The Time Machine

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The Time Machine

A glimpse of the future of the human race.

What if it were possible to travel through time? Would you go forward or

backward in time? Would your aim be monetary gain or enhanced knowledge or

something completely different? The possibilities are endless. The Time Machine is a

story of a time traveler and his experience with time travel. The story was first published in 1895 by H.G. Wells. This is a great story because of the fascinating ideas it presents and the way the author has you asking yourself ‘what if?’.

The first idea presented in the story is that of a fourth dimension. I wasn’t exactly sure what the fourth dimension was because it is not something that is dealt with a whole lot in every day living. The story begins with the time traveler sitting in a room with some guests. We never learn what the time traveler’s name is, he is simply referred to as the time traveler in the story. I thought the explanation of the fourth dimension that the time traveler gave to his guests was easy to understand and very interesting. The time traveler explains, “ ‘You must follow me carefully. I shall have to controvert one or two ideas that are almost universally accepted. The geometry, for instance, they taught you at school is founded on a misconception.’

‘Is that not rather a large thing to expect us to begin upon?’ said Filby, an

argumentative person with red hair.

‘I do not mean to ask you to accept anything without reasonable ground for it.

You will soon admit as much as I need from you. You know of course that a

mathematical line, a line of thickness nil, has no real existence. They taught

you that?

Neither has a mathematical plane. These things are mere abstractions.’

‘That is all right,’ said the Psychologist.

‘Nor, having only length, breadth, and thickness, can a cube have a real

existence.’

‘There I object,’ said Filby. ‘Of course a solid body may exist. All real

things---’

‘So most people think. But wait a moment. Can an instantaneous cube exist?’

‘Don’t follow you.’ said Filby.

‘Can a cube that does not last for anytime at all, have a real existence?’

Filby became pensive. ‘Clearly,’ the Time Traveler proceeded, ‘any real body

must have extension in four directions: it must have Length, Breadth, ...

... middle of paper ...

...that something definitely happened to the time traveler because he would have reappeared right after he left the second time because he knew the narrator of the story was standing right there. He could have set his dials to that exact moment in time so he could show the narrator all the cool stuff he brought back from the future or the past or where ever he visited.

What if it really were possible to travel through time? What would the

possibilities be? The ideas presented in this story are very entertaining and imaginative. From what I gathered while researching this novel and the time period in which it was written, the author, H.G. Wells, incorporated new ideas about science and physics into this story. It is not hard to see why this story is considered classic science fiction more than one hundred years after it was first published. This story is great because it sparks your imagination and persuades you to consider the mysteries of science and time travel.

Bibliography:

Wells, H.G. The Time Machine. New York: Bantam 1991.

Baxter, Stephen. Wild Extravagant Theories: The Science of The Time Machine.

Paper for Picocon 13, Imperial College, 4 February 1996

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