Bill, Trans Dimensional Electrician

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Bonus mini-essay. 200 words, 1-minute read.

Image: IMDB, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093220/

Bill, Trans Dimensional Electrician

By Ray Tabler

Last week, I posted an essay about minor characters who deserve their own stories, Dangling Threads. In an inexcusable oversight, I neglected to include a prime example, Bill Towner, the electrician, from the movie House II-The Second Story.

House II is a movie about a haunted house, with some sci-fi elements. Standing tall above it all, though, is the performance of John Ratzenberger as Bill Towner, an electrician hired to fix some issues in the house. While tracing wiring, Bill discovers an opening to another dimension. “…one of those time-portal things…you see these all the time in these old houses.”

Image: IMDB, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093220/

Instead of quitting and leaving, Bill pulls a cutlass from his toolbox, and climbs through the hole along with the main characters. It looks like a cutlass to me. Maybe it’s actually a saber. There follows some swashbuckling sword fights with, possibly zombie, Aztec warriors. A beautiful Meso-American maiden is rescued from human sacrifice. Entertaining.

Normal electricians don’t pack cutlasses (or sabers) in their toolboxes. I’ve looked. So, there is much more to Bill than meets the eye. Ratzenberger’s matter-of-fact performance only enhances the lurking backstory. I, for one, would love to learn more.

END.

Reference links:

Dangling Threads https://raytabler.substack.com/p/dangling-threads

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_II:_The_Second_Story

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093220

Shameless Self-Promotion Section:

Check out my novels at Histria Books https://histriabooks.com/product-tag/ray-tabler/

And visit my website https://raytabler.com/ for Science Fiction You Can Enjoy!

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