Chapter I
October 1, 1999
“In the year of the second millennium… in the new lands to the west...”
The two men rode silently in the back of the cab, their eyes sharing the hollow look of long travel mixed with quiet uncertainty.
“Will he do it?” the thinner of the men asked nervously for the tenth time since leaving the airport.
“He will do it,” the heavier of the two sighed, his patience wearing thin with the other man. “Not without some convincing however, of that I am certain. But he has the fortitude needed for the task my old friend, he has gargantuan proportions of it. The only thing he may be lacking in…is faith. Once we persuade him of the need, the faith will follow. I have an unwavering confidence in him.”
“I wish I could share in your confidence,” the other man mumbled while wiping the tiredness out of his face with his hands. “The stakes are gargantuan! Why would someone like him be the one chosen? From what you have told me, he has done nothing in his life that would prepare him for this.”
Waving his hand wildly at the houses passing the cab, “Outside of this Podunk little town, he is a virtual unknown,” he yelled. “He has done nothing on a worldly scale!”
The cabbie looked worriedly into the rearview mirror as the heavyset man placed his hand calmly on his friend’s shoulder.
“There, there Franklin. You are scaring the man.”
Pasting on a smile and looking forward, “Please excuse my friend dear sir, we have been traveling for many days, and I do believe he has reached his limit.”
The cabbie continued his worried stare for a few moments before shaking his head and once again concentrating on the road ahead.
Franklin Buff shook his head in despair. “Please forgive me my old friend,” he whispered, “but the enormity of it all…I didn’t ask for this you know!”
His eyes were wide with emotion as he sat back in his seat dejectedly.
“I dare say no one would be totally prepared for a discovery such as yours Franklin. It’s unfortunate that it happened so late in our lives my friend, younger men would be much better suited to the task.”
As the speaker glanced out the window, the cab slowed to a stop in front of a nicely maintained older house.
“Ah! Here we are now!”
Exiting the cab, the man leaned into the front window to pay for their trip as his friend grabbed their luggage out of the trunk. As the cab departed in a cloud of blue smoke, the man known as Franklin gazed after it longingly.
Meanwhile, the heavyset man…the professor…gazed at the house with a tentative smile. It would be good to see him again…if it were only under different circumstances.
Leaning forward slightly to gain momentum, the professor started up the sidewalk at a fast clip.
“Come Franklin, the day has but only started.”
Picking up the suitcases, Franklin fell in behind the professor with little enthusiasm. Making their way up the steps and onto the porch, the professor rapped on the door quickly, taking a step back and removing his wide brimmed hat as an afterthought.
After a few moments, they heard a noise from within the house…the sound of glass breaking…followed by a mumbled curse.
“Coming!” they then heard from behind the door as someone fumbled with the lock.
