Time Frame: Feature Fiction

Part 1: England, 1945

The world in 1945 was a lot different to the likes of today. It was still recovering from World War Two, and if you thought that was a history making moment, then continue reading:

On the corner of Short Street there was a workshop, built by a man by the name of Bray, way back in 1892. He’d never married or had any children, and all other family were dead. His father had died in a robbery in 1877 at the Town Hall where he worked. Since then, Bray had been very independent, and for spare money, a cobbler he was. Then, at the age of twenty, his mother died.

Her last words to him were, “The money you made was the money YOU made, not me. It is too late and will come of no use to me. Fee free.”

Bray used the money he’d made over the years to build his workshop. He never hesitated to keep the front the door of his workshop unlocked. He thought that if someone was to break in and steal something or kill him, then that was fate’s decision. Nature’s way.

Now, he was missing.

He’d been a popular man and people grew concerned. One friend, let’s call him John, ventured into his workshop. The outcome wasn’t pretty. Turns out, nature’s way was, well … Bray had been murdered.

Later, the police showed up after John visited the station. One of the forensic officers walked out to the back of the workshop and discovered a large rectangular box with a huge sheet over it. The box had to be ten metres tall. The officer pulled the sheet from a big titanium silver coloured box. Thousands of little bolts of electricity covered the surface of the metal box for a split second. When the dust was cleared from the structure, he could see a door.

The door was completely see-through. He was staring at never before seen technology. Hundreds of buttons covered a dashboard of electronics, shiny new golden levers, and a computer screen. He called out to the others, who were shocked to see the large machine.

Part 2: The Order of Events

A large steel handle, the size of a man’s leg, ran down one side of the door. One of the men stepped forward, grabbed the handle, and turned it right around until it was upside down. The see-through door automatically opened.

Aside from the electronics in various colours, the room was completely white. In 1945, the average adult going about his day would have been oblivious as to what this was. Spoiler alert: it’s a time machine.

The man walked ahead to the dashboard. On the lever were the words “quantum travel”. Not scientifically educated, he didn’t have a clue as to what it meant.

Hours later, John came to the scene. By now, the time machine was in the newspaper and the news had made it half way across England. John wanted to know where this thing had come from. Everyone assumed it was a project of Bray’s, but John wasn’t so sure.

Part 3: to be continued …

About the Author

Clay is 12 years old and currently travelling Australia.