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Thuy, Khan, Jil, and Ond squeezed onto the benches built into the corner by the dining table. The two trays of Vietnamese appetizers sat ready upon the table. Nektar, Kittie, and Lureen perched on stools around Thuy’s desk on the other side of the main room.
    Teeping together, the twelve became a temporary group mind, a twenty-four-legged organism. Jayjay made sure everyone was clearly focused on the foundation that he and Thuy had built in the woods. And then, on the count of three, they launched themselves thither, bearing the house and her contents along.
    Teleporting involved cohering your wave function so intensely that you became, in effect, an exotic elementary particle. In terms of the quantum-mechanical approximation, you became a camel-humped wave function, simultaneously here and there.
    But it was a little more complicated than that. Quantum mechanics was known to be only an approximation to the world’s deeper rules. There were three new realms to take into account: the parallel spacetime of the Hibrane, the unexplored zone beyond the infinity of the lazy eight axis, and the subdimensional levels beneath the Planck length. While remaining quantum-mechanically orthodox, teleportation teased its practitioners with glimpses of the subdimensions.
    As the shape of Jayjay’s wave function shifted, he felt himself skimming across the surface of a hidden sea: the Planck frontier that separated ordinary reality from Subdee. Voracious, meddlesome subbies lived in the subdimensional sea. They’d once attacked Thuy by sending up harpoon-tipped tendrils. It was good practice to finish one’s teleportation hops as quickly as possible.
    But the mind force of the twelve teekers was barely adequate for the task of moving the house, and the passage was proceeding slower than Jayjay would have liked. And then, just when it seemed like they were ready to bloom up into the redwood glen—old Khan lost his focus.
    Thuy’s mother, Minh, was teeping him, she was having a hissy fit because they’d forgotten to bring along her special homemade ginger-plum dipping sauce. As the distracted Khan’s mental grip weakened, the cabin teeped a yip of fear. They were sinking too close to the subbies’ sea. Jayjay heard a noise like a wood chipper.
    â€œDamn you, Mom,” screamed Thuy. “Get away!”
    Minh withdrew; Khan regained his focus; the house settled onto the foundation in the woods.
    Amid relieved murmurs, the group unlinked.
    â€œYou must respect your mother, Thuy,” said Khan. “It’s not easy for her anymore.”
    â€œWe’re lucky we made it at all,” said Jayjay, sticking up forhis wife. He went over and looked out the door. Most of the porch had been gnawed away by the insatiable beings of the subdimensions.
    â€œI’ll teek for the sauce,” said Khan, briefly closing his eyes. Two little pots appeared on the dining table. “So all is well. Thuy and Jayjay, I’m sorry about your porch.”
    â€œMain thing is we’re here,” said Thuy, giddy with relief. She hugged her father. “I’ll apologize to Mom later. But let me enjoy this first, I’ve earned it. Isn’t this spot beautiful? And our cabin likes it, too. Right, Vrilla?”
    Running into the clearing, Thuy stretched her arms high overhead and twiddled her fingers, as if dancing with the trees. “That’s pretty,” said Jil. “The dance of the dryads. Like in a classical ballet.” She jumped down from the doorway and joined in.
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    â€œCan we, um, start eating?” asked Momotaro, eyeing the appetizers.
    â€œVery tasty,” said Khan. “Do you know about Vietnamese food?”
    â€œSure,” said Momotaro. “I love those soft spring rolls.” He reached for one, and the rest of the crowd followed suit, quickly clearing the plates.
    â€œThat dipping sauce is to die for,” said Sonic sardonically.
    â€œIs