“Strange Worlds”
"Strange Worlds" – April 5th, 1983
Strange Worlds – April 5th, 1983
The library shifted around them, the walls and textures becoming the bedroom of Peter as a young teenager. He was sitting on his bed, surrounded by books and toys, deeply engrossed in reading a novel.
“Where are we now?” asked Calliope, her eyes scanning the scene.
“Long Island, New York, 1983,” Peter replied. “This is where some of the early inspirations for the Mythica began to appear in my field.”
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Calliope noticed a worn copy of Journey to the Center of the Earth resting on a nearby table. She gestured toward it. “Have you read Journey to the Center of the Earth?”
Peter grinned. “Calliope, you’re a deva of stories. You know all of them. What matters is what they mean to me, right?”
“Exactly,” she said, smiling.
He picked up the book and turned it over in his hands. “Journey to the Center of the Earth was one of the three pivotal ideas that inspired the Mythica. Its premise was that there was a hidden world beneath the surface of the Earth. The story follows a team of adventurers tracing the path of an explorer who left clues on how to get into that world.”
Calliope’s quill moved swiftly as she asked, “In that story, the team of adventurers isn’t the first to discover the hidden world; they’re following in the footsteps of someone else. Did you identify with the team, or with the original explorer?”
“With the explorer,” Peter said without hesitation. “I imagined what it would be like to be the one discovering a hidden kingdom, leaving a trail for others to follow.”
“And did you find such a portal into the earth’s underground chambers?”
“After a fashion,” Peter said, his eyes lighting up. “The idea went deeper for me. I realized there were worlds within the world—inner worlds. Entire realities not beneath the surface of the Earth’s crust but beneath the surface of our perception itself.”
As he spoke, the library transformed. A young boy appeared in an imagined cavern, its walls glittering with crystalline light, and within it lay a universe of stars and worlds.
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
“Let’s move on,” Calliope prompted, her quill pausing. “You say Journey to the Center of the Earth was one inspiration. What was the second?”
“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” Peter said, a wide grin spreading across his face.
Calliope nodded appreciatively. “A classic. Shall I assume it was the idea of traveling to another world—or in this case, worlds?”
“Absolutely,” Peter replied, “but it was the concept of the guide itself that truly moved me—the idea that there could be a publishing platform employing writers and adventurers to document their journeys, creating a guidebook for others to follow.”
“Sort of like the notes left behind by the first explorer in Journey to the Center of the Earth?” Calliope suggested, her quill glinting in the light.
“Exactly!” Peter exclaimed. “I envisioned a career as that traveler, documenting my quest and publishing my discoveries to a central platform—a publishing hub spanning the multiverse.”
“That’s amazing,” Calliope said. “So, you imagined yourself as what…a kind of traveling journalist?”
“Something like that,” Peter said, nodding. “Over time, the ideas from Journey to the Center of the Earth and Hitchhiker’s Guide merged into a style of mythic photojournalism. It became about exploring the real magical world and broadcasting that exploration to others.”
As he spoke, the library began to shimmer with images of starships, alien landscapes, and a glowing tablet resembling a futuristic guidebook.
Dungeons & Dragons (1983 Animated Series)
“In 1983,” Peter continued, “a cartoon came out that profoundly affected me. It was the Dungeons & Dragons animated series.”
The scene shifted again. A carnival ride appeared, sparking with etheric light, and transformed into a magical realm filled with artifacts and adventure.
“What was the premise of the show?” Calliope asked, her quill poised.
“It followed a group of kids transported from Earth to the realm of Dungeons & Dragons. Each of them received magical artifacts to help them survive and find their way home. It inspired me deeply because I believed that one could travel to another world.”
“And did you see yourself in these characters?” Calliope asked.
Peter nodded. “I did. I imagined what it would be like to be a character in such a world, to find a portal into another dimension. I admired the ranger most—his artifact was a lightning bow that shot golden bolts of energy under his command.”
The library crackled with sparkling light as Calliope watched the bolts dance through the air. “There’s something powerful here,” she said, sensing the energy of Peter’s tale.
