The jungle ended somewhat abruptly a short time later. The ground before them was smooth like a lake of ice. It seemed as though it had been cleaned down to the simple idea of what "ground" should be. The fog and light was getting thicker and brighter ahead of them.
"That must be it," Carrie said. "Ground zero."
"It is," Todd confirmed. "Turn on the singularity containment arm."
"You mean the lacrosse stick?"
"Yes," Todd sighed, humoring her. "The lacrosse stick."
Carrie flicked a switch and LED lights lit up at the end of the stick. It hummed with power and the bubble force-field rippled in front of them slightly.
Taking careful steps forward as if on thin ice, she walked on along the "ground." They came upon a structure in the fog at the center of the strange surface. Like the "ground," it was impossibly simplified in shape and texture, a "home." They walked up the steps and to the door. A low deep hum could be heard from inside along with an indistinct grunting sound.
Carrie knocked on the door.
"Really?" Todd said, looking up at her.
"Well, maybe someone will let us in."
Todd sighed.
"It was not a dumb idea." She tried the door handle. It was locked. "I mean, we need to get in. What do we do now?"
Todd started pressing buttons on his screen. "This might be a little dangerous, but I am going to lower the intensity of our field so that we might be able to control a little of the power around us."
"But, you said, 'crossing the streams was bad,'" Carrie quoted nervously.
"Yeah, but that saved the day for them as well. Didn't it?"
"Okay, let's just be careful about our thoughts."
"No marshmallow men."
"Don't even say that." Carrie said. "I just pictured one."
"Okay, okay, just calm your thoughts. I'm letting the bubble down for a moment. Imagine the key to the door in the lock. Focus on it."
Todd pressed a button, and the bubble popped.