The Walters Telescope

What if there were spiders or scorpions under the boxes?? There was no way I wanted to be the one to find out. I was very interested in searching through the valley of boxes that lined the walls of my grandpas attic. There was were boxes of all sizes and shapes. Red boxes, blue boxes, small boxes, large boxes, boxes with labels and boxes without. But the box that caught my attention the most was a tall slender box in the corner. It had Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) imprinted on the box. On the left side, a shipping label read:

Arthur Walters

P.O. Box 43266

Manchester, New Hampshire 03101.

The date read September 27, 1925. So this must have belonged to my Great-Great Grandfather, Arthur Walters Sr.

I pulled the box out to the middle of the floor and started inspecting it. It looked like it was never opened. Hanging from the top of the box was a note that read, Welcome home, Arthur. With all my love, Nancy. Nancy...that was my grandmother's name. But why was the box never opened? The tape was from the original packaging. I must know! "DAD, Can you come to the attic??"

Dad came upstairs. I questioned him about the box. "Why was it never opened?" "What was the MIT school all about?" "Why was this box in our attic and how did it look almost brand new?" Dad exclaimed, "Whoa son, One question at a time!" "Your grandmother bought it for your grandfather." "MIT is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts." "The box isn't open because no one took an interest in it." "Do you want to open it first?" I exclaimed, "YES!!" "Go ahead!"

Opening the box was an incredible experience. I was completely intrigued by what could be inside. It belonged to a man I had never met. A man who had stood and fought for our freedom. A man who was unable to return home to his wife and newborn son, Arthur Walters, Jr. . I wondered if that could be why it was never opened. Did it serve as a reminder to Arthur Jr. of what he had lost? When I threw back the flaps of the box what I discovered inside took my breath away. It was a gold telescope from the 20's. Each piece of the telescope featured a piece of newspaper from 1925. I couldn't believe that my great grandfather, nor my father, didn't want to know what this box contained.

I began to take the pieces out of the box and unwrap them. There was no way to tell how fragile the different pieces were. Has anything broken over the many years of the box moving around? Newspaper on one side, to attempt to read later, and telescope pieces on the other side. 26 pieces in all, the tripod legs, several types of knobs, a variety of lens, among many others. I began praying there would be instructions somewhere close. Otherwise I didn't know how I was going to put this all together. At the bottom of the box I found them. I began to assemble the telescope. It took me four hours to assemble everything. There were many different knobs and finding the correct place to put them posed a challenge. After tightening the last bolt, I stood back and admired my accomplishment. If only Great Great Grandpa Arthur could see this. Would he be as amazed as I am? Would he have been the one to discover the vast galaxies beyond the milky way instead of Edwin Hubble? Would we have had the Walters Space Telescope instead of the Hubble?

I moved the telescope closer to the window, which was almost impossible due to the mass amount of boxes. It took moving 12 boxes to make room for the telescope. (I found 3 boxes of old magazines, 2 boxes of grandfather's old toys, and 7 spiders. There were not any scorpions visible, at least.) I reached and opened the window. A gentle breeze begins to fill the attic.

Positioning the telescope took some practice. The space was tiny and the telescope had to turn the right way to fit in the space. I had to read the instructions again to remember how to adjust the lens. As I begin to open the instructions, a small paper flutter down from the folds of the manual. It was a small envelope labeled, "SECRET". Of course, I opened it. The paper inside was blank!! I turned the paper over and over trying to find why it was inside this envelope. I was about to give up when I noticed something printed on the inside of the envelope. "This paper holds the clues to many answers that are due. Tape the paper to the scope and let destiny fulfill all hopes".

"USE THE TELESCOPE!!" I exclaimed out loud. Well that's genius I thought to myself. I pulled the telescope away from the window making enough room to be able to tape the paper to the lens. At first all I could see through the lens was the piece of paper. I begin to adjust the knob the paper came into focus. The words printed on the paper are in a very tiny font. The more I turned the knob the bigger the words became. I gasped when the words came into view. "To discover your dreams of the past, look through the glass, and turn the knob on the bottom three times fast." "My dreams of the past?" The envelope had said this paper holds answers that are due....and the paper says discover the dreams of the past. Could this telescope actually take me back in time?? Could I go back far enough to see Great Great Grandfather Arthur??? Would I be able to talk to him or only be able to see him? But I will have to wait until in the morning.

The morning dawned bright and early. After breakfast I made the trek up the stairs and begin to reinspect the telescope. On the bottom I found a dial that said, Month, date, year. I wasn't sure when to set it so I selected the date on the box, September 27, 1925. "Look through the glass and turn the knob on the bottom three time fast" is what the paper had said. Looking through the lens, I begin to feel of the telescope looking for the knob that I was to turn. I found it. To say I was a little nervous to turn the knob would have been an accurate quote. I wasn't sure what was going to happen. Would it suck me inside or would it create a vortex that I would have to walk through? Would it stop time here or would I come back to find that I had missed hours? Days? Months? I was a little nervous but I knew that if I never tried I would never know.

I reached up and turned the knob three times as fast as I could. What happened next is hard to explain. It was neither a vortex nor did it suck me inside. In an instant I got transported to another time. I knew it was another time because I was in the middle of a war and the graphics were not the quality of present day. Bombs were exploding all around me. Bullets rattled the air. Screams and commands whispered in around the sounds of the bombs and bullets. Looking around me was mind blowing. Trenches filled with bodies. Blazes of fire whizzing past my head. Massive explosions all around me. Where was I? What had I done? Had I selected the right date and time? Right about the time I felt like I was going to be part of the death toll, someone put a hand on my shoulder. "SON, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GET IN THE TRENCH!" There was a corporal of the United States Army giving me commands. "Where is your gear son?" His tag read Corporal Arthur Walters. "Grandpa?" I whispered. Could it be him? Had I gotten so lucky to find him without having to search for hours?

