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]

"Some Pokémon can affect the weather. Usually only very locally, but it means the forecasts aren't that great."

[intricate_engineer]

"I should probably waterproof it then. Your parents would be okay with it?"

[the_very_best]

"I can talk 'em into it no problem!"

[intricate_engineer]

"Great! That's probably higher priority than training. Do you want to come with me and explore Milliways some more while I work?"

[the_very_best]

"Sure."

[intricate_engineer]

They make their way back to the storage shed. Glen puts a piece of tape over the lock.
"Hopefully no one will try the door."

[the_very_best]

"I wonder if there's a way to make the time stop effect kick in when we get there by gate instead of door."

[intricate_engineer]

"That would be very useful. Let's ask."
When they get inside, Glen approaches the bar.
"Hi! Do you know if our portal works like the door? Can we make time stop outside?"

[alicornucopia]

It does not. I am not aware of any mechanisms by which you can cause that if it doesn't happen of its own accord.

[intricate_engineer]

"Thank you."
Glen turns to Bella, "Actually, we don't know if it has stopped."
Glen walks back upstairs and to the portal. She sets a timer on her phone and pushes it through the portal.

[alicornucopia]

When retrieved, the timer shows that time has passed.

[intricate_engineer]

"Let's see what happens when I turn the portal off."
Glen pushes the timer through again, and this time shuts the portal down completely.

[alicornucopia]

Time passes.

[intricate_engineer]

"Ah, well. Maybe Milliways just runs exceptionally slowly and the connection caused you world to sync up?"

[the_very_best]

"You don't think the 'we didn't come through the door' explanation does it?"

[intricate_engineer]

"That would imply the door is actively doing something to the universes people come from, which isn't out of the question I guess."

[the_very_best]

"It seems likelier than Bar misrepresenting it."

[intricate_engineer]

"Yea. Probably wishful thinking on my part. Also, where do these random entities keep getting these seemingly infinite power sources? Is it luck? Is there some secret cheat code?"

[the_very_best]

"Keep getting?"

[intricate_engineer]

"Well, I know there's someone out there who can create universes and I know there are several that can destroy them. There's the handful of immortals wandering between universes refusing to talk to anyone. We've found artifacts that suggest, sometimes explicitly say, that the beings who invented them have gone post-physical. Some worlds have arbitrarily large sources of magical power, that usually are limited to natives or have complex rules that make them difficult to use."

[the_very_best]

"I can't help explain that, sorry."

[intricate_engineer]

"Really? I was hoping you could. I guess I'll have to go find someone else."

[the_very_best]

"Sorry."

[intricate_engineer]

"Sarcasm. I'm kidding. These are mysteries I doubt I'll ever know the answer to."

[the_very_best]

"Yeah, I know, but I really am sorry I don't have the answers, it's the sort of thing I'd like to know!"