I wish I had a Doko Demo Doa: Teleportation dreams from the road

After a recent stretch of work travel, including a trip to Northampton, MA that left me both inspired and exhausted, I found myself wishing for a teleportation device. Not just any device, but a door. A door that could take me anywhere, instantly. A door that could bypass airports, traffic, and time zones. A door that could bring me home in time for dinner, no matter where I started my day.

I read and watch a lot of media, books, anime, films, short stories, and over time, these worlds tend to run together in the most interesting ways. Sometimes, while waiting for a delayed train or navigating a crowded airport, I find myself mentally stitching together scenes from sci-fi novels and cartoons, imagining what it would be like if teleportation were real.

My first encounter with teleportation wasn’t through Star Trek or sci-fi movies, it was through Jack Vance’s The Demon Princes series. In those books, teleportation doors are part of a vast “universal” system that lets people hop between planets and space stations with ease. But there’s a catch: when the system gets hacked or breaks down, the doors vanish. Just like that. People are stranded in isolated rooms scattered across the galaxy, with no way back. It’s a thrilling concept, but not exactly comforting when you’re just trying to get to your next meeting.

Then there’s Doraemon’s doko demo doa: the “anywhere door.” This cheerful pink portal is the stuff of dreams. Open it, and you’re instantly wherever you want to be. No glitches, no horror, just pure convenience. Need to grab a tamago-sando from a konbini in Shinagawa? Step through. Want to visit a client in Osaka and be back in California before sunset? Done. Doraemon’s door is the gold standard of teleportation: reliable, friendly, and fun.

But teleportation stories aren’t always so lighthearted. Stephen King’s short story The Jaunt offers a chilling twist. In King’s universe, teleportation is real but it comes with strict rules. Travelers must be unconscious during the “jaunt,” because conscious minds can’t handle the experience. One curious boy decides to stay awake. What happens next is terrifying: he arrives insane, having lived an eternity in a timeless void. It’s a brilliant story, but definitely not the kind of teleportation I’m wishing for.

So here I am, back from another trip, dreaming of a door. Not a haunted one. Not one that disappears mid-journey. Just a good old-fashioned doko demo doa, or maybe a Jack Vance-style portal with a bit more security. One that gets me where I need to go, with my sanity intact.

Until then, I’ll keep traveling the old-fashioned way … and keep dreaming of doors.