Albert Einstein once theorized the possibility of many a universe parallel to our own. Ever since then, the world has become fascinated with the idea of bending space, puncturing it, and stepping into the hole... what awaits on the other side?

…On a similar note, Shigeru Miyamoto once spoke of an imaginary world where the inside of a box could be the stairway into a building, or where a sign on the road could grow eyes and wink. You know, things that can only happen in fantasy worlds...

...or can they?

It all started on August 12, 1989, 2:14 PM, in front of a high school in southern California. There was an old station wagon parked outside, with a modestly dressed woman at the wheel. She looked at her watch obsessively, as if the world depended on school to dismiss on time. Finally, the bell rang, and she turned her eyes to the front entrance, watching students pour out... intelligent looking girls, cheerleader girls, Satanist Goths, loose, promiscuous tarts… that were clearly beneath her son. She hoped he didn't talk much to any of them... ...maybe they were having sex in a locker? That's what really goes on in those places...

…No, not quite what he was doing. She soon saw her son standing behind the doors, talking to someone. She almost didn't recognize him in his new Letterman jacket, bearing the "N" of Northridge High, and the school colors, red and white. ...But who was that trashy girl he was talking to?

The girl was actually his study partner, a nice enough person who had taken great interest in the boy, and happened to be rather pretty. She seemed rather happy...

"Kevin, what kind of car did you say your dad has?"

Kevin looked at her and smiled "Well, he programs computers in silicon valley, so he made enough to get a really hot set of wheels. He should be waiting for us just outside..."

Then, Kevin looked her in the eyes.

"Say, Karen… do you like videogames?"

Karen seemed a bit confused. "Videogames?"

"Yeah" Kevin nodded. "You know, Super Mario?"

Karen nodded "Oh! I've played that at my uncle's... beat it before my two older brothers!" she said with a laugh. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I have an NES over at my house, and I was wondering if you wanted to play it with me." he said.

"Hmm, I dunno... back in Middle School it was fun, but... I dunno..."

"Oh, come on Karen! I could show you how to get into the Minus World!"

"Kevin, I'm not really that interested..." she said, a bit uncomfortable.

Kevin looked down and said nothing more until they were at the parking lot. His heart sank as he saw not his father and a shiny red Ferrari, but his mother, in a 1976 Station Wagon.

"Kevin! I'm over here!" she called out.

Karen was disappointed. "Works in the valley, huh?"

Kevin was confused. "No! That's my mother! She wasn't supposed to pick me up! Oh man... Karen I swear he has a Ferrari, I just have to bring you out here when..."

"Kevin hurry up and get in!"

Karen looked at Kevin and rolled her eyes. "Real smooth, game boy. I'll see you next week... ". Karen walked away, leaving Kevin where he stood. Sadly, he got into the back seat of the station wagon (his mom insisted) and they drove away.

"Who was that girl? Was that Karen? That tart!"

"Mom, Karen's not a tart! She's my study partner. You know that!"

"By study partner, you mean DEMON OF THE FLESH!"

Kevin was getting thoroughly annoyed. His mother was an overprotective know-it-all, who learned everything from television, and worked at a local mall outlet as an assistant manager. His father was a programmer-in-chief for a major computer company. Due to the generous salary he made, he opted to purchase something a little fancier than a Ford... and a lot more foreign. Unfortunately for Kevin, he wasn't in the right place at the right time.

Kevin's father understood him and was far more lenient than his mother. The boy's parents got into a major argument many years ago, over whether or not Kevin should be kept in a plastic bubble. It was arguments like this that eventually led to their divorce. About a year after the legal breakup, dad got Kevin a very special present: a Nintendo Entertainment System, one of the first on the market. Super Mario Bros had not actually been released yet, but Kevin's father was sure to pick that game up too.

Well, as you may have guessed, Kevin really took off with Nintendo, memorized almost everything there was to know about the games, and was referred to by friends as "The game master", but his mother was less than excited. Convinced that Nintendo games would melt his brain, she forced Kevin to keep his system (and television) hidden: Kevin would only play it when he knew his mother was gone.

The car pulled up in front of an old pawn shop downtown, and Kevin picked up a rather nice looking television out of the trunk.

"Mom, I still don't see why we have to sell the TV... we're doing fine..."

Kevin's mom pointed at a small crack on the corner of the screen. "See that? TV rays will seep out of that crack, and turn you into a communist! We need to get rid of it, Kevin."

Kevin wasn't sure how a TV worked, but he was certain that "Communist Rays" had nothing to do with it. "Mom, you can't believe everything you hear on TV..."

"Why not? You probably believe everything in those Nintendo Man games..."

"…And yet you never see me eating stray mushrooms off the ground. Look... I'll take this in, see what I can get for it... maybe a new TV? Would you like that?"

His mom smiled faintly in agreement.

"Okay. But look, Mom; after this, you need to loosen up alright? We can't just keep getting new TV's every time you think one is Satan."

She stared at him worriedly, then smiled. "Alright Kevin. M-maybe you're right about the TV... Just... go in, trade it off, and I promise this'll be it."

Kevin looked in his mother's eyes and smiled. "Thanks mom."

Kevin walked into the small pawn shop, adorned with neon paint on the windows, advertising "WE BUY AND SELL GOLD, JEWELRY, APPLIANCES, GUNS, AMMO, SEX MAGAZINES!" He could just imagine the horror running through his mom's face right now as he entered the dimly lit building. The clerk was a kindly old man, who actually knew Kevin, no thanks to his mother's tirades. "Back again, Kevin? Mom upset over my last TV huh?"

Kevin smiled. "Yeah... yeah... look, it's just a little crack, too!"

The storeowner put on a pair of tiny glasses and inspected the crack. "Yeah... I'm sure it works just fine, too... I'd plug it in to see, but it looks like you're in a hurry... here, follow me…"

He took Kevin into a room in back, where several televisions lined the walls. Some were as early as the 1960's, some were state of the art, some were black and white, some advertised 500,000 colors at once. Kevin began to wonder how shiny new TV's ended up in a pawn shop...

"Uhh, Mom promised she wouldn't throw out the next one cause of anything stupid, so maybe if I just get another one of the same kind of TV, would that be cool?", Kevin asked.

The storeowner looked at him with a gleam in his eyes. "Nah... I got something for you..."

He took Kevin in the far back, where an amazingly high-tech Television stood on a shelf. The screen was about two feet tall, but the box itself was suprisingly light. "It's the Sophy XR-34. Fresh out of the factory. For your old TV, it's free."

Kevin looked at the amazing box in sheer awe. "Oh, no way, I can't take this..."

The storeowner smiled. "I insist. To my best customer."

Kevin smiled and looked out at the car. "Hmm... Well if she isn't gonna throw it out, yeah, I suppose I could... thanks!

The storeowner waved to Kevin as he left. "Say hello to your mom for me!" he called out while he walked back in the store, a somewhat more morbid expression on his face.

"What's done is done", he said, knowing his enemies were closing in. "Come and get me: you'll never stop the boy."