Subway Visions

The commuter rails of a great city whisk millions of riders to jobs, schools, friends, family, shopping, entertainment, recreation, and home again each day. It's a great place for watching real people, the straphangers who maintain the metropolis in its manifold character. Picture the London T, the Paris Metro, or subway systems in Moscow, Tokyo, Montreal, or Toronto for an international perspective. Or New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington, or San Francisco in America.
The subterranean tunnels and elevated lines overhead remain remarkable relics of Industrial Age ingenuity. They can be loud, crowded, even steamy but they are essential to the existence of arcane specialties rarely available anywhere outside except a densely populated city.
With his roots in the wide-open spaces of the American heartland, Kenzie views all this from an outsider's niche. His initial forays into the mass-transit depths are filled with foreboding alleviated only by the angelic guide briefly at his side. His return visits have him becoming a wide-eyed observer awash in wonders the habitual passengers around him blindly overlook. Unlike them, he visits Gotham once a month for pleasure and renewal, not a paycheck or obligatory itineraries. His escapades allow him to perceive the railways and trains as a vast amusement park filled with magical opportunities. He pays special attention to what appears in the corners of his eyes as he flies by. Did you see that?
His adventures occur within a window of history when you could travel almost anywhere in America or much of Europe simply by sticking out your thumb beside a thoroughfare. As Kenzie discovers, thumbing was possible even along the dank tracks between stations, at least for members of the International Order of Subway Hitchhikers. What he can't anticipate is the life-changing twist he'll encounter on his final ride.