The Time Machine
(The Time Machine)
The Story
Full Story
New York, 1899. Alexander Hartdegen, a brilliant physicist of the University of Columbia, meets Emma, a beautiful lady he madly falls in love with. An evening, at Central Park, he finds the courage to declare his love and offers her a ring of betrothals. A thief attempts to steal them the famous jewel, but Emma struggles. A gunshot sounds, the poor woman collapses and dies in alexander's arms.
Refusing this sad fate, he devotes all his aknowledges and energy to construct a time machine so as to alter the course of the events and thus to save the life of his beloved. Four years later, he is ready. He returns back to the day of his appointment in Central Park and joins Emma. But although he protects her from the tragic event, Emma is victim of a road accident. The man understands that he cannot change the destiny. Now he has a question: How to modify the past?. He pertinently knows that he won't find the answer now and flies to the future.
Alexander accelerates and sees the parade of the seasons, fashion and time. Schemed by a certain period, he stops his machine on the 24th May 2030, a period where the moon has become accessible for tourism. At this period where the technology rules in master, time travel is still pure science-fiction. Disappointed but not conquered, the young scientist hopes to get more chance some centuries ahead. But in 2037, the Earth lives a terrible cataclysm produced by the bursting of the Moon, because of repeated nuclear explosions for its colonization. While all collapses around him, he jumps in his machine, pushes the lever forwards and faints.
He wakes up in 802701. In this future, the nature has taken over mankind's constructions, and landscapes are magnificent. He is found by Elois, a little people living in habitations hung to canyon's walls, and more particularly by the very beautiful Mara and her son Kalen. One day, the small village is attacked by horrible creatures. They are the Morlocks, monsters living beneath the earth who exit only for hunting. Mara is taken. Facing the Elois, who find the established order of things regular, Alexander wants to fight. Kalen shows him the entrance of a dwell that leads him to the Morlocks. When he climbs down there, Alexander is captured by their Chief. |
He understands that where an unique race was living, now two has evolved differently. The Morlocks have reproduced in castes; spies, hunters and leaders who have developed their cerebral capacities so as to control the other spirits. Alexander understands equally that the Eloi are brought up to feed the Morlocks. Beyond any hope, their Chief brings him the reply to his question...
Spoiler ! the end of the story is revealed below…
If Emma had survive, the machine would never have existed, then how could he have used it to save her? It is the inescapable result of his own tragedy, just as the Morlock is his. The chief of the Morlock presents him his machine and authorizes him to leave back with his replies. But Alexander refuses such a destiny. He runs the machine and attracts the monster inside. After a terrible struggle in the temporal sphere that leads him 635 million years in the future, a period where the Morloks are ruling, Alexander gets rid of the monster. He returns to free Mara and uses the energy of his time machine to destroy the underground people. Alexander can no longer return in the past but he finds love in the year 802701.