Line #77 Main/ThinDimensionalBarrier


1	->''There is a curtain, thin as gossamer, clear as glass, strong as iron, that hangs for ever between the world of magic and the world that seems to us to be real. And when once people have found one of the little weak spots in that curtain which are marked by magic rings, and amulets, and the like, almost anything may happen.''
2	-->-- '''Creator/ENesbit''', "The Enchanted Castle".
3
4	There are some places where the barrier between worlds is thin, allowing people to easily slip from one universe to the next (not always on purpose) and occasionally [[RealityBleed causing parts of one world to physically manifest in the other]]. Often these places are a permanent, fixed geographic location (TheBermudaTriangle is a frequent target), but occasionally they will exist only temporarily or even move around. Occasionally involves (comparatively) minor anomalies in the laws of physics (such as compasses not working correctly) and/or [[OminousFog copious amounts of fog]]. Expect it to be described with some near-verbatim variation on the phrase "where the barrier between worlds is thin".
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6	Though this is mostly a science fiction trope, it tends to crop up in fantasy whenever TheFairFolk are involved.
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8	These often connect to a AlternateUniverse, InnBetweenTheWorlds, or the VoidBetweenTheWorlds. May also be a PlaceOfPower because of supernatural forces being more concentrated there. Compare and contrast PortalDoor and PortalPool, when the threshold between worlds is much more discrete. If the dimensional barrier is completely breached in an area, then see WhenDimensionsCollide.
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10	See also: NegativeSpaceWedgie, EldritchLocation.
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12	----
13	!!Examples:
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15	[[foldercontrol]]
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17	[[folder:Comic Books ]]
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19	* In ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'', "soft places" are spots where reality is weak, leading to easier inter-dimensional travel and time working oddly. There is one in the Desert of Lop in China (a real place).
20	* ''ComicBook/SuperboyAndTheRavers'': Shaar Q has the ability to sense places where jumps have recently been made into sub-dimensions and reach through or traverse into them.
21	* Occasionally mentioned in Marvel Comics when dimensional crossovers occur. The Nexus of All Realities, located in scenic Florida Everglades, is one for every plane of reality and point in space time. Points connected to more specific planes exist in various parts of the world, and are often mystically safeguarded by local shaman.
22	* In a crossover story arc of Spider-Gwen and Miles Morales Spider-Man, it's established that thin barriers pepper the Marvel Universe and they can be crossed entirely by accident under specific circumstances. In one of the universe's greatest ironies, one thin spot was at the base of the [[ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied George Washington Bridge]], just above the water. If Peter hadn't tried to rescue Gwen Stacy, she would have traveled to a parallel universe safely and survived the fall. Spider-Gwen, a Gwen Stacy that's constantly confronted by the fact that she died in that reality, has to use it to travel back to her home reality.
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24	[[/folder]]
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26	[[folder:Fan Works]]
27	* ''Fanfic/AChanceMeetingOfTwoMoons'': The Door to the Realms In Between, which draconequui can open to allow them to visit alternate realms, including the dream world. [[spoiler:''A Chance Meeting of Two Moons'' marks its first appearance in Evilhumour's works; it's [[ContinuityNod later mentioned]] in ''[[FanFic/EscapeFromTheMoon The Mare From the Moon]]'' as a sign that more worlds than these are connected.]]
28	[[/folder]]
29
30	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
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32	* Creator/RalphBakshi's MediumBlending feature ''Film/CoolWorld'' has Doctor Whiskers create the Spike, which tears a hole in reality that allows Doctor Whiskers to venture into the "noid" world (ours) and draws Frank Harris into the cartoony Cool World (theirs). The villain is TheVamp Holli Would, who wants to venture into the "noid" world herself, in order to experience a real orgasm, among other things. She succeeds in capturing the Spike, which causes the ToonPhysics of Cool World to flood into the Noid World and ''vice versa''.
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34	[[/folder]]
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36	[[folder:Literature]]
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38	* In Creator/TerryPratchett and Creator/StephenBaxter's multiverse-centric ''Literature/TheLongEarth'' series, places like this allow people with natural [[DimensionalTraveler Stepping abilities]] to cross from one earth to one several Steps down the line without crossing through the intervening earth, which is ordinarily impossible. This only works for (some of the) people with the natural ability to move between worlds without a Stepper box. Everyone else must take them one at a time.
39	* In ''Literature/CiaphasCain: The Emperor's Finest'', the Reclaimers Space Marines are able to track the space hulk ''Spawn of Damnation'' between star systems by locating the weak points it leaves in realspace when it transitions into the Warp.
40	* In ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', there are "thin places" where other realities brush up against the Disc. One is contained by The Dancers, a CircleOfStandingStones saturated with [[ColdIron meteoric iron]], and causes no end of trouble in ''Literature/LordsAndLadies'' when TheFairFolk start escaping it.
41	* In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'''s [[TheTimeOfMyths Age of Legends]], one such site turned into the volcanic EldritchLocation Shayol Ghul after scientists accidentally touched the power of [[TheAntiGod the Dark One]], who was trapped outside reality. Millennia later, it's misremembered as the physical site of the Dark One's prison. [[spoiler:When places like these start temporarily manifesting, it's a sign that the Dark One is almost ready to break free completely.]]
