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Spoiler Warning!
This article or section reveals details from the second season. Read at your own discretion. |
| This article is about the inter-dimensional doorway. For the episode, see The Gate (episode). For other uses, see The Gate (disambiguation) |
The Gate, also known as the Rift, was a portal to the Upside Down located in the underground subsystem of Hawkins National Laboratory. It was large, sprawling and consisted of an assortment of strange tendrils, membranes and toxic biological growth.
Unlike other portals, the Gate stayed open permanently with the Upside Down growing out of it, extending into the laboratory. By 1984, the Gate had developed a second entrance-way, extending deep underneath Hawkins Lab. The entrance-way was gargantuan compared to the first, and was connected to an intricate series of tunnels. The Gate disrupted the local electromagnetic field, causing compasses to point toward it instead of the Earth's magnetic north.
History
Background
The Gate cracking open the wall in Hawkins Lab.
On November 6, 1983, a test subject with psychic powers called Eleven was instructed by Dr. Martin Brenner to make contact with the Monster. She was placed in a sensory deprivation tank at Hawkins National Laboratory which allowed her to become immersed in a deep psychic state, amplifying her abilities. When Eleven touched the Monster, the Gate cracked open in the wall of the tank room. The opening allowed the Monster to travel out of the Upside Down and into their dimension. Amidst the ensuing chaos, Eleven escaped the lab.
Season One
The next morning, a local news report reported that power surges and outages had occurred in East Hawkins. This was most likely caused by the Gate's opening.
The area of the lab in which the Gate opened was immediately contained and quarantined. The following day, Dr. Brenner and several scientists went underground wearing hazmat suits and discovered that the Gate was expanding into the lab.
Dr. Brenner sent Shepard, one of his employees, into the Gate to investigate. Attached to a security line so that he could be pulled out in the case of an emergency, Shepard was soon attacked by the Monster. The Hawkins Lab workers were unable to pull him to safety in time, and he died.
Police Chief Jim Hopper broke into Hawkins Lab while searching for Will Byers and came across the Gate. However, he was knocked unconscious by the agents before he was able to explore further.
Lucas Sinclair, Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson, and Eleven attempted to find the Gate using compasses, but Eleven directed the compasses away from the laboratory. Lucas continued the journey on his own but was forced to stop after he was unable to pass the wire fence surrounding the laboratory.
Joyce Byers and Jim Hopper entered the Upside Down through the Gate in an attempt to find Joyce's son Will. They were successful and returned back to their dimension afterward.
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| The Flayed | |
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| Miscellaneous | |