How would you like to get to Seattle for dim sum, like now-ish? Say, in 15 minutes? Pacific Hyperloop is imagining a future where that might be possible.

The team behind Pacific Hyperloop wants to make the Pacific Northwest one of the first places in the world where people are transported between major cities using a system of tubes that transports pods at speeds of 760 miles per hour -- faster than an airplane but over land.

The "Hyperloop" system was dreamed up by Elon Musk as a kind of future travel beyond flying cars. The idea is that pods carry people or freight through tubes at extreme speeds.

"Just as aircraft climb to high altitudes to travel through less dense air, Hyperloop encloses the capsules in a reduced pressure tube," Musk wrote in 2013. "The pressure of air in the Hyperloop is about 1/6 the pressure of the atmosphere on Mars ... a hard vacuum is avoided as vacuums are expensive and difficult to maintain compared with low pressure solutions."

Motors would create a cushion of air which would allow the pods to float in the tubes.

After Musk thought up Hyperloop, multiple companies decided to make it a reality. Now, Hyperloop One, not affiliated with Musk, is hosting the "Hyperloop One Global Challenge."

And on April 5, 35 finalists out of 2,600 applicants worldwide will present their proposals to a panel of judges in Washington, D.C. Pacific Hyperloop is one of those finalists.

In an email to Geekwire, Richard Kim, Pacific Hyperloop's spokesperson said, "We will be giving our finalist presentation on April 5th and 6th in Washington, D.C., in front of Hyperloop One and government officials."

"If/when we become a finalist," he continued, "Seattle and Portland will be the starting grounds for Hyperloop's innovation and prominence."

Pacific Hyperloop was founded by University of Washington students, including MBA student Ahmed ElAyouti, who has eight years of experience at Boeing.

According to Geekwire, the team is consulting with advisers from the Cascadia Center and the Washington State Transportation Center, but they are still looking for backing from regional officials and investors.

The group is asking people who want to see extra high speed transit between Portland and Seattle to sign their Change.org petition.

-- Lizzy Acker

503-221-8052

lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker