World Building Week: Sojourn
“Fascinating,” he muttered to himself.
The outer reaches of the dimension known as The Ghost Zone had so many unsolved mysteries. How exactly did ectoplasm work? Was this realm truly infinite? Why could “real world items” pass through Ghost Zone matter?
His quest was to catalogue everything there was to know-- every place, every scientific fact, every creature he came across. He had been traversing this plane for months-- at least, he was pretty sure it was months. It was difficult to tell time in a place with no night or day, especially when trying to adhere to human standards for counting the passage of time.
Time-- now there was an interesting fellow. He had met the clock-themed spirit only briefly, but had learned much about the relation of this dimension to Earth. Apparently the Ghost Zone was the planet’s inverse, and Time monitored its inhabitants and all possible timelines to verify that the best path was taken, to insure the planet’s future. Earth and the Ghost Zone were linked, the riddling spirit had explained, and if one ceased to exist, then the other would fall.
The journalist had never realized just how close he was to Earth. He had guessed that the portals that frequently, if briefly, opened lead to other dimensions, but observing that they often closed within minutes had held him back from exploring them. There was still so much to learn about this green and purple world! The time ghost had told him that natural portals oft lead to unpredictable times and places in Earth’s history. Oh, how he envied Time! To know the clockwork of Earth and its futures-- of pasts that never were!
After such an enlightening discussion with the puzzling ghost (He had seemed so amused with his guest, as if he knew more than he let on-- which, in all likelihood, was probably the case.) and recording these new findings in his notebook, our sojourner had continued on, traversing the Infinite Realms in search of knowledge.
Ah, but such an impossible task was this, to record in pen all there was to know about Earth’s twin. Later legends attest that the traveler achieved it, and that his simply-bound book holds all the secrets of this mini universe.
We get ahead of ourselves, however. Currently the one of legend investigates a phantasmal plant; one of unknown origin, but known purpose.
“Simply fascinating,” he continued, stooped over the flora. This sickly-looking weed had incredible healing properties, whether brewed, baked, or simply eaten raw. It was capable of healing him in days, no matter how severe the injury (his earlier run-in with that nasty tentacled beast had proved the perfect opportunity to test the strange plant).
He swiftly recorded his findings in his journal, penning in a curling cursive that was at times nearly illegible-- when he was rushed, usually. He sighed as he snapped the book shut, rubbing his forehead. “It’s about time to move on, Ford,” he told himself quietly. “This place is starting to get to you.” He shuddered slightly at the thought of the weird symptoms he had started to notice emerging-- glowing being the least of them. What had he expected from prolonged exposure to ectoplasm, really? It didn’t help that he was ingesting it. He resolved that as soon as another one of those purple portals appeared (a quick glance in one early on had proved they led to someplace other than Earth), he would take his leave of this place. But who knew how long it would be ‘til then?
