Cherub Portal

The Cherub portal is the tentative name of a machine of great importance in the plot of Hiveswap, and presumably in Hauntswitch. They function as portals through long distances, and their appearance distinctively make them artifacts of the Cherub race. Two of these machines appear as soon as Hiveswap: Act 1.

Arrival and assembly
One such machine was present in the attic of Half-Harley Manor some time prior to November 11, 1994. Jude Harley presumably built it, as plans for the machine are displayed on the wall of his treehouse, and he called it a "portal" when trying to warn Joey Claire to not interact with it. Joey was in possession of a heirloom from her mother, A. Claire, who was instrumental in activating the machine. Joey's mother connection to the portals is unknown at the time.

Another machine was present in Dammek's hive on Alternia, presumably at the same time. However, the technology it was based on was visibly much more advanced than the one in Half-Harley Manor. It can be surmised that Dammek built it, as, like Jude, he was in possession of plans for its assembly.

Both machines were found near great crates, which presumably contained the parts necessary to assemble them. The delivery slip near the box at Half-Harley Manor was described as illegible and having no return address.

Activation
On November 11, 1994, a while before activating the portal, Joey Claire felt the need to take the heirloom with her, prior to knowing the portal was in the attic. When she got to the attic, Jude Harley tried to warned her not to approach it, either because he thought it was generally dangerous, or because he knows of the connection between his sister and the machine. However, sudden statics in their Walkie-Talkie channel prevented him from issuing a more detailed warning. After unveiling the machine, Joey felt the overwhelming need to use her heirloom on the machine, and when she gave in, the snake carvings on the heirloom animated to physically force her to use it.

When inserted in the keyhole, the heirloom was sucked into it instead of moving like a regular key. The concentric circle at the front center of the machine then slid and disappeared, an eight-digits flip clock indicating full zeroes, topped by a winged scarab, protruded from the top, with the wings deploying from bottom to top. The cheeks of the reptile statues on each side of the device lighted with a red spiral for the right one and green spiral for the left one. The heads then lifted before opening their mouths, revealing antennas. The center of the portal then displayed a glowing combination of the red and green spiral, with streaked lights on the borders.

The antennas accumulated power, generating sparks, before bursting in energies of the respective head's color. A green light beam shot from the portal into space and through the roof of the manor, with the portal in the center pulling Joey into it before launching her into the light. A red light beam also connected to the portal from space, presumably shot from the second machine. While traveling through space at extremely high speed, Joey crossed path with Dammek, the troll possessing the other portal, who was thrown toward Earth along the red beam.

When Joey arrived on Alternia, Dammek's portal was surrounded with a force field denying access to the portal and presumably any return trip. Doc Scratch's involvement in later events with Xefros Tritoh is possibly linked to the use of the portal.