Randy led him to a specific platform in the far row and handed the operator a card with the coordinates, and the operator began the setup without comment, running through the sequence with the efficiency of someone for whom this was entirely routine.
Randy stepped back and looked at Neil with the expression that appeared when he was going to say something slightly more genuine than his usual register allowed.
"Try not to die in there." He said. "I have a significant amount invested in you coming out."
"Financially." Neil said.
"Among other things." Randy said, and turned away before the conversation could develop in that direction.
The platform activated.
The light took Neil and the settlement was gone.
The Wooden Poisoned Realm arrived all at once.
Not the gradual environmental shift of travel but the immediate total presence of a completely different place, and the first thing Neil registered was the air.
