(no subject)

[a1enzo]

"So, this is my apartment."

It's a modest but comfortable studio, with a futon, table, two side-by-side beanbag chairs, a number of posters and other wall decorations, an old version of WinAmp in the corner, and quite a lot of one wall taken up by something that looks not unlike a Stargate.

Comments

[street_sparrow]

Gavroche, arms full of his stack of metal, makes a beeline for that wall.

"What's this? A worldgate?"

[a1enzo]

"Yeah, it links to Dani's basement. Our parents made it for us. That's how come we got engaged."

[street_sparrow]

"Because you've got a worldgate?" He considers this. "Because you knew you wouldn't lose each other?"

[a1enzo]

"Yeah. Milliways is great, but it's not exactly reliable. If either of us lost access... I was terrified of that."

[street_sparrow]

Gavroche nods. "I've known it to happen. But how did her parents do this?"

[a1enzo]

"Oh, they're mad scientists, and so's my dad. A scientist, I mean, he's not mad, just eccentric. And they've all worked on portal technology before. So they sent notes between us, and we pretended not to have any idea what they were doing."

[street_sparrow]

"Yeah, but... this isn't just folding space to make a portal. It's two whole different universes. That's... not supposed to be possible."

[a1enzo]

"Well, systems aren't physically linked either, but we travel between them all the time. And the Fentons' first portal was the Ghost Portal, and that goes to another dimension. Maybe it's just easier in our worlds. Anyway, it's not like I know how any of it works."

[street_sparrow]

Gavroche laughs. "Yeah, dimensional physics isn't really my strong point either. Maybe it is because your world's different, or theirs, or both. Or maybe I'm just wrong."

[a1enzo]

"Or maybe our love is just soooo strong, it breaches the boundaries between universes."

Yes, he is trying to make you nauseous.

[street_sparrow]

Gavroche makes a face at him.

"No, that's Milliways."

[a1enzo]

Enzo snickers. "That too. Anyway, hang on, I'll get a zip file for your load."

He digs in the closet and produces what looks like a small satchel, clearly smaller than Gavroche's armful. "Here you go, just dump 'em in here."

[street_sparrow]

He eyes it, but only briefly - he's well aware of claudications - before obeying.

"Thanks."

[a1enzo]

"No prob."

ziiiiip

"Scan first or tour first?"

[street_sparrow]

"Let's get the scan out of the way. Just in case."

[a1enzo]

"You got it. C'mon, Minus."

He leads the way out of the building and to the parking lot, where his car sits in a parking hover.

[street_sparrow]

"Where're we going?" Gavroche asks, following.

[a1enzo]

"The Port Authority, where I work. We oughta be able to beg a nano on one of the scanners."

[street_sparrow]

"They're used to check things being imported?"

[a1enzo]

"Exactly," he agrees, taking them up and out.

It's only a few minutes' drive. If Gavroche looks down, he will get a preview of a sector heavy on the street entertainers and rather diverse cafés; if he looks up, he will see more flying vehicles and the circuit-patterned shell of the sky.

[street_sparrow]

Gavroche is trying to look in all directions at once - and eventually calls Kennis - now looking like a mouse more than a rat - out of his sleeve to record images for him.

[a1enzo]

"Minus, he's working, stop pushing his buttons."

They arrive at an enormous building, comparable to a major airport, overlooking the energy sea. Enzo parks in the employee lot. The first few hallways as they enter are about equivalent to a fairly busy office building, and then they come out into a public area and things get LOUD.

[street_sparrow]

"Kennis, don't bite Minus, you know better than that."

He covers his ears on reflex when the sudden sea of noise breaks.

[a1enzo]

A sea of noise from a sea of sprites. Gavroche can probably get a decent idea of cyberspace's populace from the swarm around them: a majority of binomes, a fair number of numerals and assorted characters, humanoids in various levels of detail, and sundry oddballs and indescribables.

"Did I mention it gets pretty busy here?" Enzo asks, raising his voice, as he leads the way to Arrivals.

[street_sparrow]

"I've never heard anything like this. Not even at the Market on its most popular days."