MAT-TRANS
Encyclopedia
MAT-TRANS is short for Matter-Transmitter, a teleporter
used as a plot device in James Axler
's Deathlands
and Outlanders
series.
The device is typically a six-sided room with walls, floor and ceiling made of "armaglass", a likely fictitious type of glass which is very difficult to break or shatter. Each one is usually a different color from the others. There is a single door in this room made of vanadium
steel
. The entire chamber is difficult to destroy or damage due to the high level of armoring of the walls and door, but accidents have been known to happen, and the characters, especially in Deathlands
, express a fear of coming out of a transporter that is a mile underwater, or buried under a thousand tons of rock. They've come very close in the past.
The chamber is activated by computer systems from outside, but if there is nobody outside of the mat-trans chamber who knows how to operate those devices (as is typically the case in Deathlands
,) then it can be triggered simply by closing the door. The second option is by far the less preferable, especially because it sends the users to a completely random chamber. There is a Last Destination button, which if used, will send the users right back where they came from, but there is a time limit on how long before this button is rendered useless until the next jump.
The method of how this machine works is unclear, but the basic gist of its operation is this: it breaks the travelers up into digital copies of themselves and transmits them through a quantum tunnel to the next mat-trans, where they are reassembled. As a general rule, it has greatly adverse effects on the users, whose side effects have been known to include nosebleeds, headaches, vomiting
, and more. In Deathlands
, the character Mildred Wyeth
has been known to attempt to concoct what she dubs "jump juice", using medicines, herbs and alcohols, but each batch is slightly different, and some work better than others. Some have been known to clear up symptoms in mere minutes, others have been known to make them worse.
The Outlanders
series by Mark Ellis
(writing as James Axler
) has provided a fairly extensive backstory for the mat-trans or gateway units. The inaugural novel in the series Exile to Hell (1997) contains a complete description of the mat-trans operation, as well as the formal name for the device: Quantum Interphase Mat-Trans Inducer.
The machines were developed in the late twentieth century by Mohandus Lakesh Singh, who was the first human being to have traveled by the system.
Outlanders
also established that "jump sickness" afflicting the Deathlands characters was because specific destination codes were not entered into the gateway's targeting computer and therefore the matter stream modulations between the two gateways are not synchronized. As explained by Donald Bry in the Outlanders
novel, Destiny Run(1997): "If the modulations are synchronized, you slide along the quantum path to your destination. When they aren't synchronized, one more or less slams into one's destination."
The mat-trans travelers in Outlanders
rarely suffer from debilitating side-effects as described in Deathlands.
Outlanders
also introduced a smaller, more efficient and portable device spun off from Lakesh's mat-trans units, called an interphaser.
Teleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
used as a plot device in James Axler
James Axler
James Axler is a house name used by the publishing company Gold Eagle Publishing, the action adventure series published by Harlequin Enterprises Ltd....
's Deathlands
Deathlands
The Deathlands is a series of novels published by Gold Eagle Publishing. The first novel 'Pilgrimage to Hell' was first published in 1986. This series of novels was first written by Christopher Lowder, under the pen name Jack Adrian. Mr. Lowder became ill after developing the plot and writing most...
and Outlanders
Outlanders
Outlanders is a long-running series of science-fiction novels created by Mark Ellis and published by Gold Eagle, an imprint of Harlequin Enterprises.- Plot :...
series.
The device is typically a six-sided room with walls, floor and ceiling made of "armaglass", a likely fictitious type of glass which is very difficult to break or shatter. Each one is usually a different color from the others. There is a single door in this room made of vanadium
Vanadium
Vanadium is a chemical element with the symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a hard, silvery gray, ductile and malleable transition metal. The formation of an oxide layer stabilizes the metal against oxidation. The element is found only in chemically combined form in nature...
steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
. The entire chamber is difficult to destroy or damage due to the high level of armoring of the walls and door, but accidents have been known to happen, and the characters, especially in Deathlands
Deathlands
The Deathlands is a series of novels published by Gold Eagle Publishing. The first novel 'Pilgrimage to Hell' was first published in 1986. This series of novels was first written by Christopher Lowder, under the pen name Jack Adrian. Mr. Lowder became ill after developing the plot and writing most...
