History Main / PortalNetwork

* [[Creator/IainBanks Iain M. Banks]]'s ''The Algebraist'' features a similar idea; the novel's wormholes only link specific systems and must be towed into place the long way -- starships themselves are firmly sub-lightspeed. If your system’s wormhole gets destroyed, you’re cut off from the rest of the galaxy for centuries at minimum until someone can drag another to you. There have been several attempts at a galaxy-spanning wormhole network with hundreds of thousands of connections, but each one has eventually been severely reduced by one war or another. The urban legend that the local {{Precursors}} have a hidden, private network comprising ''millions'' of connections is a driving plot point.

* In Creator/PoulAnderson's ''The Enemy Stars'', mankind has maintained a program to deploy a portal network for centuries -- while civilizations rose and fell on Earth -- using STL ships to deliver portals to other solar systems. [[spoiler:Aliens have been doing the same thing.]]

* Bob Shaw's ''Night Walk'' has the Null-Space, which is [[AwesomeButImpractical somewhat random]]. Space is kind of divided in areas of around 1 light-second diameter; if you made a Nullspace jump anywhere in area A, you go to area B, but jumping in area B doesn't get you back to area A, but to area C. And jumping in the area just north to A (say, A+1) you don't go to B+1, but to J. And it can't be predicted. Humanity managed to create some kind of Portal Network by sending lots of hyperspace drones that [[BlindJump jumped again and again]], until some of them finally got by blind luck back to known space, thus recording a route. The protagonist is a spy trying to deliver home a newfound route with a new habitable planet. Later he [[spoiler:discovers a way to map Null-Space.]]

* The flumes in ''Literature/ThePendragonAdventure''.

* John E. Stith's ''Reunion on Neverend'' involves the discovery of a portal network as a subplot.

* ''Starplex'' by Creator/RobertJSawyer features a network of portal points spanning the entire universe. All the points begin dormant, but come online whenever something touches them. Sometimes they're opened by random debris, but most are activated deliberately by advanced civilizations. The points are only detectable using subspace technology, which means no race can activate its point and join the galactic community until it reaches the technical level of at least basic FTL. [[spoiler:It actually turns out that the points are time portals, created by engineers from the future so they could visit the past. The fact that they're spatially connected, facilitating galactic commerce and infrastructure, is really just a side effect.]]
* Ground level portals built by the long-lost "Roadbuilders" were the main form of transportation in John deChancie's ''Starrigger'' series. Due to the necessity of having to enter the portal at a very high rate of speed, most cargo was transported by gigantic, fusion powered 18-wheelers. The plot turns on the fact that no-one has a complete map of the network, meaning that the known network is ruled by authoritarian governments, and the only way to escape them is to travel through unmapped "potluck" portals, which are so named because no-one has yet returned from them. [[spoiler:Turns out that the Roadbuilders set the system up like this on purpose; those who are dissatisfied with The Way Things Are can trace a LinkedListClueMethodology all the way to the end of the network -- and due to the side effects of FTL travel, ''travel back in time'' to '''the very beginning of the universe''', where the Roadbuilders would listen to their ideas to fine-tune all of existence. In this universe, Jack Kerouac could very easily find himself meeting God, '''''who would ask him for advice!''''']]

[[folder: Puppet Shows]]
* The T. Matthew Fraggle Room in the final season of ''Series/FraggleRock''. Arches in it lead to Doc's Workshop, Australia, and the Land of Golden Apples, amongst other places. The GrandFinale reveal that there's a Fraggle hole in Doc's new home, and Robin's discovery of one under Ma Bear's farmhouse in ''Film/AMuppetFamilyChristmas'', suggest that ''all'' exits from the Rock are actually portals.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* In ''Denazra'', a project from ''WebVideo/NatOneProductions'', TheAlliance of organic life in our immediate neighborhood of the galaxy has assembled a network of artificial wormholes. The only catch is that they have to be assembled on both ends before they can be used, meaning that reaching a new planet still requires a long, sub-light speed journey. As a result, the network only encompasses a small piece of the galaxy as a whole and the organic species who use it are constantly struggling to keep the [[AIIsACrapshoot unstoppable machine fleets of the denazra]] from compromising them.
* The Jump Gates allow instellar travel in ''Roleplay/NexusGate''. The Jump Gates have made [[CasualInterstellarTravel space travel a mundane thing]].
* ''Literature/NocteYin'' has Gates between most cities and towns ([[CasualInterstellarTravel and more]]). There are also Gate Keys, which connect to Gates from wherever the user is.

* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Tr5rDR4RVs Doors!]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSfKusgaEDU series]] of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nxtWm5c3Qc collaborative]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9m1EEs1Wrs stick]] animations is built around this idea.
* In the ''Literature/ParaImperium'' universe the Federation has a network of wormholes connecting the core systems and some of the colonies, but the frontier and [[CultColony Outworlds]] are reliant on sub-relativistic commerce.
* In ''Literature/ThePentagonWar'', the five inhabited star systems are connected by pairs of linked "hyper holes", created by extremely expensive antimatter bombs.
* ''Podcast/RandomAssault'': How the hosts are able to live all around the world (USA, Canada, and even England), and be able to come together to record the podcast in [[ElaborateUndergroundBase the mansion.]]
* ''Literature/TheSalvationWar'' -- The first thing the nations of the world do when they discover how to open portals into Hell is to funnel in modern weaponry and kick Satan out. The ''second'' thing they do is use Hell as a jumping-off point to mobilize the multinational Human Expeditionary Army more or less anywhere on Earth, putting the kibosh on [[GodIsEvil Heaven's plan]] to destabilize the alliance by stirring up pocket wars on the mortal plane.
* ''Videogame/{{Submachine}}'' -- The various [=SubNets=] of the Submachine, by way of, usually, teleporters.
** The eighth episode makes clear that the reason you have been teleporting to quite a few ruinous areas is because [[spoiler:the Submachine network itself has been tearing these places apart]].
* The Entralink in RolePlay/WeAreAllPokemonTrainers is capable of facilitating multidimensional travel with its counterparts in other universes, though it can be unreliable in this regard.

* In ''WebOriginal/OrionsArm'', some areas with very advanced technology are connected by a network of wormholes, which are very useful in a setting with no faster than light travel.

* Public transport systems, like subways, highways and rail networks, share key similarities with a Portal Network. All of these form quick ways to get from point A to point B, but without opening the possibility to get just as fast to point C, where you need to go. So often the much slower travel to reach and exit the highway/subway/rail network will take up most of the journey time.

* The original ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'' trilogy contains networks of warp-gates. In [[VideoGame/JakAndDaxterThePrecursorLegacy the first game]], it's a fairly simple setup, with five different warp-gates and the ability to choose your destination. [[VideoGame/JakIIRenegade The]] [[VideoGame/Jak3Wastelander sequels]] do away with the "choose your destination" part, instead merely sending you to various locations as needed.

* ''{{VideoGame/Valheim}}'': Portals can be crafted to link two locations if they share a name.

* In ''LightNovel/LogHorizon'', the game into which the protagonists are transported used to have a network of portals allowing the players to quickly teleport from one hub city to another, but when the story begins, they're all inoperable for unknown reasons.

* The hypergate network in ''[[VideoGame/EscapeVelocity EV Nova]]'' allows starships to [[WarpWhistle travel between certain star systems]] instantaneously, whereas using your ship's built-in hyperdrive takes anywhere from one to three days per jump depending on the mass of your ship. Unfortunately many of the gates were destroyed by a terrorist attack on the Sol gate in the backstory, and [[LostTechnology the knowledge to build more of them was lost]] in the subsequent collapse of Colonial Council-administered territory. Nowadays [[MegaCorp Sigma Shipyards]] controls the remaining network in its entirety, and gaining access requires their approval.

* ''VideoGame/{{Starsector}}'' had a massive Gate System that stretched across the galaxy that humanity used to colonized the stars. "Had" because the Gate System mysteriously went dead while in the process of colonizing the Persean Sector and cut them off from the greater space empire, triggering "The Collapse" that resulted in multiple factions forming out of the now-stranded expedition to make something of themselves, with plenty of BlackBox and LostTechnology galore since plenty of people had no idea how to fix or make more of the technology. [[spoiler:The AI War they had shortly afterwards didn't help matters either.]] Two hundred years on to the "present-day" of the game, the factions are still struggling to take control of the sector for themselves while humanity itself is on the downward spiral.

* ''Videogame/SpyroTheDragon'', which is about as old as ''Homeworld'', established a portal network first, though ''Videogame/Spyro2RiptosRage'' was the game that really made it central to the plot and game play.

* Also in the Marvel Universe, [[AnotherDimension a dimension]] known as [[AtTheCrossroads The Crossroads]] is full of portals to various dimensions, as well as a roads that lead to all of them and a central point with a "signpost" (in the form of a tree with branches shaped like pointing arms) on it. The [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Hulk]] was banished there (by Comicbook/DoctorStrange) after he was trapped in his monster form (in a plotline that lasted several issues) so he could find a world were he could be happy. (He failed.)
* The universe of ''Comicbook/{{Empowered}}'' has the [=LotusNodes=][[superscript:TM]] Portal Network granted to the Superhomeys. It has a Mass/distance limitation that would be higher if the team didn't chintz out on their network plan.

