The Time Machine II (WIP)

The Time Machine II 


A rough draft attempt at a sequel based on the book by HG Wells (That I may or may not complete)
 

 The time traveler, as he requested of me to speak of him after a sufficient number of years had passed, long ago paid many a visit to my particular place and time. Once, of course, it was realized to be a safe way station in space and in time. It was here he returned to relate these fantastic tales of the many adventures, of which he and his mysterious passenger always seemed to return from with most extraordinary photographs and artifacts, once I had explained the practicality of digital cameras. It all began with that first visit and first meeting, which in itself wasn't exactly intentional. Fleeing a past that had yet to occur, with a machine off balance (Due to a sudden double occupancy) to the point of having to prematurely stop the machine, returning all the levers to zero, far short of a complete return to his own time, that he, his passenger, machine, and all, just so happened to materialize in my backyard. Though I can't exactly remember my initial reason for stepping outside, I can certainly remember that day very vividly in my mind. At first, it was quiet, not a single bird singing, not a breath of wind to be found. Then, out of nowhere, there was this loud boom, a brilliant flash of light, and this sudden blast of air that nearly knocked me off my feet. And as big as life, there they were. I was trying to stand and rubbing my eyes, my confusion growing by the minute, totally at a loss. I think we were staring at each other like people and zoo creatures across a fence, and I wasn't sure in the moment which one was I. After the initial shock (on part of both of us) had eased a bit, the deafening silence demanding that it be filled, that it was he who finally broke that silence. It was then that our first conversation, the first of many as it would turn out, began. "Doubtless, Sir, you may find this a strange question, but what is the year?" "It is the year 2025," I replied, realizing my bewilderment wasn't going to be easing anytime soon. At this, the stranger seemed to relax a bit as he turned to his passenger with a smile. "Far enough, I guess." Turning back to me, he said, "I apologize for our sudden intrusion, but would you mind if we got out and stretched for a bit, perhaps refreshed ourselves?" With a wary eye toward the state of his invention, he continued, "It would seem that the machine may be in need of adjustment. In my haste, it would appear I had not considered that the harness only truly suited one occupant." A mixture of politeness and just plain curiosity had me nodding my ascent. There was this awkward moment of silence as he and his passenger climbed out of the time machine, an amazing mix of ivory, quartz, copper, nickel, and a dozen other materials I didn't recognize. There were many old style dials and gauges, nothing at all resembling modern technology, indeed a marvel out of its time. "Goodness, where are my manners?" He spoke suddenly, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am (saying his name), and this is Weena," he said, motioning to his passenger, who I was just now realizing was a fully grown woman, and not the little girl I had originally taken her for. I told them my name and was trying to think of something else to say. Weena was half hiding behind him but managed in a bit of broken English to say, "Nice to meet you." Then, to break the silence, I opened my mouth, asking the first question to come to my mind, only realizing afterward that it might have been a bit of a rude question to ask. "She's not from around here, is she?" Apparently, having taken no offense, he replied, "Well, well, neither am I, as you might infer from our sudden appearance." "From your perspective, she is from the future, and based upon the year I infer, I am from your past." And, with that, he began his story. I could only sit there, spellbound as I listened as he wove a tale that began in his workshop in the summer of 1898, years before even my grandparents were born, yet taking him unimaginably far into a future where humankind had diverged into those like Weena and into those like the dreaded frightful Morlocks who lived under the ground and preyed in the darkness of night, and then finally here, and finally now. He spoke of losing Weena in the forest and of his vow to return and rescue her from the hands of those dreaded creatures. "It was indeed a comfort to realize that it was I all along and not those horrible sons of man who had found her, though I admit it was quite the torturous week of my having believed the worst had befallen her." He gently patted her on the head as one would a child as she smiled warmly up at him." I noted that the friendship between them seemed a depth that would take most of us years to build. But, what would I know about such things? "What happened then?", I said, interrupting my own thoughts. "Well, we got into the time machine, and when I finally stopped it, there you were." In all my years, I never thought I would ever meet a time traveler. And, in the unlikely event that I did, said traveler would most certainly be from the future and not the past. Yet there they were, she of the future, and he of the past, the late nineteenth century, to be precise. After all the progress of the first part of my present century and certainly the progress