Chronicles of the Worldwalkers

December 11, 1927

New York, United States

A knock on the door woke up the old man. It sounded like the incessant jabbing of a woodpecker. Someone had dared disturb his evening nap. He’d been dozing off after a midday snack with his only company, Oscar his old lab. Intent on not paying attention, another vigorous set of knocks startled him away from his pleasant dreams. “Who is it?” he asked from his comfy sofa in his 1920’s living room. His voice was scruffy and moody! “It’s me, Tobias. I have great news!” Immediately his temper simmered down into tranquility and a good face. “Give me a minute!” The old man grabbed his cane and slowly walked towards the old door. Through the door glass, he could see a young man beaming across. It was the familiar face of his tenant, Tobias Maldechor, who also happened to be his only friend for the last year and a half!

“Albert!” the young man began as the door was opened. “I have great news.” He said again, but this time he showed the old man a heavy leather bag and brought in a little of the outside cold. The old man smiled. “What time is it?” Tobias didn’t answer and instead bustled through the entrance and towards the Spartan living room. Tobias wore a long dark brown coat, an old suit a little lighter than the coat, and some old boots. He placed the heavy-looking leather bag on the humble table and spoke. “Albert. This is my last day!” Both Albert and Oscar felt a little sad. Albert’s wrinkly face got even more creased and Oscar lowered his head and ears with a sorrowful whine.

“What do you mean? Did you finish you’re work already?” Albert asked surprised. Tobias had rented the apartment explaining that he’d come from England to work on the Smithsonian in New York. He was a fine arts restorer and was working on a project that would take about two years to complete. So it came to Albert as a big surprise that he’d finished it six months early.

Tobias still beaming with excitement explained, so consumed in his desire to return home he didn’t get the old man’s emotions. “Yes, it was easier than expected and now I can go back! I miss home, besides an old friend is trying to reach me and I need to talk to her. I’m afraid something’s come up with my sister Liboria.” Tobias was a tall man, well built with short brown hair. His piercing green eyes scanned the place and noticed Albert hadn’t eaten anything and most probably Oscar was suffering the same fate. As every night, he’ll whip up something for the two of them! It was a thing he liked and enjoyed very much. Albert received the explanations absently, still dealing with the fact that his only friend was leaving so soon.

Tobias was in such a haste he didn’t notice the other's apprehension. With a million things still to do, now that he was leaving in such a hurry, he dashed towards the door and replied, still ignorant of the old man’s saggy mood. “I’ll be upstairs, I’ll make one last wonderful diner for the three of us!” Tobias gently smiled as he left through the cold threshold. “And you don’t have to worry about the rent. In that bag, there is the equivalent of two more years’ worth of rent… in pure silver.” Albert was amazed, but he wasn’t really worried about the rent. He felt a little off and sad, the only person he really talked to was going away. Suddenly his body ached with a million joints protesting the coming winter.

Almost a year and a half Tobias Maldechor, a strange man with a strange name, came to his house and rented the apartment upstairs. He had a weird accent and was seldom in the house and made no noise. He had no problems with the neighbors, in fact, he spoke with everyone, and was a true gentleman. He left early in the mornings and always arrived during the nights and would always invite Albert and his dog Oscar to dine with him. He ceaselessly fixed a marvelous feast for the three of them. During this late dinner, they would always talk about Albert’s lifelong passion, science fiction.

They would talk about stories they’d read, full of fantastic places, futuristic landscapes, life in other worlds, rocket ships and other vehicles and the distant future. But in truth, Albert really liked to listen to the stories Tobias had read back in England. They were breathtaking accounts of wonderful civilizations, the details he remembered about each of its inhabitants and their amazing technologies were astounding. Tobias described these stories with remarkable lifelike imageries and with such specifics that made Albert’s mind wander in a new universe every night. Too bad those stories couldn’t be found here in New York, Tobias always said they were amateurs writers that published their works on a small London paper and were almost impossible to find.

But now he was going away. Albert felt sad, his only company was leaving.

Albert didn’t even count the silver dollars. He simply paced around his apartment downhearted and sad. Oscar too was gloomy and approached the old man. Tobias had been a great friend indeed. He was sure to miss him. Then Oscar found something in the floor. His huge nose went all over it and Albert noticed it resembled a fob watch. In his hurry, Tobias must have thrown it by mistake. That was true, the young man was always late and running.

Albert reached for the bronze clockwork in the floor. It was heavier than a regular watch. Some inscriptions in a foreign language surrounded its outer layer. They were beautifully handwritten into the shiny brass. Albert tried to read it, but he didn’t understand it. When he opened it, he saw the most amazing thing he’d ever seen in his long 72 years.

The fob watch, wasn’t a fob watch at all.

It was composed of dials and rings and something spectacularly beautiful in its center chiming with a celestial sound. Albert regarded it with care, his wrinkly face alighted with a glee not of this world, his mouth unable to close because it was something uniquely and unequivocally spectacular. Each ring was crafted with precision and expertise. They all had strange letters and symbols and its center was the most striking and breathtaking of all. It was a small crystal dome with a mysterious luminous inner light! Houses didn’t have light yet! Let alone this little thing had a revolving sun in its center.

