It took so much to get here. Upon identifying the Hero's Journey cycle, scientists began observing it. They found the core pieces of the cycle- a powerful enemy appeared somewhere, put a person or group of people in danger, and an underdog nobody went on a journey to get stronger and ultimately defeat the enemy. Each cycle had its own variations, of course, but those were the key elements that always occurred. Once the pattern was identified, committees were formed and billions of taxpayer dollars were spent carrying out tests and experiments to figure out why this kept happening. After decades of work and fifty seven cycles, they determined that some source from an alternate dimension was somehow causing the Hero's Journey cycles, sending signals or radio waves or something to Earth.

Gary was a little fuzzy on the technical details, but it didn't really matter. The sciency folks had opened a dimensional rift and were sending him through to figure out what exactly the source was and see if he could stop it. Gary was one of the engineers for the project. Well, not for the inter-dimensional portal side of the project. He worked with the appliances in the building that the development team worked in, but he considered himself just as much a part of the team as anyone else. They'd sent him through because he was expendible and they didn't know what would happen on the other side of the portal, but Gary didn't mind. He got to be the first person to travel through a dimensional portal, and he thought that was pretty darn cool.

But when he did step through, all thoughts of dimensional travel left his mind. One second he was in the lab, the next he was in what looked like a regular living room. It was floored with soft carpet and the walls were painted a creamy beige. A brown fabric couch sat against a wall, opposite a wide flat-screen television. There was a coffee table in front of the couch with a party-size bag of Cheetos, open and mostly empty, laying on it. On the couch under a soft-looking plaid blanket lounged an androgynous human, watching the television and holding a bowl of Cheetos in their lap.

This was not what Gary had been expecting.

The being looked up from the TV at Gary and smiled. Cheesy orange dust was smeared all over its face.

"Hey!" it said with a wave. Cheeto dust also covered its fingers. It looked back to the screen. "Have a seat, watch some TV with me."

Not sure what else to do, Gary walked over and took a seat on the couch next to it.

"Thanks," he said.

Sitting next to it, he was increasingly certain the being on the couch was not human. It looked human, sure, but it had an sense of immense power around it. The air almost vibrated with the sheer force coming off it. There was something else that Gary couldn't put his finger on, but he knew instinctually that it wasn't human. The couch was soft, though, and the being had invited him. He laid back, getting comfortable.

"What are you?" Gary asked, direct but not brusque. He was not one for subtelty. The being snorted.

"Who cares?" it replied, not looking away from the TV. "Just chill and watch the show with me." It ate a Cheeto.

Gary did not. Instead, he looked around the room. There were no windows or doors, no apparent entrance. It was just a self-enclosed room. He also noticed that the dimensional rift he'd come through was gone, but he stayed calm. The scientists on Earth would come get him, and the whole situation was really quite comfortable.

"Where did you get the Cheetos?" he inquired.

"Does it matter?" the being's responded indifferently.

"Are you the one that causes the Hero's Journey cycles?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"'Cause it's fun." It nodded at the TV. "Stop asking questions and watch. This is the good part."

Gary looked at the TV. It showed a small, dire-faced woman with a sword and a ragtag group of friends fighting an evil wizard. Gary recognized this as the current Hero's Journey that was happening on Earth. The woman dodged a fireball and lunged, piercing the wizard's sternum with her sword.

"Ahh, you can't let 'em get close, bro. That's where they get you," the being commented through a mouthful of Cheetos. It shook its head at the TV and offered the bowl to Gary. "Cheeto?"

Gary took a couple. He liked Cheetos.

"I always like this show. Earth is one of the better worlds I've created," the being said while the hero and her friends left the wizard's residence to share the news of their victory. "Still, after fifty seven seasons, it gets a little dull. I've been thinking about cancelling it."

Gary pondered what this would mean for Earth.

"Sure, I can understand that," Gary agreed with the being. "But can you cancel the show without canceling the planet?" The being looked over at him.

"Oh yeah, that's your home, isn't it? You seem like a pretty cool guy, I won't hurt your planet when I cancel the show." Gary was relieved. "There are plenty of other shows about Earth to watch, too."

"Thanks."

They watched the show in silence for a while.

"Hey," Gary said, "you created Earth, yeah? And you cause the Hero's Journey to happen? How much do you control on Earth?"

"Everything," the being replied.

"Do you think you could do something about war and disease and global warming? Those kinda suck."

"Sure, I could do something about them," the being said. "But it's much more fun to watch you all figure it out. You don't learn anything if you don't work your way through the challenges."

Gary thought about that as the two of them continued watching the TV and waiting for Earth's scientists to reopen the portal. Eventually, a portal did appear and Gary stood up to leave.

"This is pretty nice," Gary noted. "Can I come back here sometime?"

"Nah," the being replied. "I'll have to block portals. Your scientists have figured out how to get to me here and I don't want them messing with me. Actually, if you don't mind, would you ask them to not try to come after me again? Also don't say too much about me. I like to be mysterious."

Gary was a little sad about that. There was something exceedingly comfortable about this place. He agreed to the requests, though, and waved goodbye as he stepped through the portal back to Earth.

The scientists cheered when they saw him. The first inter-dimensional trip had been a success. Several of them rushed up to him, asking about his experience.

"Well," Gary said. "I struck a bargain. The Hero's Journey cycle will end, but we can't open any more portals."

And despite the demands and even threats of the scientists, he wouldn't say any more about it.

When he got home that day, he found a note on his kitchen table next to an odd cube with a button on it.

​

It was nice hanging out with you, Gary.

I hope you don't mind, but the next time you check your bank account you should find that you're a multi-millionaire. Also, push the button on this cube.

~~~

​

The note was not signed, but it didn't really need to be. He examined the cube and pushed the button. Suddenly, he was back in the room with the being.

"Hey Gary!" it waved from the couch. "Have a seat, let's watch TV."

Gary smiled and sat down and they watched TV.