The Elsewhere Omnibus

4th - The Workshop

Maximus the Dreamer (Just Max for short) is an inventor of great things. Accordingly, his floor is a place for creating things. The equipment here is all over the spectrum, from simple wood chisels to 3-D Printers, to energy-matter replication technology. It's all here, filling up the available space with machines, tools, and half-finished constructs. The smell of smoke and oil are almost palpable, and indeed many leave the Workshop feeling like they need a shower. 

Max's best work comes from a large spherical chamber in the very center of his floor, where he experiments with the essence of our power, the so-called 'dream' energy. It's largely because of his efforts that we understand as much as we do about Dreamer abilities. Here, he manipulates raw Dreamite (that is, the physical form of manifested emotions from the Realm) and uses it to create gadgets and tools that anyone can use. The most famous of these creations is the Elsewhere Access, a pendant that serves as a sort of front end to Dreamer powers, allowing even those who aren't Dreamers to perform some basic Dreamer abilities, such as limited teleportation, manifestation of a basic Defiance, and so forth. He's also created a number of gadgets popular among the active Dreamers, such as the portable hole (pretty self-explanatory), the clicker (reverses any object that exists as a binary state ... insanely useful tool, by the way), the bail-out tag (instant evacuation to a safe place chosen by the user), and the chatbox (allows communication with anything with even a smattering of intelligence, including animals, computers, and some plantlife).  

Of Maximus, the Inventor

Maximus is a friendly enough fellow, always grinning and usually bearing at least one burn mark or grease smudge on his face. He changes form as needed to access some of his creations, but typically uses his original human form (and come to think of it, is the first true human I've discussed). He's a bit of a mutt, coming from the Pre-Devastation melting pot of America, with the dominant ethnicity in his genetic makeup being hispanic: Tanned skin, a mess of black hair that even Harry Potter would comment on needing combing, and with startlingly blue eyes (the only visible trait of his caucasian father) that just make him appear all the more innocent. 

Max is an active Dreamer, more than capable of handling his own assignments as well as assisting on others with both his natural intuition and his gadgets that mostly function as designed. He has opened up to lending out gadgets in recent years, though this has led to several going missing after reckless Dreamers leave them behind for some norm to find and cause trouble with. He's usually wearing a pair of overalls and a bandolieer retrofitted to be a tool belt. 

While most Dreamers use their powers on the go, Max prefers using artifacts he's created. As such, he's always looking for new ideas to cover any situation a Dreamer could encounter. His crowning achievement is the Elsewhere Access, a sophisticated bit of Dreamtech that can give a normed Dreamer some access to their powers through use of a complex system of runes. While not widely in use, Max hopes every Dreamer will carry one at some point.

Max and Alex were once very competitive. Both Dreamers who tended towards artifact usage, Alex's constructs were more often made from toys, which was why he received the nickname 'the Toymaker'. Max's constructs tend to more closely resemble tools.

Notable DreamerTech created by Max

The portable Hole - Just what it says on the tin; a hole that can be placed anywhere, providing access. Come in a variety of sizes, but are often left behind on assignments, prompting recovery assignments.

The Elsewhere Access - Pendant preprogrammed with a large number of useful abilities. Meant for normed Dreamers.

The matchstick torch - A length of wood with the end painted red and white like a strike anywhere match. Can be 'struck' anywhere, match does not consume itself while lit. Easy to create.

the tripper grenade - a bounce grenade that releases a large number of extending rods. Rods extend after bouncing once. Best used in a tight corridor.

the Flipper - a small handheld device with a binary switch. Can alter binary states.