42	* ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'' describes the Aurora Borealis as a place where the borders separating the universes is the weakest, enabling the heroine to see a city in another world [[spoiler:and for her father to build a bridge to it]].
43	* "Thinnies" show up throughout the works of Creator/StephenKing. In his Franchise/TheDarkTower [[{{Doorstopper}} Saga]], they're explained to be a symptom of the ongoing collapse of the multiverse. They give off an unsettling keening noise, compared vividly to the sound of a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_saw musical saw]]. Also can be seen in short stories such as "Crouch End" in ''Literature/NightmaresAndDreamscapes''.
44	* The barrier between the real world and [[{{EldritchLocation}} the Tenebrae]] in ''Literature/KnightsOfTheBorrowedDark'' is always fairly thin, but in some places they overlap; at Os Reges Point, the worlds almost coexist, and Seraphim Row is in constant danger of falling into the Tenebrae.
45	* In the children's novel ''Finders Keepers'' by Creator/EmilyRodda, there are spots all over the place where the dimensional barrier is thin, and this is the explanation for the phenomenon where you lose an object and then find it again in a place where you could have sworn you'd already looked: the object fell through a gap into another world for a little while before reappearing back through the gap.
46	* In ''Literature/TheSecretsOfDrearcliffGrangeSchool'', one of the secrets is that the school is built on a place where the barrier between dimensions is thin, which becomes important during the climax.
47	* In ''Literature/RuinOfAngels'', the city of Alikand was destroyed in a battle between gods and sorcerers, which caused significant damage to the fabric of reality. A new city, Agdel Lex, was built on top of the ruins. Trouble is, the combination of reality damage and colonialism (the surviving Alikanders weren't too happy about the empire that built Agdel Lex claiming their territory) has resulted in the existence of two separate cities occupying the same space on two closely entangled layers of reality. There's also a third layer where the initial battle rages on eternally, frozen in time.
48	* ''Literature/JohannesCabal'': [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Arkham]] is "a region of reality where the warp and weft have worn dangerously thin", allowing people to catch [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow glimpses of terrible knowledge from beyond]] and, worse, allowing things from beyond to glimpse them right back. Johannes uses one such afflicted local to open a portal to the [[DreamLand Dreamlands]].
49	* ''Literature/SpinningSilver'': A witch's cottage is built in both the mortal world and the LandOfFaerie; people in one world can't see people in the other, but changes to the cottage and its contents transfer over. This proves vital when it lets [[spoiler:the [[TheFairFolk Staryk]] lord [[DimensionalTraveler cross over]] into his realm at a season when it would otherwise be impossible.]]
50	* ''Literature/StarTrekDepartmentOfTemporalInvestigations:'' Anywhere suffering from interphase. Firing phasers or torpedoes in these places is a bad idea, as it makes things worse. At one point in the second novel, the ''Enterprise'' tries warning an Andorian-Klingon ship from another universe about this, but they don't care and keep blasting.
51	* ''Literature/OldKingdom'':
52	** It's easiest to cross between Life and [[AfterlifeAntechamber the river of Death]] in places that are marked by death, either through someone [[LiminalTime dying recently]] or through [[EvilTaintedThePlace large-scale bloodshed]].
53	** When a Charter Stone monolith is broken with a ritual HumanSacrifice, it becomes especially easy to reach Death nearby. Charter stones are normally an InvertedTrope as they reinforce the BackgroundMagicField and its natural laws, holding Death at bay.
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56	[[folder:Live Action TV]]
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58	* ''Series/{{Lexx}}'' has Nexus Points, places where it's possible to cross between the Light Zone and Dark Zone, the existing universes.
59	* In the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode [[Recap/StarTrekS3E9TheTholianWeb "The Tholian Web"]], the crew of the ''Enterprise'' accidentally stumbles upon one of these in space while investigating a recently dead Federation ship. Kirk gets trapped in the other universe, while distortions in the laws of physics start to prevent the Enterprise's systems ([[HatePlague and the crew's brains]]) from working properly.
60	* In the 21st-century ''Franchise/{{Whoniverse}}'', there are various places where the Doctor popping in and out too much has led to weak spots, which are then used as an excuse for spin-offs stuck in one place. In particular, the Cardiff Rift in ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'', and the rift at Coal Hill School in ''Series/Class2016''.
61	* ''Series/{{Haven}}'' is a loose adaptation of Stephen King's works and like his mythos has the concept of "Thinnies". Thin points between one world and the next that naturally and artificially open under certain circumstances.
62	* ''Series/StrangerThings'':
63	** When [[spoiler:Eleven opens a portal into the [[DarkWorld Upside Down]],]] several of these are created elsewhere, such as in the Byers' house.
64	** In Season 3, it is revealed that only Hawkins has a barrier weak enough to easily open without supernatural aid.
