Frank is a clock mechanic, set out to replace a broken loop in 2018, but when Luz, the friend he shouldn't have made sees more than she should've, the simple tasks he was given turns into a mission to save the world.
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The world doesn't live on beca...
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Now, there was a lot I learned from human television. Emotions properly explained through movies or "talk shows," fully eclipsing the human brain and heart with just a few words. But after I brought Luz to the building that hides the portal to Earth's clockwork system and let her step inside, I see an unfamiliar emotion.
I'm not sure if happiness or excitement are words that can sum it up. Or it can be that my knowledge of the English language is limited and simple terms didn't do her reaction judgment.
Back home, the look of her face would've been described as meer-a look of complete amazement, as if light captures and engulfs one's soul.
That is the look on Luz's face as I close the dimension portal behind us. I let her look up at the massive machine, at the golden-brass clock recording Earth's very life. She's unmoving, fixated on one spot.
And I stand beside her. "The piece I picked up in that abandoned building is for this here," I say, pointing at the clock in front of us. "They sent here me to fix this."
"They?" She blinks.
I nod. "The Overlords, yes."
"Oh. Overlords," she repeats, shimmers of light passing over her eyes as she watches the stars hover above our heads. "They sent you here to fix this big clock."
I smile because it seems she's accepting this so easily. And galaxy officials say Earthlings are dumb as rocks. How wrong they are.
"Yes." Gently humming to myself, I rock back and forth on the balls of my feet. "I should have fixed it over a week ago but-"
"You said they sent you here."
When I look down at Luz, her wide brown eyes as staring at me. There is no fear on her face, no confusion. I think this emotion passes curiosity, but I can't pinpoint on what to call it.
I purse my lips and dip my head to one side. "Yes, that's what I said. Sent. I'm not from here."
"Well, yeah, I know that." Luz crosses her arms, still looking at me. Not blinking. "I always thought you were a little weird, but shit, an alien? You're an alien, right?"
My frown deepens. Humans aren't dumb, no. Just... lacking education. "Alien is the term you use here, yes. That's what I am, an alien. Every other planet would call me a dimension-traveler."
Her eyes widen further and I'm afraid they'll pop out of her head. My hands quickly hold her shoulders as if it can help. Human television never showed me this.
"Other planets." She finally blinks.
And I let out a sigh of relief.
"Other planets... and dimension-travelers?" she asks.
My hands slide off of her shoulders. "Yes," I say as I nod. "It's common these days, especially after the overlords created dimensional portals connecting every galaxy known to space-kind. Sure, there are visas and permits one would need to pass through and explore, but once the government grants that type of access, well... it's smooth sailing."