, express a fear of coming out of a transporter that is a mile underwater, or buried under a thousand tons of rock. They've come very close in the past.
The chamber is activated by computer systems from outside, but if there is nobody outside of the mat-trans chamber who knows how to operate those devices (as is typically the case in Deathlands
Deathlands
The Deathlands is a series of novels published by Gold Eagle Publishing. The first novel 'Pilgrimage to Hell' was first published in 1986. This series of novels was first written by Christopher Lowder, under the pen name Jack Adrian. Mr. Lowder became ill after developing the plot and writing most...
,) then it can be triggered simply by closing the door. The second option is by far the less preferable, especially because it sends the users to a completely random chamber. There is a Last Destination button, which if used, will send the users right back where they came from, but there is a time limit on how long before this button is rendered useless until the next jump.
The method of how this machine works is unclear, but the basic gist of its operation is this: it breaks the travelers up into digital copies of themselves and transmits them through a quantum tunnel to the next mat-trans, where they are reassembled. As a general rule, it has greatly adverse effects on the users, whose side effects have been known to include nosebleeds, headaches, vomiting
Vomiting
Vomiting is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose...
, and more. In Deathlands
Deathlands
The Deathlands is a series of novels published by Gold Eagle Publishing. The first novel 'Pilgrimage to Hell' was first published in 1986. This series of novels was first written by Christopher Lowder, under the pen name Jack Adrian. Mr. Lowder became ill after developing the plot and writing most...
, the character Mildred Wyeth
Mildred Wyeth
Mildred Winona Wyeth is a character in the Deathlands series of novels. Mildred is a stocky black woman, known for her corn rowed hair, and smartass comments to life in general. She is also a medical doctor from the twentieth century who was cryogenically frozen before the apocalypse event...
has been known to attempt to concoct what she dubs "jump juice", using medicines, herbs and alcohols, but each batch is slightly different, and some work better than others. Some have been known to clear up symptoms in mere minutes, others have been known to make them worse.
The Outlanders
Outlanders
Outlanders is a long-running series of science-fiction novels created by Mark Ellis and published by Gold Eagle, an imprint of Harlequin Enterprises.- Plot :...
series by Mark Ellis
Mark Ellis (writer)
Mark Ellis is an American novelist and comic-book writer who under the pen name James Axler has written scores of books for the Outlanders paperback novel series and other books, as well as numerous independent comics series....
(writing as James Axler
James Axler
James Axler is a house name used by the publishing company Gold Eagle Publishing, the action adventure series published by Harlequin Enterprises Ltd....
) has provided a fairly extensive backstory for the mat-trans or gateway units. The inaugural novel in the series Exile to Hell (1997) contains a complete description of the mat-trans operation, as well as the formal name for the device: Quantum Interphase Mat-Trans Inducer.
The machines were developed in the late twentieth century by Mohandus Lakesh Singh, who was the first human being to have traveled by the system.
Outlanders
Outlanders
Outlanders is a long-running series of science-fiction novels created by Mark Ellis and published by Gold Eagle, an imprint of Harlequin Enterprises.- Plot :...
also established that "jump sickness" afflicting the Deathlands characters was because specific destination codes were not entered into the gateway's targeting computer and therefore the matter stream modulations between the two gateways are not synchronized. As explained by Donald Bry in the Outlanders
Outlanders
Outlanders is a long-running series of science-fiction novels created by Mark Ellis and published by Gold Eagle, an imprint of Harlequin Enterprises.- Plot :...
novel, Destiny Run(1997): "If the modulations are synchronized, you slide along the quantum path to your destination. When they aren't synchronized, one more or less slams into one's destination."
The mat-trans travelers in Outlanders
Outlanders
Outlanders is a long-running series of science-fiction novels created by Mark Ellis and published by Gold Eagle, an imprint of Harlequin Enterprises.- Plot :...
rarely suffer from debilitating side-effects as described in Deathlands.
Outlanders
Outlanders
Outlanders is a long-running series of science-fiction novels created by Mark Ellis and published by Gold Eagle, an imprint of Harlequin Enterprises.- Plot :...
also introduced a smaller, more efficient and portable device spun off from Lakesh's mat-trans units, called an interphaser.