65	* ''Series/{{Fringe}}'' has soft spots, areas where the constants of the universe (the speed of light, the mass of a proton, etc.) have begun to decay. These areas are where travel between the Prime and AlternateUniverse are easiest; on the other side, the soft spots are far more unstable and have a tendency to collapse into destructive vortexes, which can only be sealed using amber. [[spoiler: All of these were the product of Walter traveling between worlds back in 1985, to bring a young alternate Peter over to cure his illness.]]
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67	[[/folder]]
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69	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
70	* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}:''
71	** The Chaos Wastes at the planet's poles were created when an ancient PortalNetwork built by the setting's {{Precursors}} broke, allowing WildMagic from the Realm of Chaos to bleed into the world. Everywhere else, the magic "merely" forms a dangerous BackgroundMagicField, but the landscape around the ruined portals has become a hellscape where [[OurDemonsAreDifferent daemons]] walk among men and the laws of reality no longer fully apply.
72	* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'':
73	** The minds of untrained psykers are the main reason they're hunted down and captured for indoctrination as soon as they can, they can all too easily become portals for daemonic invasion (and even with training it's a possibility), or worse, learn to master their powers and become a servant of Chaos.
74	** The closer to the Eye of Terror, the thinner the barrier between reality and the Warp becomes, until they finally intermingle, causing RealityIsOutToLunch.
75	* In the ''TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness'', Verges are sites where the barrier between the physical world and the [[SpiritWorld Shadow Realm]] has been worn away completely. Some only open when a particular condition is met; others allow anyone to wander between worlds, usually with very bad results.
76	[[/folder]]
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78	[[folder:Video Games]]
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80	* ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'': In Retribution, the Chaos faction uses Warp rifts as their method of getting from planet to planet (the others use teleporters or upload their consciousness to their HiveMind)
81	* In ''Franchise/DragonAge'', the Veil between the physical world and the [[SpiritWorld Fade]] is weaker in some places than in others. This is especially true for places where a large loss of life or suffering has occurred, such as Blackmarsh in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOriginsAwakening'' or the entirety of [[WretchedHive Kirkwall]] in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII''. The most obvious consequence of the Veil weakening is that it allows demons to enter the waking world much more easily, but it also enables much easier entrance to the Fade, as well, even for people who are normally incapable of doing so (e.g. dwarves, who normally cannot enter the Fade at all, have been able to briefly do so in both Blackmarsh and Kirkwall).
82	* In ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon,'' The Alola region is host to a rare phenomenon known as the Ultra Wormhole. On occasion, creatures known as [[EldritchAbomination Ultra Beasts]] have emerged, requiring the intervention of the island's [[OlympusMons guardian Legendaries]] to repel them.
83	* In the ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' series, the Road of Reconsideration and Muenzuka are places where the Great Hakurei Barrier between Gensokyo and the Outside World is particularly weak, and youkai take advantage of this in order to prey on the hapless Outside World humans who get brought to Gensokyo by barrier fluctuations.
84	* ''VideoGame/PacManWorld'': In the third game, a new BigBad named Erwin is creating energy siphons to drain energy from the Spectral Realm. In theory, these siphons can be set up anywhere, but one particular area where he'd set up a siphon is later explained by MissionControl as making a kind of sense, as the barrier between dimensions was thin there. This doesn't seem to have any effect other than to make the siphon's operation easier for Erwin, though.
85	* In ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'' the Jump Drives of younger races tend to create such places. If the barrier actually rips,[[spoiler: the Unbidden can enter and turn lifeforms into energy]].
86	* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2: Mask of the Betrayer'' takes place partially in the Plane of Shadow, which is reachable by portals that appear at night in areas of the world where the planar boundaries are weak.
87	* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'' suffers from a worldwide version of this, thanks to the assassination of the BarrierMaiden bloodline that shores up the boundaries between the world of Tamriel and the Planes of Oblivion. This enables Oblivion to maintain portals to Tamriel indefinitely and leaves Tamriel at risk of a [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils Daedric Prince]] manifesting in the flesh; restoring the dimensional barrier is the main goal of the game.
88	* ''VideoGame/DigimonStoryCyberSleuth'' has the Digital Shifts, {{Eldritch Location}}s all over Tokyo where [[EldritchAbomination Eaters]] have punched through from {{Cyberspace}} into the real world, corrupting the places in question and blending them with cyberspace itself. [[spoiler:This is because rather than being TheMetaverse, EDEN was created in cyberspace and cyberspace itself is AnotherDimension in between Earth and the Digital World. EDEN's creation further weakened the dimensional barriers, allowing the Eaters to enter and start corrupting the Digital World long before they ever got to the human world.]]
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90	[[/folder]]
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92	[[folder:Webcomics]]
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94	* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', the Moperville area is one of the spots where magic [[https://www.egscomics.com/comic/2016-03-18 flows]] from one side of the world to the other.
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96	[[/folder]]
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98	[[folder:Western Animation]]
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100	* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'': Season Three reveals that the good ol' Bermuda Triangle is, in fact, Earth's natural portal to the Ghost Zone.
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102	[[/folder]]

Context Main / ThinDimensionalBarrier