ELMO’S INVENTION X
THE TINKERER GOES INTO THE FUTURE
Kingsley talked to Elmo on the phone and agreed to come over and view the time machine the next day. The following night at 6:00PM sharp Kingsley showed up at the kitchen door, punctual as usual. Mildred had a steaming mug of coffee ready for him.
“Hello, Kingsley. Elmo is so excited to talk to you about his time machine. I’ll be honest with you Kingsley; I think it really does work but what kind of disruption it will cause in our lives I can only imagine. I just want a nice quiet life here in New Mexico.”
Kinsley said, “I’ll do my best to keep the existence of the machine quiet until Elmo and I have thought through the ramifications it might pose.”
Elmo appeared at the top of the cellar stairs and said, “Kingsley come quick. I want to demonstrate my time machine.”
“All right, Elmo, I’m coming.” Kingsley looked back at Mildred and she just stood there shaking her head.
Elmo led Kingsley down to the iron lung. “Kingsley, I found a loose wire and after consulting my wiring diagrams, I reattached it. And what do you know; it now works as a time machine.”
“How can you be sure, Elmo?”
“Why, I tested it and journeyed into the future. Now I’d like you to see the future.”
This caught Kingsley by surprise. “I don’t know, Elmo. What happens if it’s only a one-way trip?”
“That won’t happen. And even if it did, I’m only sending you to tomorrow morning. Trust me, Kingsley.”
He respected Elmo’s enthusiasm and love for science. After thinking to prospect of traveling into the future, Kingsley said, “Okay, Elmo, send me to tomorrow morning, but make sure you bring me back.”
Elmo smiled and said, “Don’t worry. It’s foolproof.”
Kingsley stared at Elmo.
Elmo opened the lid to the iron lung and had Kingsley climb in. Before he closed the lid he said, “First the chamber will fill with a dense mist. That’s normal. When the mist clears, I’d like you to go upstairs, open the kitchen door and pick up the paper. Bring the paper along with you when you get back into the chamber. You’ll be gone for a total of fifteen minutes.” Elmo closed the chamber and initiated the process. Soon Kingsley was lost in a cloud of mist.
Within the chamber Kingsley could see only the dense white fog which soon dissipated. He climbed out of the chamber and found that Elmo was no longer there. The light coming through the high cellar windows appeared to be different. It was a morning light. He went up the stairs and entered the kitchen. There stood Mildred in her bathrobe making breakfast. She had her back to him and when she turned she dropped her spatula and gave a little shriek and said, “Kingsley where did you come from and what are you doing here?”
Elmo sat at the kitchen table waiting for breakfast with a wide grin on his face.
Kingsley sheepishly replied, “Getting the paper.” This made no sense at all to Mildred. He looked at Elmo who had gone from grinning madly to laughing hysterically. Picking up the paper, he headed down stairs leaving a mystified Mildred and an hysterical Elmo.
The thing he wanted to check when he returned to the time machine was the paper’s date. Sure enough it was tomorrow’s date. This presented Kingsley with an eerie feeling of possessing knowledge he should not have. Rather, it was today’s date and today was tomorrow. Opening the lid of the chamber, he climbed in and settled down ready to go back to today or rather yesterday.
The chamber began to fill with a thick mist which soon cleared and there stood Elmo. He helped Kinsley out of the machine and the paper opening it up with great anticipation. There it was, tomorrow’s date. He slapped Kingsley on the back and said, “It works. It really works.”
Kingsley was lost in wonder at what Kingsley had accomplished. He built a machine that, until now, only existed in the realms of science fiction. He said, “Elmo, I’d like to keep this paper. There’s some thinking I must do about your startling device.
“Sure, keep it.”
Kingsley suggested, “Let’s get together in a day or two and discuss the potential impact your machine may have on everyday life. I’m sure you and Mildred do not want any more protests.”
“Sure Kingsley, sure. I’ll see you in a couple days.”
The next morning Elmo absently minded went out the kitchen door to get the paper as Mildred said, “Elmo, you won’t believe it but Kingsley already picked up our paper and went into the cellar.”
“Oh, that’s okay,” said Elmo and smiled broadly.
