“So why didn’t you just enter?” Tim asked.
“You should know that one, Mr. Orff. Not only is it socially impolite, but magically, it’s rude to barge in through someone’s wards.” Tal said.
“Oh, yes, I forgot.” Tim said.
Kelvin walked into the living room, hurriedly dressed in the overalls. He was barefoot and without a t-shirt. A cloud of smoke trailed after him as he walked through the door, puffing on the cigar.
Tal looked him up and down and a wry smile crossed his face.
“I see the box has found your inner natures and has brought you both together.” Tal said. He stood and Tim offered him a seat in the recliner he customarily sat in.
“What do you mean?” Tim said, “I mean, about our inner natures?”
Kelvin sat next to Tim on the broken couch.
“The box is both a box of wonders and a box of horrors, depending on how the person views its ‘gifts’. The two of you are quite comfortable with the beast within each of you and so to you, it is a wonder; a gift. However, some have touched the box and wished they had never seen it or wished they’d never been born. The two of you will be quite happy with what you’ve become and who you are here, though it is also a gift of the box that you will always know who you were before. Think of it as a ‘bonus’ life. One in which you can draw upon those skills you learned before you stepped into this reality. You two are quite lucky to have used the box within a few minutes of each other, otherwise, you may never have met and I sense that destiny was playing a hand in that; destiny and randomness, two sides of the same coin. You are also lucky that the reality that you shifted into is almost identical to your own. Some places the box takes people are very different from the world they knew. Laws of physics are quite different, histories completely changed from what they knew and wondrous and terrible things are possible.”
Tal paused. “Might I have a glass of water?” Tim, slightly embarrassed at not being a good host, hurried into the kitchen and retrieved the water
Tal continued after a couple of sips from his glass.
“Where was I, oh yes, differences: In this reality, there are shape shifters, as you have become. They are not common and they are still somewhat the stuff of legend, being that they were only scientifically proven at the beginning of the last century, but they are real. People in this reality do not befriend them easily, but they are accepted, if warily. I won’t lie to you, there’s some prejudice toward your kind. The common and polite term is ‘Shifter’, but some of the derogatory terms are ‘baby-eater’, ‘beast-kin’ and ‘fur-skin’. It is considered to be a sort of ‘genetic illness’, though truly, it’s not an illness at all and you will find that a lot of the prejudice is fading now that knowledge and scientific study has dispelled some of the myths and some of the most decorated heroes in WWII were Shifters, though they were put in special units and often were given suicide missions. There are laws that protect you and your rights and there is even disability compensation for those who are not as in control of their animal nature as you two are. However, those unfortunates have to take drugs that make them docile or be locked away in asylums, that is the law, here.”
“You will find a good number of your fellow bear-men in the bear sub culture, but search your memories and I’m sure this will be apparent to you. The two of you were not ‘shifters’ before this morning in this reality, the box searched your mind and heart and found a form that matched you, here; it was a shortcut for a natural process, in this reality. Becoming a ‘Shifter’ is a long process for those who would choose to it. It’s not the bite or scratch like in the movies you grew up with, though in some realities a mere kiss can do it. Here, however, it takes many months of intimate contact and sometimes even then it doesn’t happen due to some immune factors. Richard, the fellow your father Hank hired when no one else would for example, is a shifter. He, like the two of you, is a bear. He’s married; his wife is one of those that is apparently immune, though she loved him and married him even knowing it was possible she would become a bear too. Her family disowned her and they’ve had a rough life together. Only one out of the three of their children has inherited his father’s ability to shift.”
Kelvin puffed on the last of his cigar, snubbed it out in the saucer and spoke up at this point, “So, the box chose to put us here, in a world that hates what we are?”
“No, quite the opposite.” Tal said with a smile, “You chose to put yourselves here. The two of you needed each other and your inner self saw that being here was what this reality needed and what you needed. In short, you were both better suited to this reality than you were to your former realities. I believe Mr. Hoskins that you went so far as to have an elaborate grizzly bear’s face tattoo applied to your back; one that you wish to have reapplied. Does that not say something to you about your inner self? Further, this world doesn’t hate you; it is merely ignorant of you and does not completely trust your kind. That is changing, though not everyone chooses to change with new knowledge. Prejudice is prejudice in any reality.”
Kelvin nodded and was silent.
“…And you, Mr. Orff, you have studied the metaphysical arts and came close to obtaining a degree in them, even in your magic poor reality. You will find that here, such things are far more abundant. Here, the President has a cabinet member to advise him on Magic as he does on Science. In Britain, there’s a Ministry of Magic and the People’s Republic of China has one of the oldest Bureaus of Magic in the world; it even survived their cultural cleansing. During WWII both the Axis and the Allies both used military magic and in your Korean and Vietnam wars there was a magical as well as a tactical stalemate. It is not the same as in the movies or television programs with which you are familiar. You can’t just brew up a potion or twitch your nose to do most things, but it is real here and I rather imagine that you could become a rather well paid corporate magician, Mr. Orff, but I sense this would be a diversion from your true calling. By the way, you can keep the magical tomes you got from my estate sale, I have multiple copies in the many different realities.” Tal said.
“But what is so special about the box, couldn’t you just make another?” Tim rumbled.
“Oh, I suppose after another couple of centuries of study I could begin to fashion such an item and indeed, that is my intent. Do either of you two remember a series called ‘Dr. Who”? Tim nodded and Kelvin shook his head ‘no’.
“Well, ‘Dr. Who’ was a ‘Time Lord’, a being who could travel through space-time. I’m sort of like that, but I travel through realities instead of space-time. I’m sort of a dimensional traveler. I’m not exactly new to this, having a thousand years experience, but I have much to learn before I can be called an expert. The box was a gift from my predecessor when he handed the job over to me. It was sort of a ‘magical’ challenge to discover its secrets and then build an improved model. I guess I’d been gone just a little too long from the reality the two of you knew and the state sold off my belongings for taxes, owning to my absence of several years. I must remember to appoint a lawyer next time. Lawyers are a necessary evil, sometimes. Anyway, now I’ve got to go back there and ‘set up shop’ as it were, all over again.” Tal said with a rueful smile. “So I must be going. I wish you both a very happy existence and I’m sure you will find this world and your new selves pleasing.”
Tal rose from the chair and shook hands with his host and Kelvin. He walked outside into the bright afternoon sunshine.
“Will we ever see you again?” Tim asked.
“It’s possible, Tim, it’s possible. You have a talent for magic. Oh, here…” Tal handed Tim a small crystal sphere about the size of a tennis ball. “Study hard and learn all you can. Use that crystal, it contains a vast library. It may take you years to master, but it is how I started. I’ve got half a dozen back up copies, so I can part with one or two, I just happen to have this spare on me. Don’t worry about breaking it, I’ve thrown it against solid rock walls in frustration and it’s never event gotten a scratch. It’s damned near indestructible by most magical means and it is indestructible by almost all physical means. Hold it in your hand and you can see the words, but you must concentrate. You’ll get headaches at first, but you’ll grow used to it after awhile and the headaches will stop. Kelvin would probably be equally good at using it, I feel he’s capable of great magic besides, it’s good to have two of you using it. You can go days without eating or drinking if you just sit there and stare off into space, reading from the crystal. I damn near starved myself once because I was using it alone. In time you’ll learn how to set the automatic shut offs for it, but that’s something that you have to learn, I can’t tell you how it’s done because it’s different for each user. Well, I’ve got to be going. It was nice to meet you two, take care of each other.” Tal said.
He took out what looked like a remote control made out of black glass, pressed a small bluish crystalline button, waved, and sort of went two dimensional, sort of folded in on himself and disappeared, soundlessly.
Tim turned to Kelvin in astonishment.
Kelvin, about as horny as a man could get, grinned lustfully and said, “So… did you send everyone home?”
“Yes and the guys ribbed me about the big hunk on the Harley waiting for me.” Tim said.
“I saw your playroom while I was poking around.” Kelvin said, “Do you suppose the bed could support two fully grown male grizzlies?”
“I don’t know, but if it doesn’t, it’s not that hard to replace.” Tim said with a grin. “I’ll put the black leather sheets on the bed and we’ll see if it can stand up to two rutting bears.”
The two huge men turned to go back into the house; Kelvin was already starting to grow fur as they headed toward the playroom.