intricate_engineer]

"Maybe. The big breakthrough was learning to grow stem cells."