1908

Upon seeing the electric blue light radiate from the window of Professor Scottsdale’s workshop, Winston set down his barometer and rushed inside. “Where have you been?” he asked of the professor who stepped forth from the time machine. “What amazing things have you seen? Tell me of the wonders of the twenty-first century!” The professor ignored him, reaching for a sledgehammer instead. He swung it against his invention, bashing it again and again until nothing remained but a hulk of twisted copper and aluminum.

Winston looked upon all this, bewildered, until the professor told him of the amazing box that, like a cinema, displayed moving pictures. The most horrifying of these were called “commercials”, their purpose being to advertise various remedies.

“And the maladies they were made to treat!” Professor Scottsdale exclaimed, catching his breath. “Rampant hypertension. Widespread impotence. Osteoporosis. Restless Leg Syndrome!” The list went on and on. “Such suffering, such unrelenting misery. I tell you, Winston, the world of tomorrow is bleak, and dying. We must never speak of this again, for who would want to learn of such a future?”

Winston cast his eyes upon the battered remains of the time machine. “But what will you do now?”

“Go and fetch the drawings for the weather-control device,” he replied, and the two of them set about building their next invention.

reply to post by Flatwoods


I suppose I should explain why this story is so short. It's just a little flash fiction piece I wrote for my English class last semester. Not great, but at least it fell within the required word limit.


[edit on 21-5-2008 by Flatwoods]

well I liked it hope you got a good grade on it