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I am working on a Young Adult fictional story that is based upon the ability for humans to travel through portals. I have done a little research about portals, an idea that has always been interesting to me. In my understanding, portals are proven to be, according to NASA, pathways linking earth magnetic field to the suns. Wormholes, however, are theorized to be shortcuts through spacetime.

In my story, I am developing it so that portals are on the earth and can transport objects to other Alternate Earth realms (which are essentially another dimension), that can be either similar or dramatically different than ours. The fictional portals are in many different areas of the planet, open and close on unique patterns, and couldn't be observed through the naked eye of an average person.

Any recommendations on how I can use solid scientific proven information and theories to support my idea? It doesn't need to be too complex, but enough to make sense to a curious, sci-fi loving, young adult reader. Thanks in advance.

https://www.space.com/20881-wormholes.html https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/mag-portals.html

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    $\begingroup$ I'm afraid you are mistaken about magnetic portals. They allow charged particles from the solar wind in through Earth's magnetic field. This is a quite different meaning of "portal" to anything that a person could travel through, although both are derived from the architectural meaning of an opening in a wall or barrier. Trying to use these magnetic portals as a justification for instant travel in an SF story is doomed: knowledgeable kids will laugh at you; less knowledgeable ones may embrace pseudo-science. Just accept it as a convention of fiction, and don't try to justify it. $\endgroup$
    – John Dallman
    Aug 1, 2020 at 20:34
  • $\begingroup$ If the portals cannot be seen, how do you use them? $\endgroup$
    – John Dvorak
    Aug 1, 2020 at 20:34
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    $\begingroup$ I'm not going to VTC, but I wouldn't be surprised to find this question closed. You're basically asking for "the best technobabble" since there is no technology that can be leveraged for inter-dimensional travel (at least, there isn't any that's any better than any other tech). Please remember, we're here to help you define and consistently use rules for a world in which an infinite number of stories can be told. We're not here to help you tell your story. This Q is right on the edge between those ideas. $\endgroup$
    – JBH
    Aug 1, 2020 at 21:49
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    $\begingroup$ My suggestion: Don't try to explain the portals. Just have them work as they must. If somebody asks the portal-operator how they work, have the operator say something like, "How do I know? I didn't go to college for 12 years to understand it. I press the button, it opens. I press the other button, it closes." $\endgroup$
    – NomadMaker
    Aug 2, 2020 at 22:43
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    $\begingroup$ I think the best way to write about portals is to find some fiction you like with portals in them and read. Beyond that, all you need to do is maintain internal consistency - establish the rules for your portals and stick with them. Portals to alternate Earths are always to the same place, alternate worlds are always on a seashore, to different places on the same world they need a technological frame made of iridium. Just make the rules and stick with them. $\endgroup$
    – DWKraus
    Aug 3, 2020 at 6:22

3 Answers 3

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Stargate style.

stargate https://www.gateworld.net/news/2018/05/stargates-return-filmmaker-fantasy-wishlist/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate>

Stargate productions center on the premise of a "Stargate," a ring-shaped portal that enables rapid transportation to other stargates located cosmic distances away. The story begins when one such device is discovered on Earth.

Your portals are ancient artifacts. Maybe they were left by ancients conducting terraforming experiments or involved in multiverse-wide commerce. Maybe they are the equivalent of old access roads left over from Creation.

In any case, they are discoverable, and clever folks have hacked the tech to make them useable. Possibly these artifacts were once useful for more things than just travel.

Stargate was great but it was a while ago now; 20 years should be enough to make it seem fresh to all but the most SF-literate of young adult readers. You could take it in another direction to make it even more novel. A portal seems like a gate or a bridge. Sometimes trolls or other guardians live under bridges, and you must negotiate your passage. Maybe the portal itself is sentient, and has demands that must be met. These portals are all very old, and their needs and desires might have changed over the years. Some are friendly, like the portrait of the Fat Lady who guards the passage to the dorms at Gryffinndor. Some are quarrelsome and demanding like the Grumpy Old Troll from Dora the Explorer. Some are asleep. Some might be dead. Some are just plain weird.

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  • $\begingroup$ I like this idea very much. My idea of the ancient background of the portals has a sort of different angle. The Portals, which are arc shaped, are natural occuring in our universe, and are invisible to the nake eye to most humans. However, there are certain people who are able to see, find, and navigate the portals. These people have also become the gaurds of the portals, and have been so since ancient times. I was thinking that I could connect the portals to some well known conspiracies and historical events: such as the death of John F. Kennedy and the Bermuda Triangle. $\endgroup$
    – Dejah Williams
    Aug 3, 2020 at 6:12
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I don't have much idea on how to explain the wormholes but in my WIP, the characters use 'fast-travel' as a mode of teleportation transportation.

It is thoretically proven that during teleportation or something like passing through black holes or wormholes, the perosn's physical form disintigrates to small particles and they move at speed greater than light, and when they reach the destination, they reassemble and form the person once again. It would be amazing if you added this minor thing to make the teleportation more realistic physically.

Hope this helped in some way.

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  • $\begingroup$ It does! Thank you so much. This actually gives me a great idea. $\endgroup$
    – Dejah Williams
    Aug 31, 2020 at 22:14
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Rather than give you an explicit answer because the details could fill whole books, I'm going to direct you to a series of YouTube videos that begin with Imagining the First Dimension here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV47Mcmo25I, and goes through the 10th as they're defined by quantum physics. If you're not looking for hard science, you'll find several references where reality appears to fold in on itself, which could provide you with a basis for your natural portals.

You wouldn't need to describe everything to your readers, but understand enough that your own explanations will stand up under the rules you establish in your world.

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