Time machine preview
- 1. H G Wells Adapted by Lewis Helfand Illustrated by Rajesh Nagulakonda
- 2. We did not know the man standing before us, but he spoke with much excitement and passion. Over time, we came to know him as the Time Traveller. We are all men of science and medicine... and we know it is impossible! But you admit we can move right and left, backwards and forwards, or up and down. Yes. Well, these are dimensions of space. Why can we not move in time as we move in other dimensions of space? You cannot move through time! You are wrong to say that we cannot move about in time. For instance, if I am recalling an incident very vividly... ...I go back to the instant of its occurrence... ...which means I jump back in time for a moment. If it had been one of us proposing the idea, Filby for instance, we would have shown far less scepticism. This proves we can move in time. We can get away from the present moment. CAMPFIRETM Look! www.campfire.co.in
- 3. However, we distrusted the Time Traveller. This little object is only a model. It is my plan for a machine to travel through time. This is not ridiculous! You will notice that there is an odd twinkling appearance about this bar, as though it is in some way unreal. Ridiculous! And, there are two small levers. One lever sends the machine into the future... There is no trickery. Have a good look at it. ...and the other reverses the motion. I don’t want to waste this model, and then be told I am a quack. It took two years to make. CAMPFIRETM www.campfire.co.in
- 4. Press the lever and it will vanish into the future. We all saw the lever turn. I am absolutely certain there was no trickery. Go ahead. Press it. The little machine suddenly swung round, became indistinct and looked like a ghost for a second – a whirlpool of faintly glittering material... ...and a second later, it was gone – vanished! Well, gentlemen, you have seen it work. It can’t be. Well? Think of the possibilities! What do you say now? CAMPFIRETM www.campfire.co.in
- 5. You mean to say that that machine has travelledinto the future? Into the future or the past – I don’t know which for certain. It must have gone into the past or it would still be here. But if it travelled into the past, it should have been visible when we came into this room. Leave the model... would you like to see the Time Machine itself? I have it nearly finished in my laboratory. Unless, like a flying bullet or a spinning wheel, it is travelling so quickly through time that we cannot see it. Are you serious? Or is this a trick? CAMPFIRETM www.campfire.co.in
- 6. I was never more serious in my life. Upon that machine... I intend to explore time! None of us quite knew how to take it. At that time, none of us quite believed in the Time Machine. The Time Traveller was one of those men who are too clever to be believed. You never felt that you completely understood him; it always seemed he was holding something back; that his genius could deceive you at any moment. CAMPFIRETM www.campfire.co.in
- 7. What would you do if you could travel in time? An intrepid adventurer, known simply as the Time Traveller, meets his friends for dinner one night. During the conversation, he baffles them with his wild ideas about moving forwards or backwards in time. His claims are met with disbelief. Even when he proves his theory with a real-life experiment, his associates simply claim that he is a trickster – a magician. A week later, he enthralls his acquaintances yet again. He tells a story so unbelievable that it can’t be true… or can it? The Time Traveller’s tale tells of our courageous explorer’s discoveries in another time. Does he find intelligence and technology beyond his wildest dreams? Or is the world filled with dreaded monsters? There’s only one way to find out… ISBN 978-81-906963-0-2 9 788190 696302 www.campfire.co.in