* Decades before ''Franchise/StargateVerse'', the MarvelUniverse had its own portal network referred to as Stargates. These were used by the Shi'Ar Empire to travel around the universe. Sometimes they were ground-based gates for people to walk through, other times they were enormous space-based ones for ships to use.

* The portgates in the Hunter's world in ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached''.
** The jump gates in ''Fanfic/TheKeysStandAlone''. Upon seeing that they operate similarly to the portgates from the Hunter's world, John jokingly comments, “Must be contracted out to the same guys.” [[spoiler: He's right.]]
* ''FanFic/TheRiseOfDarthVulcan'': After destroying the MagicMirror from ''Equestria Girls'' so that the Princesses can't ever use it against him, Vulcan steals several shards that he can experiment with. After a while, he manages to (entirely by accident) create a group of one-way travel mirrors that lead either to or from the Moon. Realizing the potential of this, he keeps a pair in his lair and smuggles the other pairs to locations around Equestria, creating a network that allows his minions to travel in and out of the Everfree forest in a manner that completely bypasses the [[TheGreatWall security fence]] that is being erected to try and box him into the forest.

* The closet doors in ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc''.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'', the ancient elves constructed a network of portal gates to connect their empire. They still function in the present of the setting, but many of the keys that would activate them have been lost.

* Also in the Marvel Universe, [[AnotherDimension a dimension]] known as [[AtTheCrossroads The Crossroads]] is full of portals to various dimensions, as well as a roads that lead to all of them and a central point with a "signpost" (in the form of a tree with branches shaped like pointing arms) on it. The ComicBook/IncredibleHulk was banished there (by Comicbook/DoctorStrange) after he was trapped in his monster form (in a plotline that lasted several issues) so he could find a world were he could be happy. (He failed.)

* Agents of ''Film/TheAdjustmentBureau'' can access a secret Portal Network through ordinary doors... as long as they're wearing a [[NiceHat fedora]].

* Raymond E. Feist's series, ''Literature/TheRiftwarCycle'', has the Hall of Worlds, which is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a hallway with doorways that lead to thousands of different worlds]]. And [[InnBetweenTheWorlds Honest John's Inn]]. Not a lot of people know about it, so it's not often utilized, but when it is, it's used to travel vast distances very quickly. On a smaller scale, the rifts themselves, which connect the nearby worlds of Midkemia and Kelewan. Magicians of the Greater Path can also teleport to places they know very well, like their homes, or to a memorized pattern, such as would be set in the floor of important buildings. Then there are the "devices," which have not been properly named yet but are gold-colored orbs that, through a set of switches, allow the holder to teleport to several preset locations (but not back from those locations to wherever the device was activated). Four separate systems, which do not overlap. Plus whatever unexplained teleportation technique Pug, Miranda, and Magnus use, which is essentially the Greater Path magician one UpToEleven. Feist must really like this one.

** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'' shows that there are jump points in space that allow to quickly travel via "jumps". According to Yondu, making fifty or more consecutive jumps is hazardous to any mammal (which does not stop him and Rocket from doing ''seven hundred'' jumps in a row).

** In ''Film/CaptainMarvel2019'', Yon-Rogg and his crew have to travel twenty-two hours at sub-light speed to get to a jump point that will get them to Earth. Since this is a prequel, the technology appears to be more primitive. In ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', set later in the timeline, they don't have to travel very far from Earth to reach a jump point.

* ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'' has Midna and Zant, whose fighting styles involve using their Twilight Portals to summon various objects to fight with.

* ''LightNovel/CrestOfTheStars'' has FTL working this way: travel is done through an alternate dimension called "Planar Space". Entering and exiting Planar Space is done at naturally-occurring portals known as "Sords" (the Abh term for them) or simply as "Gates". One of the main reasons the Abh have achieved such power throughout the galaxy is that they made sure to park their home base on top of a dense nexus of Sords, allowing them quick and easy access to virtually anywhere in the galaxy, as well as giving them control over an unexplored set of Sords that may lead to another galaxy entirely.

Considering that it would take thousands if not millions of years to set up an interstellar Portal Network without any other means of FasterThanLightTravel, it is not uncommon for such things to have been made by the {{Precursors}}, in which case the gates are usually (though not always) LostTechnology. Alternatively, it is sometimes hybridized with hyperdrive -- in such settings, starships carry their own FTL equipment ''but'' can only use it at very specific naturally occurring "[[HyperspaceLanes Jump Points]]" in space defined by gravitation intersections or [[HandWave some other mathy thing that's too complicated to explain.]] Sometimes ships FTL and portals co-exist, where the latter is a one-time investment to save everyone a lot of time and fuel to act as an express lane.