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An
innovation of very recent history, already telepads
are finding mainstream use in Anduruna. Installed
midway up the Sabbaton Towers, seven telepads
ferry passengers to the district towers and back
again all day.
They are organically powered, acquiring their
specialized mode of transportation directly from
the archituethus occipitus, or jumper - commonly
termed 'brain squid'.
Jumpers naturally possess the mystifying ability
to teleport, and use the skill when startled to
evade predators. Their instantaneous transportation
will bring along any living material connected
to the creature, ensuring all body parts make
the journey safely. Anduruna teens would sometimes
make the trip to jumper fields to try and 'catch
a blink', ambushing and grasping a jumper to experience
the sensation of teleporting. This is a somewhat
risky pastime, as jumpers naturally hover, and
there's no telling what they might teleport above...
The only predictable variable is that their destination
must be within sight of their current position.
With much difficulty, an innovative individual
captured several jumpers to experiment with, and
discovered that they could take much more than
a single dreamkeeper with them on their trips
- and furthermore, that their destination could
be controlled with optical focal devices...
The telepads themselves are created from flo-wood,
meaning that they are living organic material.
Connected to the jumper's storage chamber by flo-wood
struts, when the brain squid jumps it will take
the entire wooden platform along for the ride
- and anything living which shares contact with
that platform.
The jumper's storage chamber is rigged to a specialized
lens, designed to focus on the receiving platform
where the pad will arrive. Black and white display
discs on the platforms aide technicians in getting
the precisely correct focal setting, narrowing
the jumper's perceived visual destination to one
option.
When all passengers are boarded and the focusing
is complete, a mild shock sends jumper, flo-wood
telepad, and contacting passengers across the
city in the blink of an eye.
Upon arriving at the receiving platform, a new
jumper is placed into the case. Jumpers must be
rested for at least a day after every telepad
jump, because of the strain inherent in moving
such a sizeable burden.
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