The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells, is about a man who delved into time travel and hypothesized that time was a fourth dimension (Einstein had not been made his theory yet). Wells' scientist made a time machine and travelled into the year 800,000, only to find that the human race had divided into two races, the Morlocks and the Eloi. The human race had divided because the difference between social classes (the consumers and the creators) had widened so much that the Eloi, who are the consumers, are now unintelligent, slow learning, but still beautiful creatures, while the Morlocks are highly intelligent, scheming, and ugly creatures that live underground. And while the power used to reside with the Eloi, it had begun to shift from their hands to the Morlocks, who had begun eating the Eloi since they had forgotten to give the Morlocks anything. During the scientist's explorations and adventures, he had his time machine captured by the Morlocks who had stolen it in curiosity. The scientist had to fight to get it back, but eventually escaped to his own time period unscathed.
The idea and concept behind the story was very inspiring, and I eventually wrote two pieces about the book which are mentioned below.
The idea and concept behind the story was very inspiring, and I eventually wrote two pieces about the book which are mentioned below.
QUESTION ONE
The Time Traveller goes into the distant future. If you had the chance to travel in time, would you choose to visit the near future, the distant future or the past? If you chose the future, what changes would you hope to see? If you chose the past, what time in history would you like to visit? Discuss your ideas.
RESPONSE
If I had the chance to travel in time, I would go to the distant past. That is because I would like to see the civilizations of the ancient world and what they did to survive and live. Also, little is known about the minor peoples of these great civilizations -for instance, the ones at the bottom of the social hierarchy: farmers, hunters, tradesmen- so I would like to figure out how they lived and what their part was in the social order. And you could accomplish all that with a single time machine.
The first ancient civilization I would go to would be the Roman Empire. I would go to the Roman Empire first because I would love to see all the architectural wonders they built in prime shape, from the Colosseum to the Pantheon to the temples in the Forum. I would also like to learn more about their army, how it fought, what tactics it used, and how its soldiers were trained.
Then I would go to the Norse Empire when it was at its strongest, around 1000 AD. I would like to see how its warriors fought, and what weapons they used. Also, little is known about some of the gods that they worshipped, so I would like to figure out more about their mythology too.
Finally, I would go to Mayan civilization and see how great it was before the Spanish conquest. The Mayans built many ancient wonders, and were the first civilization to discover 0! I would love to see how they built their temples, and how they knew so much about the world around them.
And after grasping the secrets of the Mayan civilization, seeing the wonders of the Roman Empire, and understanding the norse warriors’ concepts and beliefs, I would come back to the modern world, happily knowing the secrets of the ancients.
QUESTION TWO
Imagine you are a time traveller. You have gone fifty years into the future but now your machine is broken and you can’t go back. Also, you feel that you may not live much longer. Write a letter for your friends to find fifty years later. Describe the changes in the world of the future and how you feel about them.
RESPONSE
Dear Grant,
I am truly sorry for the unlucky turn of events I have just participated in. While traveling forward in time to the year 2094, my time machine overheated and, twenty seconds later, blew up. I barely survived the explosion, and as that machine was the only one made, we are still mapping out a second, more reliable one. I fear that I may not live much longer, and am duly sorry that I may not see you again. But since grieving does not do us any good at all, let us move on to more interesting topics.
Mother Earth will be happily surprised when she realizes how much the earth has changed 50 years into the future. Most people realized what wrongs they were doing about 20 years ago, and started pressuring states and countries to become greener. Most states/countries agreed, and began cutting greenhouse gasses -along with CFC’s and oil usage- down greatly. Major cities have become extremely greener, with apartment building’s roof’s covered in greenery and solar panels. The National Park idea has spread across the world, even reaching out to third world countries. You would totally love it, and I can’t wait for you to be here-Wait a second! You ARE here! When I travelled 50 years into the future, your future presence travelled too! Since I travelled forward in time, I made the present NOW, so you will actually be here! Oh, joy!
See you soon,
Ethan