Pocket universe

In science

A pocket universe is a concept in inflationary theory, proposed by Alan Guth. It defines a realm like the one that contains the observable universe as only one of many inflationary zones.^[1][2]

In fiction

In narrative, pocket universes are fictional artificially-created universes that exist within the bounds of another universe. The term pocket universe is derived from its illustration in the actual universe where it is usually portrayed as an orb which would fit in a pocket.

Notable pocket universes include:

• Pocket realities are usually presented in the Marvel Universe as either comparatively small reachable but separate "dimensions", such as realms of magic with recurrently greatly diverging laws of physics, or as contained within/linked to outwardly small objects with tesseract qualities, that make them far larger on the inside than the outside, such as the (from inside apparently full-sized) universe within the Soul Gem or the Heroes Reborn sphere. There are also so-called "microverses" reached through microscopic nexes.
• The container in which Chichikov stores his deeds and other items in Dead Souls
• The MMORPG RuneScape contains a number of pocket dimensions.
• All variations of the Poké Ball in the Pokémon games, manga
• Bags of holding and portable holes from Dungeons & Dragons (literally a "pocket" universe in some cases)
• Demiplanes in the D&D cosmology
• The interior of a TARDIS, from Doctor Who
• The Tesseracted Volume of Dr. Reed Richards, of the Fantastic Four
• The Land of the Lost
• Hammerspace, a humorous concept used by fans to explain where cartoon characters are able to pull items from "out of nowhere"
• The marbles from Men in Black.
• The Pocket Universe in post-Crisis Superman comics, designed by the Time Trapper as the place from which the pre-Crisis Superboy originated.
• The Island on Lost (TV Series) is contained in a pocket dimension.
• Parasite universes attached to the Discworld universe
• The place that the extra mass comes from/goes that Transformers gain/lose when they transform
• The Flat-Space dimensional compression technology in Kurt Wimmer's UltraViolet.
• The night club Pocket D, found in City of Heroes and City of Villains.
• Dark Aether in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes is a dark version of the planet Aether, located in an alternate dimension.
• The Dunwich Room from the movie Cast a Deadly Spell.
• In the 853rd century DC Universe, as seen in DC One Million, every city in the Solar System is built into its own pocket universe, leaving the planetary surfaces almost untouched.
• Grandfather's pocket universe in the role-playing game Traveller.
• The Other Zone in Lexx, an "unstable partial universe" that consists of a shifting metaphorical landscape.
• Photon Nanotrance technology found in Phantasy Star Universe
• Omnyou Mystics from the anime series Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi main responsibility was to create an alternative universe for people when something tragic had happened to them. Though not directly explained as a pocket universe, it is presumed that the universe is limited to the imagination and knowledge of the Omnyou Mystic who created it.
• Linking books and bubbles from the Myst franchise. The D'ni used books to for many things: agriculture, refuge, prison, industry, etc.
• World of Tiers, a series of six books by Philip José Farmer in which humanoids have created a series of small pocket universes which are linked by gates, and populated by persons kidnapped in the far past from Earth.
• In the Futurama episode "The Why of Fry", Fry sent the Infosphere into a pocket dimension to keep it from destroying the universe.
• The computer game Chronomaster revolves around adventures in 7 pocket universes.
• The MUD Alter Aeon has a weightless item container named "pocket dimension".
• The MUD ArcticMUD has a rare ring with a gem that is, itself, a pocket universe into which you can toss items for storage. Upon touching an item to the gem, it would vanish in a flash of light. To retrieve the item, the player would think of it and it would reappear.
• In the TV series Andromeda, during the end of the second and beginning of the third season, and in Delenda Est. of the third season, Trance Gemini states the aliens attacking the Andromeda are from a pocket universe.
• In the final season Andromeda, Dylan Hunt, and the rest of the crew of the Andromeda discover that the Seefera System is an artificial Solar System created by the Vedrans and placed inside a pocket universe in order to hide Tarn Vedra and to create a braking system for Trance's sun when it returns to the system.
• The surfaces of each world in the popular game Kingdom Hearts.
• Terranigma features a small box which Ark carries with him, that he can climb into to find various rooms including an armory, inventory screen and study.
• In the videogame Chrono Trigger, Lavos has its own pocket universe.
• In Superman continuity the Phantom Zone is often depicted as a pocket dimension.
• In the Master of Orion series, part of the story involves the Orion race imprisoning their enemies, the Antaran race, along with their entire home star system inside what is stated to be a "pocket dimension".
• In the Kirby: Right Back at Ya! anime series, rather than into any particular organ, what Kirby consumes seems to enter a pocket universe of sorts, depicted with a backdrop of outer space.
• The Matoran Universe inside the body of the Great Spirit Mata-nui from the Bionicle timeline.
• The Ohtori Academy in the anime Revolutionary Girl Utena can be described as a form of pocket universe. Also the dueling arena's metaphysical structure can be called a pocket universe within one. The construct of the academy in both the series, manga, video-game, movie and the manga based on the movie is shown to be a form of "another" world where extraordinary things happen without any 'logical' reason - also the whole storyline faces a theme to break free from the academy and go to the Outside World.
• In the television series Ben Ten there is a pocket dimension called the Null Void, in which criminals are kept. It is later explained to have been used originally as a new home for people who have ruined their lives.
• The Pocket Universe created by Odin to simulate the Ragnarök in one arch of Neil Gaiman's Sandman
• Big Boo's Haunt (the haunted house) in Super Mario 64 and subsequent remakes.

References

1. ^ http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/sunrise/50-00-1/sc-imo17.htm
2. ^ Alan Guth (1998). The Inflationary Universe. ISBN 978-0201328400.