The Time Machine by H.G. WellsIs it possible for a human to travel through time?
The answer is unknown to most of us. Except only, that the character of ‘TIME-TRAVELLER’ in this book, says that this is possible!
THE TIME MACHINE BY H.G. WELLS
‘The Time Machine’ is a science fiction novella by H.G. Wells. In its storyline narrative, it elaborates the journey of a Time-traveller through various realms of time in past and future.
Dotted with generous descriptions and beautifully-crafted storytelling, the novel was the first in the series of the texts which introduced the concept of time-travel.
The book begins with the time-traveller demonstrating to his audience over dinner, his experimental time-machine that is made in brass and ivory. He attempts to explain to them that with the help of this machine, humans would be able to travel through time.
THE TIME-TRAVELLER’S DINNER DAY ONE
Taking the example of a 3D cube, he explains that what we call as geometry is based on the false notion that a cube is made only from the 3 coordinates – length, breadth and height.
He says that in order for a cube to appear, the fourth dimension of time must be included with the three coordinates.
For instance, a line of zero length is no line. Similarly, a cube requires a duration of time in order to exist as an appearance.
In addition to this, he says that time and space are not different. They are but two aspects of the one time-space matrix.
Flabbergasted though, the audience including the narrator, a man named Filby, a psychologist, a medical man, an editor, a silent man, a journalist among others, is not convinced that time-travel is possible.
He invites the audience again the following day.
THE TIME-TRAVELLER’S DINNER DAY TWO
The next day, the audience waits for the time-traveller but he is not to be seen anywhere. Then all of a sudden, he steps into the room with a limp in his leg and clothes soiled with dirt and green moss.
Returning to the dinner table in a short while, he eats with a voracious appetite, and starts telling his audience about his adventures in time-travel.
At first, his time-machine takes him to the time period of 802,701 A.D.
Here there are two kinds of creatures
Eloi and Morlocks
Eloi are tiny-sized fruit-eating humans, who are childlike both in terms of sensitivity and intellect
The other creatures are Morlocks. Morlocks are ape-like carnivorous creatures who are afraid of fire and light
While the Eloi people live on the surface, the Morlocks have fleed into the underground – called as the underworld – due to their sensitivity towards light and fire
INSIGHT: The insight that pops in my mind, when I read about these two creatures Elois and Morlocks, is that, they represent the duality of mind apparent in every human. Every human is part sensitive, hedonistic and fearful like Eloi people, and part predatory like the carnivorous, fear-representing Morlocks.
Moving ahead with the storyline,
From where the time-traveller had initiated his journey, there is a monumental structure which resembles a White Sphinx.
He has now lost his time-machine.
So, from the White Sphinx monument, he walks towards the Palace of Green Porcelain to have some rest and to recover his lost time-machine. Here he steps into the underground well.
He is accompanied by a tiny Eloi human named Weena.
The Palace of Green Porcelain is empty except that he finds some matchsticks there.
By the time he reaches in the underworld and all the matchsticks are depleted, he gets attacked by Morlocks. Since he has no more matchsticks to frighten the Morlocks, he escapes from the dark underworld and comes to the surface and starts running towards the White Sphinx monument again.
It is a rambling sight. Morlocks are biting into his flesh like tiny human bugs – He notices that these creatures are also attacking and killing Eloi people.
Suddenly a forest fire erupts from somewhere where he had ignited some of the matchsticks earlier.
Weena is lost. Morlocks flee away, scared from fire.
He discovers his time-machine and this time goes to the future, millions of years ahead in time, to witness the last moments of life on earth.
He reaches a deserted land covered in green moss and lichen; blood-red beaches; reddish crablike creatures chasing giant enormous butterflies; sun growing larger, redder and dimmer; earth’s rotation coming to an end; then finally he witnesses it all as the last of the earth’s life freezes to a stillness and all goes still and silent.
Thereupon, he returns to the present world flying over buildings and smoke-filled cities…
Audience still doesn’t find this believable but everybody seems to be listening quite attentively to his tales.
Curious to know more, one of the audiences, the narrator, returns to Time-traveller’s laboratory once again the next day. He sees that the time-traveller is there carrying a camera with him. The time-traveller asks the man to wait for a few hours, saying that he was going on another time-travelling trip, and he will return shortly. This time, he says, he would bring the evidence of his adventures with the help of his camera. And once again, he disappears.
At the end of the book, the narrator writes that,
“…its been three years since the time-traveller disappeared and he hasn’t returned this time!”
INSIGHT: If one could borrow some insights from this novella by Wells, one would probably point to the paradoxical duality apparent between the duality and non-duality. Yet no matter how rapscallion a human might be, it doesn’t prevent one from the mysterious line of destiny that is invisibly imprinted upon the time-space intelligence of life!
