Journal of Simon Herbert 1

CHAPTER ONE

“Where's Webby!”

Marvin, previously calm as he described to me the mass devastation that can be caused by a windstorm like the approaching one, is suddenly panicked when he doesn't see his cat as we head for the shielded level of the building. I yelled back over the roaring and screeching winds to let him know that Webby already went down the stairs. Marvin laughed, and his usual calm demeanor returned. He asked if I was still happy I decided to stay here.

Without a doubt.

It wasn't a hard decision for me to stay in the strange new universe when given the opportunity. Some kind of rip in the tapestry of time or space had allowed Aber and me to move back and forth between two alternate realities. There was no way I was going to miss this opportunity. The kid didn't understand. I think Aber was more freaked out by the whole idea of multiple dimensions or universes than he was intrigued by them. After a month of being stranded at a transport station on a desolate rock, light years from home, Aber looked like a kid seeing Santa come down the chimney when we heard the message that a ship was on the way to pick us up. He just wanted to go back to his normal life. I can't blame him. My normal life was really not that much to miss.

So, here I am. Said my goodbyes to Aber, and headed across the divide toward the gateway to another Universe. I asked him a few times if he was sure he didn't want to go back to this other universe with me. He said, “I think you're one of the smartest people I know, Herbert, but...” Most people call me Simon, my first name. Sometimes my mother would call me Herbert. That usually meant I had done something wrong. Other than her, only my best friend in grade school used to call me by my last name. Aber reminded me a lot of my friend, smart but not really interested in learning more than necessary. Aber pointed out that I understand all that technical stuff Marvin was telling us, but he was a little lost. He knew I was going to have a great adventure, but the past month was enough adventure for him. He just wanted to go home. To the one in his universe.

So I packed up my belongings, confiscated odds and ends that might be useful from the station, and collected plants and seeds from the station's greenhouse in case I need to plant them this side of The Rip. In case The Rip closes, or the station closes, or the planet 'closes'. Like Earth did in this new universe. And now here I am, sheltering from a storm like I have never seen, on an inhabited planet. Though I guess two people and a cat at an isolated transport station in a deserted city might not designate a planet as inhabited. But am I happy I stayed? Happy to be learning all about technology not yet developed in my universe? Happy to visit planets that were destroyed on the other side of The Rip? Happy to be experiencing a storms like this? Oh, yes.

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