the previous one, countless inventions and innovations, many from long before even my own birth, how could time travel have proceeded so many wonders, conceived by this stranger from the past, before the airplane, before space travel, and a timeless age before these supercomputers (from any perspective of the past) masquerading as the phones hold in our hands? How could this be? Yet, I of this future could not even begin to understand the inner workings of this ancient machine. As a user of modern technology, but not one to understand its workings, I was at a total loss. How did a man from a time when much of the world had not yet even been connected to the electrical grid have invented something like this? Suddenly, realizing I was spacing out, I asked, "So the appropriate question, I assume, would be, when are you headed to now?" The time traveler and his companion looked at each other and back at me, she with eyes of curiosity and wonder, and he with deep thought in his own eyes and a bit of a good natured twinkle, replied, "That, my friend, is a proper question, indeed." After a bit of thought, it was decided that it would be best to return home fir a bit of rest and thought as to what to do next. It was only after a few hours had passed when the repairs had been made, and that I bid farewell to the time traveler and his dear friend. They remounted the machine, now containing a drivers seat, alongside a passenger seat. He gave his customary wave, and Weena, her customary smile, pulled the lever slightly and began to fade away like the chesshire cat. The rush of wind returned, another flash of light, and they were gone. I had at the time assumed that I would never see them again, so I spent the following month or so working it out in my mind. I didn't dare tell anyone. Not that I had yet made any promise not to, but that nobody would have believed me if I had. So, I spent a good deal of time wondering about the fate of the time traveler, his machine, and his friend. But I guess I should be telling you of the time traveler's second visit. By then, Summer had given way for fall. He had apparently returned with a cargo container added to the machine, proof as it were to me that he was indeed serious about returning with receipts from his great adventures. Of his current plans, he said he spoke of rescuing a few artifacts from some sort of palace of green porcelain. Truth being told, I didn't quite understand what he meant by that. He also had a few questions about the technology of my time, and I told him of what I could, but I really couldn't say much about the inner workings behind it. Like a car, I just turn the key, and it goes. Though he did seem impressed with a simple Bic lighter, saying that matches had been problematic at best and that any Morlock would now be risking a hot foot if they ever troubled Weena or he again. The grim smile he gave was mildly concerning, but I suppose a traumatic experience has a way of bringing out that out in all of us, though maybe this should be a subject for another time. Maybe instead, I'll talk of another mystery surrounding my visitor from the past: I know this must sound off topic, but did I ever tell you of a particular chain of high end seafood restaurants here along the east coast, famous for their high quality crab meat at an affordable price? They were founded around 1905 or so and have since evolved into this mega corporation, yet apparently starting from zero and from out of nowhere. I have seen debate after debate among economists, yet nobody has ever figured out how one could be profitable while keeping the prices so low. Their trademark is also an enigma, a gigantic crab towering over a sand dune. I mean, crabs do not grow that big, do they? Anyhow, I was reading about the company and its founding, and I just so happened to see a familiar name. I later asked the time traveler (on a day he happened to drop by with enough seafood to fill my deep freezer for a summer) about the company's success, and he said only this: "I might tell you... IN THE FUTURE... About the economical combination of hunting and fishing on a certain beach, and of also being able to deliver at peak season, but perhaps another time would be best. Oh, well. I guess every success has its secret. My own later success might have partly come from a stack of 1912 stock certificates in said company given to me as a birthday present, but still, he never to this day told me the meaning of the gigantic crab. Ah, but never mind. Anyway, getting back to my story, he and his special friend were off to the future palace of green porcelain. I decided to loan out my digital camera to the duo, as it would mean for some really awesome pictures. I myself really had no inclination to go on these journeys, so having the pictures was close enough for me. And, what was in those pictures? Many ancient marble mansions, and strange monuments. A giant winged Spinx, weather worn and seemingly as old as time itself. Interesting flowers and plants I have never seen before. Oh and human beings, diminutive and delicate, so closely resembling his traveling companion. Then there was the great palace and all it's exhibits. And the final picture was unlike all the rest, a strange beach in fading twilight, gigantic red rocks in the distance, and was that snow and ice by the shore? I had meant to ask about that strange picture. Funny how I never did.

 To Be Continued?