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The answer is unknown to most of us. Except only, that the character of ‘TIME-TRAVELLER’ in this book, says that this is possible!
THE TIME MACHINE BY H.G. WELLS
‘The Time Machine’ is a science fiction novella by H.G. Wells. In its storyline narrative, it elaborates the journey of a Time-traveller through various realms of time in past and future.
Dotted with generous descriptions and beautifully-crafted storytelling, the novel was the first in the series of the texts which introduced the concept of time-travel.
The book begins with the time-traveller demonstrating to his audience over dinner, his experimental time-machine that is made in brass and ivory. He attempts to explain to them that with the help of this machine, humans would be able to travel through time.
THE TIME-TRAVELLER’S DINNER DAY ONE
Taking the example of a 3D cube, he explains that what we call as geometry is based on the false notion that a cube is made only from the 3 coordinates – length, breadth and height.
He says that in order for a cube to appear, the fourth dimension of time must be included with the three coordinates.
For instance, a line of zero length is no line. Similarly, a cube requires a duration of time in order to exist as an appearance.
In addition to this, he says that time and space are not different. They are but two aspects of the one time-space matrix.
Flabbergasted though, the audience including the narrator, a man named Filby, a psychologist, a medical man, an editor, a silent man, a journalist among others, is not convinced that time-travel is possible.
He invites the audience again the following day.
THE TIME-TRAVELLER’S DINNER DAY TWO
The next day, the audience waits for the time-traveller but he is not to be seen anywhere. Then all of a sudden, he steps into the room with a limp in his leg and clothes soiled with dirt and green moss.
Returning to the dinner table in a short while, he eats with a voracious appetite, and starts telling his audience about his adventures in time-travel.
At first, his time-machine takes him to the time period of 802,701 A.D.
Here there are two kinds of creatures
Eloi and Morlocks
Eloi are tiny-sized fruit-eating humans, who are childlike both in terms of sensitivity and intellect
The other creatures are Morlocks. Morlocks are ape-like carnivorous creatures who are afraid of fire and light
While the Eloi people live on the surface, the Morlocks have fleed into the underground – called as the underworld – due to their sensitivity towards light and fire
INSIGHT: The insight that pops in my mind, when I read about these two creatures Elois and Morlocks, is that, they represent the duality of mind apparent in every human. Every human is part sensitive, hedonistic and fearful like Eloi people, and part predatory like the carnivorous, fear-representing Morlocks.
Moving ahead with the storyline,
From where the time-traveller had initiated his journey, there is a monumental structure which resembles a White Sphinx.
He has now lost his time-machine.
So, from the White Sphinx monument, he walks towards the Palace of Green Porcelain to have some rest and to recover his lost time-machine. Here he steps into the underground well.
He is accompanied by a tiny Eloi human named Weena.
The Palace of Green Porcelain is empty except that he finds some matchsticks there.
By the time he reaches in the underworld and all the matchsticks are depleted, he gets attacked by Morlocks. Since he has no more matchsticks to frighten the Morlocks, he escapes from the dark underworld and comes to the surface and starts running towards the White Sphinx monument again.
It is a rambling sight. Morlocks are biting into his flesh like tiny human bugs – He notices that these creatures are also attacking and killing Eloi people.
Suddenly a forest fire erupts from somewhere where he had ignited some of the matchsticks earlier.
Weena is lost. Morlocks flee away, scared from fire.
He discovers his time-machine and this time goes to the future, millions of years ahead in time, to witness the last moments of life on earth.
He reaches a deserted land covered in green moss and lichen; blood-red beaches; reddish crablike creatures chasing giant enormous butterflies; sun growing larger, redder and dimmer; earth’s rotation coming to an end; then finally he witnesses it all as the last of the earth’s life freezes to a stillness and all goes still and silent.
Thereupon, he returns to the present world flying over buildings and smoke-filled cities…
Audience still doesn’t find this believable but everybody seems to be listening quite attentively to his tales.
Curious to know more, one of the audiences, the narrator, returns to Time-traveller’s laboratory once again the next day. He sees that the time-traveller is there carrying a camera with him. The time-traveller asks the man to wait for a few hours, saying that he was going on another time-travelling trip, and he will return shortly. This time, he says, he would bring the evidence of his adventures with the help of his camera. And once again, he disappears.
At the end of the book, the narrator writes that,
“…its been three years since the time-traveller disappeared and he hasn’t returned this time!”
INSIGHT: If one could borrow some insights from this novella by Wells, one would probably point to the paradoxical duality apparent between the duality and non-duality. Yet no matter how rapscallion a human might be, it doesn’t prevent one from the mysterious line of destiny that is invisibly imprinted upon the time-space intelligence of life!
Read all reviews! | Follow on Goodreads!
Subscribe: Neha's Notebook | My Little library | Raindrop Stories
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