alias explode {
  var %x = 1
  while (%x <= $len($1)) { var %explode = %explode $+($mid($1,%x,1),$chr($gettok($1-,$0,32))) | inc %x }
  return %explode
}

can also be:

alias explode { var %x $2 | return $regsubex($1,/(.)/g,$+(\1,$chr(%x))) }