“It spoke deeply to my mythos,” Peter said, holding up his hand as flickers of lightning danced along his fingers. “The idea of the lightning bolt—of power and leadership—resonated strongly with me.”
Dr. Who
The scene shifted again, revealing a glowing blue police box standing in the corner of the library. “Dr. Who came next,” Peter said.
“The T.A.R.D.I.S.,” Calliope observed, her smile growing.
“Yes,” Peter replied. “Here again was the theme of travel between dimensions, but Dr. Who offered something unique—the idea of a device capable of traversing time and space.”
July 13, 1984 – The Last Starfighter
Another scene emerged: a young boy staring at a video game screen. Peter pointed to the image. “The Last Starfighter carried the energy of Arthurian mythos into space. There was even a line where Centauri, the recruiter for the Star League, called it ‘the Excalibur test.’ It added to the idea of portals between worlds—trials that tested your worthiness to travel and act in those other realms.”
Portals Between Worlds
The library’s ether settled into a blend of Peter’s childhood inspirations, glowing with the essence of Journey to the Center of the Earth, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and the animated worlds of Dungeons & Dragons and Dr. Who. Calliope turned to Peter, her expression filled with understanding.
“Each of these stories,” she said, “seems to have been a portal for you—a glimpse into another world.”
Peter nodded, his gaze steady. “Exactly. They weren’t just stories to me. They were doorways, showing me that magic and wonder were possible, that there was a world beyond the one I knew.”
“And they became the seeds of the Mythica,” Calliope added.
“They did,” Peter agreed. “These stories gave me the inspiration to map out a path, to find the treasures of life hidden within the worlds, and to share that journey with others.”
The library shifted around them, the walls and textures becoming the bedroom of Peter as a young teenager. He is sitting in his bed, surrounded by books and toys, and is deeply engrossed in reading a novel.
“Where are we now?” asked Calliope.
“Long Island, New York, 1983.” said Peter. “Where some of the early inspirations of the Mythica were appearing in my field.”
“Have you read Journey to the Center of the Earth, Calliope?”
She smiled at him. “Peter. I’m a deva of stories. I know all of them. What matters is what they mean to you.”
“Fair enough.” he said, grinning. “Journey to the Center of the Earth was one of the three pivotal ideas that inspired the Mythica. It’s premise was that there was a hidden world beneath the surface of the earth and involved a team of adventurers following the trail of an explorer who had left behind clues on how to get into that place.”
“In that story” said Calliope taking notes, “the team of adventurers are not the first to discover the hidden world, but rather follow the exploits of another. Did you identify with the team, or with the initial explorer himself?
“With the explorer. I envisioned what it would be like to be an explorer of another world, to discover a hidden kingdom that existed somewhere within the planet, and to leave a trail for others to follow.”
“And did you do that? Did you find a portal that led into the underground chambers of the earth?”
“After a fashion. For me this idea went deeper, for I would discover there were worlds within the world. Inner worlds. Entire realities which existed, not beneath the surface of the earth’s crust, but the surface of our perception itself!” he said excitedly, the scenes in the library shifting to show a young boy exploring an inner cavern within which there lay an entire universe.
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
“Let’s move on” said Calliope. “You say Journey to the Center of the Earth was your first major inspiration, what was the second?”
“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.”
“She nodded appreciatively. I see. Shall I assume it was the idea of traveling to another world, or in this case worlds?”
“Absolutely. But it was the idea of the guide itself that truly moved me – that there could be a publishing platform which employed writers and adventurers to document their journeys and share the results of those journeys to create a guidebook for others to follow in their wake.”
“Sort of like the notes left behind by the first explorer in Journey to the Center of the Earth.” she said, her quill writing down the text in a flurry of feathers and golden light.
“Exactly!” he exclaimed, a great smile beaming onto his face. “I envisioned a career being that traveler, gradually documenting my quest and publishing those to a central place, a publishing platform which spanned the length and breadth of the multiverse itself!”
