video.

[micycle]

[For a second after the feed fizzles into life, Mike just sits there, blinking at his device in urgent confusion. Normally it would be astonishment, but the kid's been through hell and (part of the way) back, and it shows on his face; this is going to be the coolest once he gets a good night's sleep under his belt, but right now - ]

Um. [He pushes a pair of dust-coated goggles up into his hair, and coughs. The scarf below his chin seems coated with a similar substance.] Is there an Indiana here?

[A brief pause. He knows how dumb that question sounds.]

I really need to call someone.

Comments

[ Video ]

[ghoulking]

You won't be able to call anyone you know from home, I'm sorry.

This isn't your world.

[micycle]

That's what everyone's telling me.

[And he doesn't sound happy about it.]

I just want to know for sure. Really bad stuff was happening before I came here.

[ghoulking]

I understand.

You can call, but the number won't exist or it'll just belong to someone else. It's good to know that beforehand.

[micycle]

[He's quiet for a moment, and then his head tilts away, as if embarrassed.]

I already did. It said it wasn't connected.

[ghoulking]

I'm sorry.

At least, when you go back home, you'll arrive right the moment you've left from. It'll be as if you've never left.

[micycle]

What if... [He blinks once, twice.] What if something happened to you, before you came here?

[ghoulking]

What do you mean?

[micycle]

Nothing. It's stupid. I was just scared. [He shrugs, trying to brush it off.] There were these monsters.

[ghoulking]

[ yeah, you will be going back to the monsters, sorry child ]

Are you hurt?

[micycle]

I don't know. [One hand comes up to brush some dust away from his nose.] If I'm not hurt here, does it mean I'm okay back there?

[ghoulking]

It's more complicated than that. [ it doesn't mean that, no. ] I can't tell you for sure how are things in your world or how they will be, I'm sorry. We don't have that sort of answer.

[micycle]

[A frustrated and exasperated sigh.]

Someone has to. Who built the Porter?

[ghoulking]

No one knows. It's alien technology and it was found in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. No one knows where it came from, who built or why.

[micycle]

How do you know it's alien technology if no one knows who built it?

[ghoulking]

It's not technology originated from this world. Nothing like that existed back then and it wouldn't be possible to build at the time. [ so it's not native to this place - hence it's alien ]

[micycle]

Well, maybe we can figure out who did make it, and we can ask how to reverse it.

[ghoulking]

[ he is working on that, yeah ]

We have been trying for a while now, but yes. Finding out the Porter's origins is important. The government keeps it under lock and key, though.

[micycle]

And no one here got superpowers that can make them, like, walk through walls?

[He's read a lot of comics.]

[ghoulking]

They have nullifiers around the place to stop us from breaking in. Our powers don't work around the porter because of them.

[micycle]

[So. Many. Questions.]

Nullifiers? How do those work?

[ghoulking]

Through the nanites they inject on us when we arrive. These nanites stabilize our powers and if they are disrupted, our powers stop working.

[micycle]

Holy shit. That's so messed up. How the hell do they get away with that?

[ghoulking]

[ CHILD.

LANGUAGE. ]

A lot of imPorts are angry about that, naturally. The nanites are what keep our powers working, they also heal us and, in a way, they are a guarantee that if we do something bad the government can stop us.

[micycle]

[ FUCK U ]

That's bullshit. The government shouldn't have that kind of power.

[ghoulking]

Perhaps. There are many arguments from both sides, but regardless of them, the nanites are there.