Interlude Five point Three, The Wanderer's Interview
With a rejuvenating sigh Jenny Peters closed her apartment door and leaned back
against the portal that preserved her little corner of sanity in an insane
world. Was it worth the headaches? She knew the answer, or rather knew what
her answer would be in the morning when she was ready to go tackle the world
again.
Jenny gathered her gear and heaved it onto the counter, dispatched her keys on
the nearby hook and immediately thought, leftovers, bath, and bed. That was not
to be the evening's agenda as she turned the corner and was startled by what she
saw. There standing in her apartment was The Wanderer holding a single rose,
with a bow the masked man swept his hand to the coffee table which had an
assortment of Chinese carryout items, "Good evening, Ms. Peters. You're late,
yet dinner awaits. Is this a bad time for our chat?"
Outrage quickly turned to bewilderment as the fires of her investigative spirit
were fueled. Momentarily speechless, a mumbled What? and How? were greeted with
a gesture to the opened sliding door which led to balcony and breathtaking view
of the Port Alexander skyline.
Jenny got herself under control and the tape recorder clicked on,
"Who are you?"
"I am called The Wanderer, which describes both my mind and the purpose of my
existence. The unknown is so vast and I am but a nomad who knows very little.
But as directionless as I am, no one can be sure that I won't stumble upon
whatever it is that they wish to keep unknown."
"You don't say," replied Jenny. "It's a good thing I've got no secrets
here. Where do you come from?"
"I'm a pretty far out guy. As hokey as it sounds, I am not of this world. In
fact, I don't know where I'm from as my people have forgotten where they hang
their ancestral hat. My last location before arriving here was many moons
away, both literally and figuratively," replied the Wanderer.
"You mean you're an alien? From Outer Space? Little green men and all that?"
The Wanderer smiled, "Not so little and even less green, but basically correct."
"So your powers are native to your race? What are they exactly?" asked
the intrepid reporter.
"In addition to the cool, seductive stylings of Tom Cruise and the ability to
win
friends and influence people courtesy of Dale Carnegie there are several
inherent gifts that my people possess which you do not. As a nomadic race, I
have the ability to travel at an accelerated pace due to the shifting of
dimensional planes and other hocus pocus. Life among the stars; that is, the
cosmic variety, not the phony ones that Priscilla Fiske fawns over; is both
rigorous and requires certain developments that make us more suited to a risky
lifestyle. Partially because we never developed tobacco, I'd presume,"
The Wanderer added.
"So why are you doing this? It's not even your planet, if you're for real."
"As an extremely long lived race, we have seen many planetary failures brought
about due to inner turmoil and societal decay. Simply put, I like this ball of
mud and do not want to have to find another place to plant my tulips."
"Are you, ah, compatible with us? I mean, for instance, are you married
or do you date?" asked Jenny with a strange look in her eye.
"Ah, speaking of planting my two lips. Careful Ms. Peters, I seriously doubt
that you wear sleaze as nicely as Ms. Fiske. Let's just say I'm the type of guy
who can never settle down, I'm never in one place I roam from town to town, they
call me...well, you know. Although I do keep my eyes open, and can give a woman
the moon, or part of it at least."
"I see. I think," Jenny shook her head. "There's no way I can use all this.
Oh well, onward. What do you know about the explosion at the research
platform? What happened out there?"
"Oh, there you go. And I thought this was a social call, must you bring business
into this? There is very little I can add to what the papers have reported. I
was there due to some unusual seismic readings that I became aware of, little
did I know that there was a costume party taking place....fortunately I was
properly attired. At the conclusion of the investigations, I'm sure I will have
much more to share," said The Wanderer.
"And you will share it, right? Moving along," Jenny continued, "What's
your relationship with the other Port Alexander heroes?"
"Undetermined. While I feel like I already knew them from your excellent pieces,
the platform rendezvous was our first meeting. Thus far I feel as if we can
work together under any circumstances. They are good for Port Alexander, and
I'd certainly stand side-by-side with any of them when called. I'd trust my cat
with the White Knight and party with Fervor, if that doesn't say it, what does?
As for Glory, I haven't had the pleasure...but intend to as soon as I get my
cloak pressed," leered the Wanderer.
Last Updated 25 May 2000
