In the "parallel novels" Desperation and The Regulators, the term "ini" crefers to a dimensional portal; in this case, a small aperture (only about an inch across in Desperation, and somewhat larger in The Regulators) that connects Earth to the dimension in which Tak was originally imprisoned by ancient forces unknown. The term "ini" is phonologically similar to "thinny," a similar (if not the same) phenomenon seen in King's Dark Tower novels.