Go straight into the portal

At this point, since you are essentially locked in a secret underground facility and unable to contact the outside world, there’s nothing left to do but walk through the portal. You start walking in its direction, but you stop after remembering a crucial detail.

“You were not planning to go to another dimension without your communicator device, were you?” you hear Dr. Friedman’s voice snidely comment from a speaker somewhere inside the room. “What exactly was your plan if something went wrong?”

“Sorry, I’m just a little overwhelmed by this whole situation right now,” you reply, trying unsuccessfully to hide your embarrassment. You head over to the table to grab the device, which looks just like a regular smartphone at first glance.

“Remember, this is not a vacation, Mr. Nelson. You need the device to document your stay in dimension VFU-20027. I’m aware that most of the functionality of the device has been programmed to work without user intervention for your convenience, but you do need to carry it with you in the first place.”

The Doctor’s demeaning attitude is not helping your composure. “Yes, Doctor, I’m aware.”

“There is no time to spare. You have already been briefed and every preparation has been carried out. Go through the portal; we’ll discuss the details later.”

Gathering courage and trusting that the scientists have done their job, you ignore the rush of doubt in your head and march towards the glowing, imposing interdimensional gate. Light engulfs you as you get closer and closer. Crossing the threshold, you are surrounded by what seems like an infinite amount of heatless light, which strangely doesn’t manage to blind you. You walk for an unspecified length of time before the light starts to diminish back to normal levels.

As you step out of the portal, your eyes take a moment to adjust to the new setting. You find yourself in a room, uncannily similar to the one you left. A door opens to reveal a group of people pacing in. A woman struts her way at the front—possibly a politician or some other representative—while the two armored women following close behind her carrying guns are definitely her guards.

“Hi?” you venture nervously. Stopping before you, she opens her hand, revealing a tiny gadget that looks like a hearing aid, extending it in your direction; you take it after a moment of hesitation. She points to her ear, showing an identical device inserted in her ear canal. Guessing it must be a translating device, you attach the gizmo to your ear as instructed.

“Welcome. Are you Brent Nelson?” the first woman says, stopping before you. Neither she nor her guards seem nervous at all; they look like they’ve been expecting you.

“Uh… Hi, yes, that’s me. And your name is…?” you inquire nervously, extending your hand for a handshake. You pause. “Oh, wait. Do your people ‘do’ handshakes?”

“No, not really,” she replies calmly. “But if it helps you feel more comfortable here…” she concedes, extending her own hand, which you clumsily shake. “I’m Natara, the interdimensional delegate in charge of making sure your stay here is mutually beneficial. As you can imagine, this is a newly created position, so I’m eager to do the best I can.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Truth be told, I’m still pretty confused about what I should be doing here,” you admit. “Do I get a job somewhere? Do I need to do something specific?”

“Since you are officially an ambassador for your dimension, you will be provided with all the necessary resources to move around,” she explains. “Also, only this department knows your identity, so you don’t need to worry. Simply go about your day and interact with our citizens. Your people and ours will focus on the research.”

“All right, then. Thank you for the warm welcome. I think I’ll be going now,” you say, timidly extending your hand once again. “By the way, you said handshakes are not a custom here. How do you usually greet people?”

“I believe it will be better for your research if you directly immerse yourself in the culture,” she responds elusively, firmly returning your handshake.