He knew immediately this wasn’t of this world!

His old eyes filled with a light mist, somewhere inside him he knew this came from one of those outer space regions they spoke during dinner. He was about to go out and ask Tobias when Tobias himself opened the door and entered in a rush with a worried face.

“Are you looking for this?” Albert asked with delight and wonder. Tobias’ worries turned into realization upon seeing Albert with the bronze device opened and in his hands!

“What is this Tobias?” the old man Albert asked with a suspicious smile. He didn’t let Tobias finished. He almost suspected it! All those talks about stars, robots, other planets and the advances of astronomy and science. Everything they spoke about otherworldly visitors, rocket ships, life on Mars and the many civilizations in the many, many stars. Albert realized it in a flash.

Tobias’ strange accent, his eccentric, out of this world appearance and his incredible intellect now pointed out to something wonderful and incredible.

“You are a spaceman!” Albert happily accused. Tobias closed the door and grabbed the device from the other’s hand with a passive snicker. He gave him a compassionate look and put the device away.

“Not exactly Albert.” Tobias began with an apologizing face. “I am from another world, yes. But not space.”

The old was amazed. “All this time, I had a space man upstairs!” Albert breathed out as he sat on his sofa bringing his hands to his had as he laughed in amazement. Tobias smiled, understanding the old man’s emotions. “But how can you be a spaceman and not be from space?”

Since Albert was a young boy he’d been enthralled with the idea of space travel and life in other worlds. He’d read novels from Mader and Rice Burroughs and their fantastic stories always gave him hope that there was more to it. And now he had a man from another place in his living room. However, the old man had another thing to say. “Take me with you. I don’t eat much and Oscar and I can sleep anywhere.” Albert said this with yearning eyes. Tobias refused and the old man insisted making Tobias think about it.

It was true that Albert was by himself and seldom anyone came to see him. He’d been here for a while and maybe once or twice did one of his children ever showed up. That made Tobias a little sad too. It wasn’t that the place Tobias came from had any restrictions regarding traveling companions. It wasn’t that, on the contrary. They knew that some of their assignments would take years, decades and sometimes even centuries to perform and it was expected that Worldwalkers would usually end up with a traveling fellow or two. Besides they would love to have Albert and Oscar, they were both quite intelligent and would adjust rather well to his world back in Avensar. Tobias pondered about it and weighing in the variables he finally replied.

“Are you sure? I’ll have to make some adjustments to the vehicle!”

Albert was shocked beyond expression. He couldn’t believe this space man also had his space vehicle with him. “Is it a rocket ship?” Albert asked amazed. Tobias smiled and whisked towards his apartment. “Not exactly, but you’ll love it!”

The reason why Tobias was on Earth was simple. His device, the Archeometer had malfunctioned. It wasn’t working properly. So he had to wait for about four months for the nearest portal to open. That never occurred. And for a year and a half he’d been watching for a good planar storm to occur. His long vigil paid off and he detected one such storm. That storm was going to open up a portal tomorrow at five thirty seven in the morning.

He ushered Albert to accompany him to his apartment, his face was like that of a child about to unveil his newest toy. Albert followed with equal delight.

There Tobias showed him what he’d been working on for the past months. “It looks more like a soapbox car than a rocket ship, boy!” Albert replied rather sceptic, thinklign for a second that Tobias was probably mad. Tobias gave him a confused look. The vehicle was indeed small and it did look a little like a soapbox car, especially the bicycle wheels. But it had been completely covered with aluminum foil and fitted with long wavy antennas in the back. He fixed it with many instruments the old man didn’t recognize. But when Tobias turned it on and Albert’s doubts were completely dispelled.

The entire car illumined with green and red lights, its instruments began to work, devices Albert had never ever seen. He couldn’t even start to imagine their function. He was astonished beyond proportion. “Excuse its rudimentary appearance, but this will take us to my dimension.” Then Tobias pressed one of the dials and this one produced a holographic image.

Albert jumped back, not believing his eyes. “It's New York!” he shouted amazed with a giggle. Tobias smiled. It was the map of New York with some strange-looking lights moving closer over it, like a weather map, but instead of showing a thunderstorm, it was showing a planar event. Albert was in awe, never having seen anything like that, especially when the first electronic television was invented only months ago!

“How does it work?” the old man asked enthralled. Tobias explained. “Tomorrow’s stellar convergence will power my device. We’ll have to pedal hard and go down Inwood Hill to acquire enough static and momentum, after that I hope the storm does it all!”

“What happens if it doesn’t?” Albert asked concerned, but still with a jovial smile on his old face. Tobias smiled back. “We’ll surely break our bones!” The two friends laughed at the traveler’s joke. But then Tobias took his wand out. It was completely black and shaped in the form of a Unicorn's Horn. Albert regarded it transfixed. “What is that, your ray gun?”

