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

[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!"

[intricate_engineer]

"I've been looking. It's not my main priority, but I keep my eyes open. I've talked to a few immortals, one really obnoxious guy in particular. He told me almost nothing, but maybe I'll convince him to be useful at some point."

[the_very_best]

"It seems like a weird coincidence that everyone immortal is unhelpful."

[intricate_engineer]

"It's not really a coincidence. Some of the civilizations seem to have been trying to leave useful instructions. There may immortals helping raise up entire groups of universes somewhere out there or immortals who travel and help everyone they meet. I've just never seen them. I've only talked to three, maybe four, personally and they really aren't a random sample size."

[the_very_best]

"Why are you getting this sample, then?"

[intricate_engineer]

"I know one of them, the really obnoxious guy I mentioned earlier. He knows the other two." Glen says this with more affection than irritation.

[the_very_best]

"How'd you meet him?"

[intricate_engineer]

"It's kind of a long story and I don't' really want to think about it right now."

[the_very_best]

"Okay."