"a multi-dimensional being reaches down to earth and pulls you out of the universe. you are then thrown back into the universe at a place and time of the being's choosing, and you are permitted to leave only after you have identified your surroundings. this process is repeated several times. through a scientifically unexplainable miracle, you are able to survive in every one of the places that you find yourself. in each scenario below, identify your surroundings (and potentially your cosmic era) from among the choices given. you find yourself in a very low-density gas that is extremely hot. in fact, the temperature of the gas is so high that it is emitting lots of x-rays. there are no stars anywhere within about 10,000 light-years of you, but at slightly greater distances, your sky is brightened by hundreds (perhaps thousands) of beautiful, star-filled structures, some with majestic spiral shapes. where are you?