The Time Machine

Title of a book by H. G. Wells, later made into two films of the same name

The Book

Wells had considered the notion of time travel, having written an (unpublished) story he had titled The Chronic Argonauts. He had thought of using some of this material in a series of articles in the Pall Mall gazette, until the publisher asked him if he could instead do a serial novel on the same theme; Wells readily agreed, and was paid 100 pounds on its publication in 1896.

The (unnamed) Time Traveller, having demonstrated to friends that time is a fourth dimension, and that suitable apparatus can move back and forth in this fourth dimension, constructs a larger machine capable of carrying himself. His journey forward in time takes him to an apparently peaceful, pastoral future, filled with happy, simple folk who call themselves the Eloi.

The flaws in this future are revealed when the Traveller realises that the class structure of his time has persisted until the human race has diverged into two branches. The upper classes appear to the Traveller to have evolved into the ineffectual, not very bright Eloi, and the downtrodden lower classes have evolved into the bestial Morlocks, who toil underground, maintaining the machinery that keep the Eloi in happy leisure. This is not a one-sided exploitation, however, as the Eloi are being maintained as food for the Morlocks. After some adventures, the narrator returns to his machine and travels into the far future, seeing the last few living things on a dying Earth, then returns to tell his story to friends, before disappearing forever into time, leaving the story open for a sequel.

The novel is in the public domain in the United States but does not enter the public domain in the European Union until January 1, 2017 (1946 death of author + 70 years + end of calendar year). The text of the novel is available here (http://everything2.com/?node=The+Time+Machine).

The films

This was released in 1960, and is more of an adventure film, with the division of humanity being the result of a nuclear war centuries earlier - though the story line was otherwise not greatly changed. The film is notable for its ingenious stop motion effects showing the world around the Time Traveller changing at breakneck speed as he travels through in time.

The film was remade in 2002, with a strengthened main character, though initial reviews have not been wildy enthusiastic.

`Sequels' from other authors

Books expanding on Wells' story include:

• Morlock Night, by K.W. Jeter, an odd steampunk novel in which the Morlocks, having studied the Traveller's machine, duplicate it and invade Victorian London
• The Space Machine, by Christopher Priest: because of the movement of planets, stars and galaxies, for a time machine to stay in one spot on Earth as it travels through time, it must also follow the Earth's trajectory through space. In Priest's book, the hero damages the Time Machine, and arrives on Mars, just before the start of the invasion described in The War of the Worlds. H.G. Wells himself appears as a minor character....

talk: discussions include a possible sequel written by the community