“That amazing.” said Calliope. “So you envisioned yourself as what … a kind of traveling journalist?”
“I did. Over time the idea of ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’ and the ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ came together as a style of mythic photojournalism, exploring the real magical world and broadcasting that to the people.”
“Please continue” she said, watching the stars and worlds revolving within the library as he told his tale.
“It was an idea in three parts.” he said. “The first was the concept of the guide itself, a kind of tablet that helped travelers find their way along their path. The second was the actual publishing platform which created the guide, and the third was the actual universe itself. These were the seeds of the idea which much later in life would evolve to become the Mythica platform.”
“So you envisioned the Mythica as the publishing platform itself which held the wisdom of travelers within a larger universe. Got that. But what about the guide itself? How did envision creating this for the people to use in their daily lives?”
“At the time I wasn’t sure as what we’re talking about is just the beginning of the Quest, the seeds of the story that speak to the mythos that was already present in me when I was born. That being said, it was many years later when Apple computers came out with the iPad digital tablet that I saw that piece come into focus.”
“Let me get this straight.” said Calliope, “you created a publishing platform which you call into the Mythica which illustrates the ‘worlds within the world’ and provides the people with wisdom to help them move along their path.”
“Yes. What started as the inspiring books of my childhood grew into something much larger which we are now publishing to the world.”
“And what of the third major inspiration?”
“That came much later, in the form of a series of graphic novels called ‘Promethea’ by the writer Alan Moore. We’ll get to that, but for now let’s look at some of the other influences which shaped the Mythica idea.”
“In 1983 a cartoon came out which affected me profoundly called ‘Dungeons and Dragons’. It was an animated series which showed a number of kids at a carnival going on a ride which mysteriously transports them to another universe, and where they received magical artifacts which helped them to survive in that place. It inspired me tremendously, for I was a true believer, and I believed that one could travel to another world.
“What was the premise of the show?” she asked.
“The prevailing idea was that while the kids had been transported to the realm of Dungeons and Dragons that they were in a constant effort to find their way home, to return to the plane of earth where they’d come from. For me this was different. I didn’t want to live in the earth as it was, and wanted to travel to someplace different, to a place where magic and wonder were real.”
“And you saw the idea presented in the cartoon as a sign of that thing.”
“Absolutely. Like any book or media I saw myself in the characters, as a traveler into another world. In this case, the ranger inspired me the most.” said Peter. “His artifact was a lightning bow, one which shot golden bolts of energy that obeyed his command.”
Calliope’s eyes widened in excitement as all around them the library crackled with sparkling light. “There’s something here” she said. “Something powerful. I can feel it.”
“I wondered what it would be like to be a character in a magical universe, to somehow find a portal into the ‘world of Dungeons and Dragons’ or some other parallel dimension. What would I be in that shifted universe? A ranger? barbarian? druid? All I knew is that I longed to be in another place, to travel to another world.”
A mixture of longing and belief wafted through the library at his tale, one Calliope recognized as a core element of stories – the hope for another world and the means to achieve it. She smiled encouragingly, and said “All stories are portals to another world. They are the expression of what could be made from the substance of what has been.”
He nodded, and flickers of lightning ran along his fingers as he did. For a moment he held up his hand, letting the sparks move back and forth. “That was certainly true for me. It spoke deeply to what my mythos, though I didn’t realize that at the time.”
“Stories take time to develop” said the deva.
“Agreed. For me, the quality of lightning was the constant, and in the bolts of light cast by the ranger’s bow as well as his leadership I saw something that I admired – something that would repeat itself over and over in the unfoldment of my journey into the Mythica.”
Dr. Who
Here again was the same theme, the travel between the dimensions of space and time. Yet unlike the Twilight Zone, Dr. Who offered another idea – the T.A.R.D.I.S. a device capable of traveling between the dimensions.
July 13, 1984 – The Last Starfighter
The energy of the Arthurian mythos would continue in my life in the form of a movie called “The Last Starfighter” and a casual comment where Centauri says “the Excalibur test”
Portals between Worlds
Responses