Tobias replied. “This is my wand.” As he said this he waved it around the soapbox car, “Munivos!” Upon saying this a blue glow surrounded the car. Albert almost jumped out of his pants. “What did you do?”

“I simply placed another spell to keep us safe, in case we do fall into the ravine!” Tobias smiled again, putting his wand inside his jacket. “We are wizards, not space people!” Albert smiled. “How about that! Have your people been around us before?” Tobias smiled adjusting some other trinkets.

“Yes, since before the beginning. But you’ll know all that later on.”

That night Albert packed a very small case with his most important belongings. Abigail’s portrait, she had been his wife for fifty years and they lived happily until she passed away. They bore a girl and a boy Clark and Susan, but they were too busy. Both had very important jobs and families of their own. He also brought his favorite book, Under the Moons of Mars, three changes of clothes and Oscar’s plastic duck. That night just before he slept he called both of them, but he only talked to one. After that Albert slept like a baby.

Several hours later both Tobias and Albert were dismounting the weird contraption by Inwood Hill. The morning was very cold. They drove there in Albert’s old truck and he was making jokes about how fortunate was going to be the person who found his trusty old car. Tobias laughed at this, knowing the car’s true state. As he laughed he made some last minutes arrangements and synchronized his Archeometer with the vehicle’s onboard devices.

He’d used every conceivable spare part he found for the past year and had to create some more with his magical knowledge in order to create their makeshift dimensional transmitter that would create a rift, a rudimentary vortex drive to power their movement across the dimensions and a reality condensation stabilizer so that the vehicle would come back intact on the other side. It was a tremendous task considering it was 1927.

Having finished the adjustments, the entire soapbox car lit with unearthly lights again. Albert was stunned. Tobias had adjusted the vehicle with another seat and even a case for Oscar on the rear. Albert brought some helmets for themselves and his dog. They quickly donned them and readied to depart. The morning was still very cold and they both got on the vehicle, it was around 5:30 am.

Tobias was instructing Albert about the pedals when a siren caught their attention. “Who could that be?” Tobias asked worried.

Albert made a sheepish face. “I told my daughter I was leaving in the morning with a wizard from outer space.” Tobias laughed.

“Imagine that!” Then the vehicle whirred with power as the night sky began to illumine with the rays of the morning sun.

“What do we do?” Tobias asked seeing the patrol car getting closer. “Hit the pedals!” Albert yelled like a five-year-old about to embark on his first adventure!

He pedaled fast and the illumined soapbox car amazingly moved forth! Tobias smiled a wicked grin as he too pedaled with all of his might. The patrol car pulled close to Albert’s truck. Two policemen and a lady rushed out.

Tobias’ contraption was already several meters away and they ran after it. “Stop!” the policemen yelled while a very distraught woman shouted. “Papa!”

Albert wasn’t worried, as they sped fast towards the intense slope on the hill. “I haven’t felt so alive in years!” Albert shouted as Tobias got a little panicky, the Archeometer wasn’t registering any planar storm yet and they were already going down the dangerous slope that ended in an even more deadly ravine and his clock showed it was already 5:36 am.

“Goodbye Susan!” Albert waved as he kept pedaling. Tobias kept adjusting his Archeometer but with no luck. The planar storm wasn’t there yet! Had he made a mistake? It was too late now!

The policemen and the lady quickly halted their pursuit as they reached the dangerously sloping ravine while their rough-and-ready soap box cart furiously sped down!

“Papa!” yelled the frightened woman from the top of her lungs, afraid her dad was in the hands of a madman and was surely going to get him killed.

The two travelers were half-way down towards the end of the ravine. Albert was screaming with joy, while Tobias’ heart raced a little more. The storm was nowhere near and the car was about to fall into the deadly abyss.

With teary eyes, the woman saw when the vehicle frantically went off the ravine and into the abyss.

“¡Papa!” she yelled filled in panic.

The policemen exchanged sorry glances. They felt sad for her, they knew the two men were surely not going to make it. It was a fifty meter long plunge.

No one would survive it!

Amidst fearful screams, lights sparkled around the soapbox cart!

With incredulous eyes the policemen and Albert’s daughter witnessed as the ravine was illumined with a powerful revolving cloud of energy and the most incredible thunderclap.

A shower of multiple colors combined illumining the hillside.

Next, a potent lightning storm exploded out of nowhere. Many magical circles with runes wildly turning in every direction formed around the speeding soapbox contraption. Then instead of falling, the rudimentary vehicle flew upwards into the forming vortex.

Susan’s eyes welled with even more tears now.

Her father was right!

Then the vortex engulfed the vehicle as the two dimensional travelers kept pedaling fast into the revolving planar gate. Susan gasped, no longer screaming but listening to his papa’s happy cries from afar.

Tobias was grateful to his stars and the next second their car was transformed into a thin brilliant line that slingshot itself into the luminous rotating vortex of circles of magical power.

Several sonic booms exploded around the hillside as the vortex closed upon them and as indeed a wizard from outer space had taken Susan’s papa and his dog into another world!