lorentzian | 01 ✴ written / action

My name is Jane Foster. And if I'm remembering everything correctly, which I can hardly believe, then I've been here before. That being the case, there are a few people I need to talk to. You'll know who you are.

For those who don't know me, you might remember a spectacularly failed attempt at escaping the enclosure some time ago. (Sorry for the vague time frame. I haven't figured out yet how long I've been gone.) For anyone who arrived after that time, I'm an astrophysicist who specializes in wormholes. Well, it's more complex than that, I also study quantum energy fluctuations and related terrestrial phenomena pretty much all over the world - Earth, I mean. Earth. Earth in 2013, for anyone curious. Sorry, this is getting off topic.

In a nice turn of events, I didn't wake up outside, so no search and rescue needed this time.

I guess, um.

Hi, everyone. Old and new. It's - weird to be back.

[ Once she's done writing that plain, unembellished message, Jane shuts her journal and sighs, staring at the blank wall opposite her. Thank the powers at be for small blessings, like waking up warm and comfortable for once instead of half-frozen on a forest floor.

Since the apartment in which she awoke is one of the unclaimed ones, there's nothing really here for her to make use of - or, alternatively, disturb. So a short while later she is slipping out the door, walking on tip-toe down the halls and stairways, though she'll pause at the entrance of the building. She doesn't relish the idea of going out in the cold barefoot and in only a sundress. So she'll skulk about there, deliberating while checking her journal periodically for responses. Anyone who doesn't immediately strike her as Overtly And Comically Evil will probably get a hello. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah. Guessing you've been around long enough to remember that fiasco, huh?

[ Ruefully. His question wins a huff of a laugh. ]

Not exactly, no. A wormhole is more like a bridge between to points in space. A black hole is a singularity.

All that and more! It's been more than three years since I came here now.

[Three whole years... and even that doesn't compare to some of the people in Luceti.]

So, a wormhole's not just one point, then? Like, you pass through one, and you don't get ripped molecule by molecule?

[Why yes, someone may have read about spaghettification.]

[ That gets a surprised laugh. ]

Not if it's stabilized. There's a number of different theories on how to create a stable, traversable wormhole, but, um-- if it helps, I've seen one? And, well, technically been through one. Even if we didn't end up where we wanted to be. [ Somewhat wryly. ]

Huh, sounds kinda like Mickey's Star Shard, if it didn't work. 'Course, that's an object and not a portal, but it's got this habit of transporting you to random worlds when you least expect it. One minute you've got it in your hand, and the next, you're shooting through space at like a million miles an hour.

[Okay, so maybe that's an exaggeration, but still! It's intense.]

Ummmm... wow, I'm not sure how that works. It sounds like ... almost a portable version of what Tony and I were trying to build? How can something so small stabilize a--? Wait. Magic. Of course. [ She huffs a laugh. ] There's -- stupid question, but it's not here, is it? I'd love to see something like that.

Well, it's here, but it's stopped working altogether.

[He heaves a sigh.]

Same goes for my Keyblade. Normally I'd be able to open up a path to the Lanes Between and get outta here, but no luck. It doesn't even work outside the barrier, even without the power cap.

[ She's about to practically pounce upon the chance to examine the Star Shard, because holy cow, what an interesting research project that would be--

Until his last statement, and she kind of locks up. In an instant she realizes the horrifying implications behind it, and when she speaks again, her voice is strained. ]

It's not just the barrier preventing interplanetary travel? Oh my god. That must have been the missing variable in our calculations all along. I can't believe-- could it have worked if we'd known? Oh my god. I.

[ She cuts herself off after that, floored by the revelation. ]

[Was it really that simple? Before responding, Ven takes a few moments to mull over her words, scratching his head and then folding his arms.]

I think it's something about the world that's holding us back. The Star Shard, my Keyblade... plus, some people I've known could open up portals with darkness, but those'd only work within the enclosure. What I don't get is why those powers don't work. What makes this world different from any other?