* * * * *
Taimu floated along behind Janice. She'd figured out that he was useless at transporting himself around mentally so she'd tied a rope around his middle to drag him by. "So, why am I coming with you?" Taimu asked.
Janice looked over her shoulder as they floated towards the outer edge of the Great Sphere. "We find that having the most Real person available speak to the candidate is paramount. Just like all Real things, things have more impact the more Real it is. That is why in the True world everything was so sharpened to you and your senses felt so acute. When we go to other realities, things will feel duller. The further we go from the center of the universe, the further we are from reality and therefore the more...explorative our imaginations become. In some realities we can manifest superpowers."
"Like flying?"
"At least."
It was cool, he had to admit. "Is that why you were confused when I couldn't stand?"
"When you tried in your world. I thought that perhaps you were burdened by your paradigm of reality, or maybe that for someone as Real as you, you would have to return to our ship close to the center of the universe before you could walk. It was a theory."
"A ship? We're on a ship? You didn't mention that."
"Yes. The Gateway ship. We're in outer space," she said. "This is how we are floating. I thought that this would be obvious. In your reality, you have outer space, yes?"
Taimu nodded. "Yeah, but...everything these days is abnormal. I didn't put two and two together. But why do you have to keep dragging me if we're in space. Shouldn't I just keep drifting?"
"Different laws of physics, maybe," Janice said. And shrugged, continuing to explain. "We need you with me on this mission because being Real affects our candidate with similar impact as my boot in your world, except on the relationship level. The closer you are to being Real, the deeper your words will touch the candidate's heart. On someone as Real as our current target, we will need you, without doubt."
That must've been why Taimu had been so affected by Janice's words. He still had a hard time connecting the two versions of her. In yellow-green woman he felt disgust, in Janice...
"I get it," he said for the first time since meeting Janice.
Janice beamed and her face glowed lightly.
"You're beautiful, you know." He said it without thinking. As an impulse. He didn't know why. He shouldn't have said it. He couldn't take it back.
Her lips pursed and her glow changed to a red flush. "Thank you," she said.
Taimu changed the subject. "Is that where we're going?" He pointed to the portal nearest them. This close, he could see a thin metallic band surrounding the opening, the size of a manhole. The surface of the portal looked like viscous white water, brightly glowing. He couldn't see through it but the light emerging and reflecting from his suit seemed to have texture and contrasting shadows.
Janice caught the lip of the portal and pulled at Taimu until he was up against it. "This is the first portal," she answered.
"Will it hurt?" he asked.
She shrugged.
They moved through.
The stretching wasn't nearly so bad. It was more of a light pull on everything and it was somewhat comfortable. Taimu heard Janice scream.
Taimu poked his head to the other side of the portal. "Janice?" he asked, concerned.
She held tight to the rope and was hugging herself. Shaking and sweating.
"What happened?"
She blinked and her eyes came to him, slowly. "Nothing. It's normal. Passing through the portal is difficult." She blinked again. "Wasn't it for you?"
"Not really. Not compared to the center of the universe."
She nodded. "That makes sense. It is why you can enter the True world and I cannot. If I entered, I would be torn apart."
"Well, at least you can walk," Taimu joked.
She gave him a tired smile. "Yes, I can walk."
"Each time you go through a portal it's this bad?"
"It gets better the further out we are."
They moved through a long hallway. Portals lined the entire tube above, below, in front and behind. "You don't get lost?" Taimu said.
"We have. But we've since marked the openings." She pointed at above one of the portals. Above it had what looked to be a numeric system in silver plated lettering. It was foreign to Taimu, but as he looked at it he could make it out, somehow.
They approached an entrance to Taimu's...right? Current right side at least as they were in space. He glanced behind and noticed that the portal they had originally emerged from had no mark above it.
This time when they entered, there was no reaction from Janice and the portal felt kind of like a light back rub. The next hallway was just as long, but instead of being lined completely with portals, some of the holes in the walls were windows. Taimu stopped for a moment to look outside. He saw other parts of the ship, branching tubes that expanded in a massive maze about them. He could see stars and planets with moons. He saw galaxies, comets, and...giant floating sea-like creatures. In space. Creatures alive in space. Large transparent wings glowed, catching light from distant stars. Their bodies were ethereal, completely translucent, shaped with fragile skeletons and jellyfish skin between the bones.
"How?" he asked.
"Physics are different in your reality." she stated.
"Yeah, nothing survives in space where I'm from," Taimu said, tearing his eyes away from the angelic space creatures. "About that. This ship. What reality is IT in?"
"It is in-between," she replied. "It exists in the third dimension, but also the fourth and fifth. This is how we travel through time and reality. The combination of our will, the ship's computer, and the distances we move through make any reality and moment in time within reach."
"The fifth dimension?" The fourth was time, he knew. What was the fifth?
"Alternate realities."
Reality was the fifth dimension. Interesting.
Janice gave his rope a little pull. "Let's continue."
They floated to the very end of the tunnel where only one portal was. "Try not to think about anything, I will lead us to the correct time period. And wear my boots," she said, taking them off and handing them to him.
He put them on. "What happens if I think about stuff?"
"You're more Real than I am. We may end up anywhere, or nowhere. Just don't think."
"What's on the other side?" Taimu asked.
She pat his cheek lightly and winked. "We'll find out." She started to move, pulling Taimu with the rope.