A group of scientists and I sat in a cramped van, half of them asleep. It was fairly dark, but I was reading a Cory Doctorow book under the light of the interface on my neck (I guess that thing comes in handy sometimes), a headphone in my ear playing a remix of some Japanese song. I was several chapters in and pretty much absorbed before the van came to a stop in a dimly lit parking lot and the driver called for everyone to get out.

Sleepy passengers shuffled past me as I put the book and my iPod away, not in much of a rush. When I did exit the van, all the scientists had gone inside with their belongings to check into the hotel, take a bathroom break, and maybe grab a snack. Apparently they didn't care about my well-being.

 Outside of the vehicle, I began picking up a local radio station playing some kind of alternative rock music. Not my favorite, but there was some good stuff. I went around to the back, swung the doors open, and pulled out my backpack, slinging it over my shoulder. Just the essentials in here, books, drawing supplies, tools, and snacks, no namby-pamby clothes or anything. As I reached for the suitcase carrying the bulkier (and, from another's view, more necessary) items, I heard a weird sound, sort of like a mix between someone sucking at an empty milkshake through a straw and a tone-deaf cat whistling. I looked over to tell whoever it was the shut the hell up, it was hurting my ears (well, ear), but instead I saw a swirling vortex suspended in midair. Before I could so much as reference a video game, a strong force pulled me in headfirst. I kept a death grip on my backpack with my robotic hand as I....uh...floated? I guess? It definitely wasn't flying, I know what that feels like and it's not whatever the portal was doing. It was kind of like being in a whirlpool in the middle of an airplane going through a lot of turbulence. (Not that that could ever happen. Well, probably.)

I shot out, headfirst again, skinning my chin painfully on metal. I cursed under my breath and got to my feet, brushing dirt and a little bit of blood off of my now annoyingly stained white hoodie. 

Then I looked around and realized that I was in the middle of a busy road.

"Holy--!" I leapt out of the way as a sort of hovercar thing shot past me. I assume they were honking, but to me it just sounded like sirens in surround sound. After quite a bit of spinning, dodging, and diving, I remembered I could fly and activated the jets in my feet, which sent me spiraling into the air. After a moment I regained my balance and examined my surroundings. Wherever this was, it definitely wasn't from my time period, no matter how advanced my systems were. I noticed people were staring, though, so I lowered power until I landed gently on the sidewalk, saluted the crowd, and ducked into a nearby library. Maybe I could find out where I was from the librarian, or at least check out a book. When in Rome...

I stopped short once I entered the building, though. A girl in some kind of uniform was talking to what looked like a gray-skinned alien by one of the shelves. I hadn't seen anyone like him outside and could only guess that he wasn't from around here either.

"J0. You two. Is a sci-fi convention being held here or am I hallucinating?" I said quietly, nodding to the stern-looking librarian glaring at me from over the counter.