~~~~
Dr. Spark was the foremost authority
on time travel, at least he believed himself to be so. After all, he invented a
time machine when no one else could. It wasn't a pretty device, it was a bulky
monstrosity of wires and tubes, larger than a truck. However, it worked, and
that was what mattered. Dr. Spark hadn't done much with it yet, only peeking
into times no further than a few weeks prior. However, today he'd perform the
real stress test and jump ten years into the past. With great pride, he hopped
into his device, locked onto a date roughly ten years prior and started the
machine.
In a flash of color and electricity,
Dr. Spark found himself in the middle of a grassy field. As he stepped out of
his machine, he quickly realized why. His lab was only built 5 years ago, and
before then there was nothing on this land. Happy with the apparent success, he
prepared to take some notes until a sudden jolt of energy knocked him off his
feet.
As the good doctor came to, he saw
another machine parked beside his own. It was smaller and sleeker, about the
size of a compact car. An individual in a lab coat stepped out of the
mysterious machine and wore a smug grin.
"Ah, I was right," the
figure laughed, "this is where the 'great' Dr. Spark would arrive in his
old clunker. Behold old man, I come from 20 years in the future, and my time
machine is far superior to your poorly programmed prototype." Dr. Spark
stared on in shock.
"How demoralizing," Dr.
Spark mumbled. Before the figure could gloat further another surge of energy
erupted nearby. A third machine appeared, this one no larger than a phone booth.
A new person emerged from within, this time it was a woman in a lab coat and
goggles.
"So this is where it all
happened," she exclaimed, "where the father of time travel was mocked
by some moron in his dinky time car. I come from 30 years in the future, and this
is real time travel." She slapped the side of her device. Now it was the
figure's turn to stare in shock. Before the moment could sink in, another burst
of energy occurred. Instead of a machine, there was a new entity in a suit. It
appeared similar to an astronaut's space suit but was somewhat slimmer. The
person inside flipped up their visor and smiled.
"Behold the power of the time
suit," the new arrival boasted. "This is what time travel looks like
40 years on; honestly, you guys wasted your time with those dumb
machines." Dr. Spark's shock gave way to frustration, he was ready to
raise his finger at this obnoxious strange, then another bolt of energy came
down. This time the traveler was a woman garbed in only a bulky belt hooked up
to an energy pack.
"Let me guess," the woman
smirked, "space boy over there was just gloating about his amazing suit.
Yeah well, 50 years into the future we put his bulky waste of space behind us,
now the time belt is the way to go." Immediately after she finished her
statement, another, smaller, surge ripped out. The new figure was garbed in a
t-shirt and slack, with a strange device on his wrist, it was no larger than a
watch.
"Hey, I heard this is where
time traveler's compared their stuff, so yeah behold," he brandished his
wrist mount device. "Yeah, I rented this at a corner store for $100,
that's what it's like 60 years from now." Dr. Spark grew jaded at this
point, which helped as several more time travelers arrive in a flash.
The first was a woman from 70 years
in the future who used a ring sized device to time travel. Then a man from 80
years onward arrive, he claimed to have an implant in his body that let him
time travel. However, he was cut off by a man from 90 years in the future who
boasted time travel was hard-coded into his DNA. Much to Dr. Spark's chagrin,
the eight other individuals out of time began to bicker and fight amongst
themselves. Each wanted their voice to be heard, so they yelled louder than the
next guy. Eventually, a tear in reality tore open, and one more figure walked
out. It was a woman dressed in a slick business suit. She stared at the other
travelers with a ferocious disdain in her eyes.
"I come from 100 years
on," she explained, "but time is relative, and it means nothing to
me. You're all egotistical fools." With a wave of her hand the other time
travelers, aside from Dr. Spark, vanished in a flash of blue light. "I
apologize for them, Dr. Spark, sometimes people feel the need to pointlessly
boast their superiority." She gave him a bow and disappeared back into
another portal.
"You know maybe I'll take my
notes later," Dr. Spark rubbed his forehead and retreated back into his
own time machine for a nap.
~~~~
Even the greatest invention can appear quaint alongside their later incarnations. Although disparaging the original for not having the improvements of later versions is also very quaint.
Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy
~~~~
Support me on Patreon: [link]
No comments:
Post a Comment