Horning sucked in one final, desperate breath and stepped through the light-loop's frame.
It was so simple, really. Just like going out a doorway, into a limitless expanse of shining silver plain. He felt no pain, no shock, not even slight discomfort.
Swiftly, skillfully, he adjusted the transdimensional registration unit's dials.
Light flickered on the scanning scope's screen, a shapeless blur.
Horning twisted the focussing knob. The blur resolved. A scene took form.
Taut with excitement, Horning stared for the first time into another world.
The place was an apartment, he decided. But what an apartment! It shimmered like a modernist's sparkling dream. The decor was brilliant, unique in style. Metal and plastic combined in sleek, functional forms.
Nor was this all. A man stood by a table, back to the screen, mixing a drink. While Horning watched, he restoppered the bottle and stepped out a door to the right.
Horning frowned. He had a strange feeling, somehow, that he'd seen the man somewhere before.
Shrugging it off, he lined up the crosshairs on the screen with infinite care and switched the projector drive to high.