Time Traveler, S. M. Bowes [old books to read txt] 📗

“Time Traveler”

~

The great Albert Einstein theorized that time travel was possible by bending time and space via the means of gravitational forces. I’d invented a time machine using his principal. Most believe that we can travel back in time, but this is not possible. The device would not have been invented; ergo - one could not travel back further than when the machine had been invented. One could not alter history in any way.

 

But what of the future? Since we are weak species and seek power over those who are of a meek nature, we tend to destroy what we cannot dominate. I have been to the future and have witnessed what one person had done to bring about the end of the human race. But I am getting ahead of myself. I must start at the beginning.

 

My name is Harlen Davidson. I am a peaceful person. I could never tolerate war and longed to find a way to prevent it. I’d invented my time machine specificlly for that purpose.

 

After many years of trial and error I had finally perfected a machine that could travel through the dimensions of time and space. I was at the point where I could put it though the ultimate test by sending a guinea pig into the future. The guinea pig being me, of course. I would not allow another being to risk their life.

 

The date was January 12th 2018. I’d decided that this was the hour I would venture into the future. I was very excited, but a little anxious about what mankind had achieved.

 

I entered the time machine and sat down on the bench closing the door behind me. I pushed the buttons to start the procedure. The time machine shuddered, but nothing appeared to happen at first. All of a sudden, I saw a blinding, white light that seemed to appear from nowhere. It spun faster and faster. A tremendous pressure built up inside the cabin. I could barely read the dial that measured the years flying past. 2025, 2030, 2040. I finally forced my hand up to the buttons and pushed them. The years slowed and the machine finally stopped. The dial read January 12th 3057. Over one thousand years had elapsed.

 

My head pounded as much as my heart when I grabbed the handle to open the door. My body felt as if it had gone though a meat grinder. I was weak at the knees as I stumbled out. The walls of my lab still stood, but were no more than a skeletal frame. Tables were covered in dirt and debris that had fallen from what was left of the ceiling. The laser machine, bent and broken, was barely recognizable. This didn’t present a problem as the machine had stored enough energy to provide a way back to my era ten times over.

 

I walked over to the lab door that was surprisingly still standing and unlocked the rusted bolt, then stepped out into the hallway. The stairs were in complete disrepair, but intact for the most part. I made my way up to the grand foyer. I walked to the front doors and shoved against them. They opened upon a new world.

 

The roads hadn't been used in what appeared to be centuries and weeds had sprouted between the cracks. It seemed mankind had taken to the air for our means of transportation. I could see specks in the distance that I assumed were flying vehicles speeding to and fro as if on an invisible highway. Skyscrapers soared high into the heavens. I sat down on a curb and tried to take it all in. I was in complete awe. I reached around to my backpack and grabbed my notebook. I had to put my sensations down into words.

 

The only thing lacking in the near-by environment were human beings. Perhaps they no longer dwelled on the surface, but lived high above it. I had to find out. I got up off my haunches and started on my journey.

 

*

I’d walked for the better part of the day and was in the outskirts of city. I continued past abandoned buildings and after a few hours finally entered a portion of the city that appeared much newer. I walked to one of the buildings and the pushed against a door. It opened easily. The huge concourse was lit brightly. It appeared power plants still supplied electricity. The hall extended the entire length and breath of the building. I went to the elevators in the center and punched a button. The doors slid open immediately. I entered. The keypad was filled with numbers rising to 500. I hit the button for the 250th floor. The doors slammed shut and the lift moved very swiftly. I reached my destination within seconds.

 

The doors opened and I peeked out. The descendants of my time bustled about the office in a hurried state. I exited the elevator and looked about the room. One person glanced my way, but continued on his important errand as if I wasn’t there. One would wonder why he hadn’t stopped and asked why I wore such ancient clothing, as his was entirely different from mine. No suits or ties; everyone was dressed in white jumpsuits from head to toe. No one paid heed to me as I wandered about.

 

I stopped and stood behind a woman punching wildly at a keypad. She seemed oblivious to me. I asked her if there was anyone in charge whom I could speak to. She responded in a annoyed voice, but did not look away from the keyboard. “Haven’t you hooked up to the system this morning?” she asked.

 

“What system?”

 

She finally looked up. Her brows raised quizzically when she noticed I wasn’t attired as everyone else. She grabbed a phone and spoke into it. I could not hear what was said. Not a minute had passed before two guards armed with some sort of weapony grabbed me and escorted me back to the elevators. The lift rose and the doors hissed open. The guards took me up to a desk. “We've got another one,” one guard said to the person seated behind it. The man pushed a button and I was pushed into a room and told to wait. The guards exited the room with my backpack. It seemed I had no choice but to obey.

 

There was nothing to occupy my mind as the minutes ticked by. There was a single chair in the middle of the room, but no tables nor windows to look out. I sighed and sat. It seemed as if hours passed before I heard someone at the door. A tall man walked in and regarded me silently as he circled my chair before asking, “Why didn’t you plug in this morning?”

 

“Plug in?”

 

“Yes. Plug in. You know it’s mandatory.”

 

“I don’t know what you mean. I’m not from here. I’m a visitor to this area and not familiar with the local laws.”

 

“You must be malfunctioning.”

 

“Malfunctioning?”

 

The man went to the door and called the guards in. “See to it that he resets.”

 

The men grabbed me from my chair and marched me out. I had no clue what was going on, so I dared not resist. We entered the elevator again and the doors slammed shut. The doors opened upon a vast room filled with chairs that were bolted to the floor. Black wires were connected to an enormous computer. The guards escorted me over and forced me into a chair, strapping me down. They spoke to a woman who I assumed was a technician. She walked over and noticed I wasn’t wearing a jumpsuit. “How can I download him if he’s not wearing his number?” she grumbled. “Tell me your number,” she demanded.

 

“There seems to be some sort of mistake. I am a visitor---,”

 

“Very well, she sighed. "I’ll just assign you a new number. Hook him up,” she told an assistant.

 

The young man came over and pushed my head forward. He grabbed a thick wire with a plug attached to the end. I felt his hands running through the back of my hair. He appeared to be looking for something. He continued his search, but then sighed in extreme frustration. “I can’t find his socket.”

 

“What? Oh, move over. I’ll do it myself,” the woman growled. She searched the back of my head just as the assistant had done. “He has no access!” she exclaimed in surprise.

 

“I've been trying to tell everyone that I’m a visitor, but no one will listen. I assure you that I have no socket to whatever you’re trying to plug me into.”

 

“This is unacceptable,” she stated in reply. “Take him to the Administrator.”

 

*

“I am the Administrator,” the disembodied voice said as I sat strapped to a chair in another room. “They tell me you have no access to plug in. Did you have it surgically removed?”

 

“I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about. I told everyone that I do not reside in your city. I'm just a visitor here.”

 

“Are you a rebel?”

 

“I am most certainly not a rebel. I do not come from here and have never had the ability to be plugged in, whatever that is. I come from---,” I hesitated.

 

“From where?”

 

“That’s a little hard to explain. Let’s just say I came from beyond the borders of your city.”

 

“That’s impossible. There is no life outside the Domain.”

 

An uncomfortable silence hung in the air. After a few moments the disembodied voice continued, “You must be malfunctioning.”

 

“I am not a machine to malfunction.”

 

“What did you say?”

 

“You heard me.”

 

“Has the Resistance programmed you to respond to interrogation this way?”

 

"I am not a part of any resistance. I am a human being and demand to be treated as such.”

 

Another moment of uneasy silence filled the room before the voice spoke again. “Are you under the impression that you are a human?”

 

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”

 

“Ridiculious! Guards,” the voice shouted. “Take this unit to the detention center for dismantling. It has a serious malfunction and there is no use trying to reprogram it.”

 

The guards rushed over and grabbed me. I struggled to free myself, but it was pointless. Their grasps on my arms were unyielding.

 

*

I was locked in a cell in the detention center. I wondered what kind of world had I brought myself to? Why did this Administrator think I was some sort of machine? I couldn't for the life of me understand anything and feared for my life. I wished I still had my backpack. My gun was hidden deep within and I’d need it to try and escape -if escape were possible, that is. It seemed highly unlikely.

 

Time passed. It seemed an eternity before the door was finally opened. Two armed guards hurried in and attached manacles around my wrists. I was rushed to the elevators and we proceeded to the rooftop. A flying vehicle waited - ready to take off. I was strapped in and we quickly rose into the air. I looked out the glass-domed cockpit and saw the city far beneath me soaring by. I was filled with anxiety. Was my end soon to come?

 

A man came over and stood in front of me. He looked at the guard and said, “Release his restraints.” The man did as ordered.

 

“I am sorry for the way you were treated by our guards, but we had to see to your rescue with all due haste. We cannot allow ourselves to be captured and interrogated. We are members of the Resistance and heard that you think you are human. This is most intriguing to us. Of course, this just cannot be possible. Though we fear you are some kind of plant, we have decided to free you to investigate this matter further.”

 

“I am most grateful.”

 

“Have you been programmed to say