Stretch: The Portals
Writing Exercise #36
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Since the last writing exercise, there was a hurricane and I’ve been out of commission. Landed somewhere stable for now, but it will be some time before I’m back at home base and otherwise normal circumstances. Since things are a little more stable, I had enough brain space to write a lil’ exercise. Please enjoy!
If you have ideas for Prompts, Crunches, Sprints, Relays, Stretches, Fables, or other writing exercises in the future, please leave them in the comments! If you would like to write your own take for this exercise, please comment with a link so that I can see what you wrote and support your work, maybe even share your version with my subscribers. Please let me know if you have any thoughts, comments, or constructive criticisms as well!
Enjoy!
Stretch: That portal idea
“When are you from?”
“I’ve already told you. That question doesn’t mean what you think it means.” The prisoner shifted uncomfortably in his bonds.
“What does our question mean?”
“I could answer you what year it was when I left my universe and entered yours but without knowing the difference between universes that information is totally meaningless.”
“So you are from another universe?”
“Do you want me to teach you about multiverse theory or do you want to interrogate me? Do you have anyone I can talk to who actually knows, I don’t know, literally anything.”
The interrogator furrowed his brow even deeper—if it was possible—and leaned back in his chair. The two men behind him flanking the door folded their arms impatiently.
“Let’s start from the beginning. What universe are you from.”
“Runners call it ‘Aspen’. I was born there, but it became a home and hub to Runners after the Portal War.”
The interrogator scribbled something on his page before continuing. “And what do you call this universe?”
“This ones…uh, I think Phoenix. I didn’t choose it, my friend did.”
“Tell us about your friend.”
The prisoner smirked. “She’d like playing with you, I think. She discovered me when I was just learning to be a runner. Runners can always tell.”
“So she’s a runner?”
“One of, if not the singular best. She showed me the place we call Union Station.”
“What is Union Station?”
“It’s where all the portals are. It’s how we get everywhere. We—we runners that is—decided it was best to have a central place for them, so it’s easier to go back and forth. It’s our Hub.”
“What do you mean by this?”
“Runners are an independent bunch, you know? But we made one agreement right at the beginning, to prevent portals from becoming unwieldy. Whenever we go somewhere, we pass through Union Station. It’s the hub for portals to every universe we know about, and our most frequent locations.”
“Where is Union Station?”
“It’s in your universe, Phoenix, but in a different time.”
“This is why we asked when you are from.”
“Well listen it doesn’t matter for me but it does matter for Union Station.”
“So when is Union Station? And where?”
“It’s from Phoenix year 1945. August 6th. In a train station in Hiroshima, at 8:14am local time.”
“That’s…”
“That’s right. Everyone who goes through Union Station has 100 seconds to find where they want to be. Then it’s over. However, you can go back as many times as you like. I’ve traveled through Union Station dozens of times. Sometimes it’s a little weird to see past or future versions of myself scampering to some new portal, but it’s the best way.”
“You are speaking very freely. Do you realize what we can do with this information?”
“Do you realize what we can do?”
“Enlighten me.”
“Let’s just say—portals are doors. Someone has to open them. Someone can close them. What do you think would happen to you if the doors all closed the second you arrived?”
(509 words)
Talk to me!
Your feedback helps to improve my writing. I would really appreciate a comment on your thoughts on this writing exercise. Consider telling me your thoughts about:
Have you ever been to Aspen? The city, not the universe?
If you could open a portal to anywhere in the world, where would you go?
What do you like to drink before, during, and/or after you write?
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy! Come back next week for another writing exercise!
Have you taken a look at the section called “The Volume” recently? All my longer-form stories are kept there! Be sure to take a look and catch up on any stories you’ve missed!
Thank you and God bless!
Ooooooh, this is a brilliant concept. And the ending line: wham. That is beautiful. I love the connection to the atom bomb: potential for world building, oh man. This is fascinating.
1. I haven't, but I'd love to go someday. I've never seen the Rockies and boy I'd love to. }
2. I'm assuming certain rules apply (I.e., I can keep the portal open as long as I want to, I can't visit any other time periods (because if I could that's a whole different question), etc.) but if I could, I'd pick either the Vatican or the top of Mount Everest.
You've got less than two minutes to figure out where you're going. Go!