He pulled me down into the trench. We moved with the same speed as I had moved coming to this place, like lightening. We landed with a thud. As I began to look around, I was completely shocked at what all I saw. Bodies upon bodies laid out everywhere. American Flags tattered and torn. Massive amounts of guns and machinery strewn about. A newspaper was laying beside me and the date read September 27, 1925. Did I dare ask Arthur any questions to confirm my suspicions? I guess now was as good of a time as ever.

"You're name tag says Arthur Walters, Are you Arthur Walters Sr. of Manchester, New Hampshire?" I asked. The look of shock on his face was confirmation. "I am," he replied, "Who are you?" "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." I stammered. "But my name is Arthur Walters, V and I am also from Manchester, New Hampshire. I grew up on Helms Avenue." "Helms Avenue? 1765???" Arthur ask me. "Yes sir, I live at 1765 Helms Avenue." I replied. Arthur looked stunned for a moment. "If you are Arthur V, then that would make you my great great grandson, correct?" "Yes sir", I stated with the utmost pride. I was born on February 23, 2002. My parents are Arthur Walters, IV and Maria Frent Walters." "February 23rd?? That's my birthday, too." Arthur looked pleased. "A great great grandson born on my birthday, huh?" "Yes sir, seems that way. Are you interested to know how I got here? Because I know I have a lot of questions for you." I replied. "All in due time, boy, all in due time."

I couldn't help but wonder if he knew how I was here. Had he known about the secrets of the telescope? Why wasn't he more surprised that I was here? And why wasn't he questioning my appearance? I watched him as he lead and commanded his troop. When dusk appeared he started back my way and invited me to join him for a walk through the trenches. I didn't know it but we back to headquarters for a nights rest. Or in our case a nights talk.

As we walked into headquarters, everyone stood and saluted Arthur. I couldn't help but admire the level of respect that they displayed. He was one of the most respected people I had ever met. Not a single person remained seated when he walked by. Even his personal secretary stood and saluted him as he passed. "Hold all my calls, and no one should bother me for the rest of the night." He told his secretary, who's name I learned later was Abigail. "Yes sir" she replied kindly. As she turned and went back to her seat, Arthur invited me inside his office/quarters. I looked around and found it to be as I had imagined it would be. Only a bed, a small desk, and a chair graced the room. He had pulled a chair in from the hallway for me to sit in. "So my boy," he started "you found my telescope?" Wow, talk about getting right to the point. He was a corporal after all, guess I should have expected the punctuality. "Um, yes sir, I did. In our attic leaning against the wall. No one has opened it since you passed away." I tried to sound confident, but something about him made me nervous. "No one opened it huh?" he seemed confused. "I only ask because every Arthur from Arthur Jr. to you has visited me at some point in the last 77 years." "EVERY Arthur??" I stammered, again. "But dad acted like no one knew what was inside the box. He told me that the family was waiting for someone to open the box, but no one wanted to be the one."

Arthur smiled. "My boy, sit back and let me tell you the story. When I turned 18, I enlisted to join the war. I had been at military school for 2 years already. I made Lieutenant in 8 months. I begin to see the promise of a new day and only wanted to make things perfect for my sweet Nancy. On May 27, 1923, our son Arthur Jr. was born. This instilled a new drive in me. A drive to make the whole world a better place for my sweet son. So when I turned 20, I decided it was time to actually go to war. I became a corporal in June of 1925 and we have been out here since June 27th. 3 months of war. I haven't been able to return home and I haven't been able to see Arthur Jr. since we left. They granted me leave, but the war has taken a turn and I will not be able to go. Today was my departure day, the day your great great grandmother bought the telescope. Keeping the technology of the telescope has been top priority. The team at MIT created a telescope that time travels. Which you already know about, but let me explain everything. My best friend, Tom Thomason, is the lead scientist on the team. I have expressed to my sweet Nancy all my life that I wish I could talk to my parents. They were both killed in 1906 in a hurricane. Father was a Marine Biologists and they were going to study a new species of fish. The hurricane hit with such force that no one any where close to it stood a chance. Growing up I missed out on knowing my family. Even if it meant, time traveling. Which is something that no one knows hardly anything about. I contacted my friend, Tom, and relayed my wishes to him. He began working on this project in 1915. He wrote me a letter to let me know that he had completed it and what it would cost. There wasn't any way for us to afford it. I am a corporal but money is still not flowing the way we would like for it to. Also it could only be a one time trip and then the telescope would seal itself back in the box. I would be able to go back and meet my parents but it could only happen once. I ask Tom how much it would cost. $1200. Tom knew I couldn't afford that so he was going to try and cut the cost. Nancy had already saved up $50 to go towards it. Tom was able to bring the price down to $900. The only way we would be able to afford the rest would be if Nancy sold one of our cars. She sold my car for $850. Making the $900 that we needed to buy the telescope was all Nancy ever wanted. The Telescope has a secret mechanism that allows the owner to time travel once." Arthur repeated, "Only once. My hope is that when I return home I am able to use it. I don't know the exact date that my parents passed. I am praying that my grandfather knows. I know you have questions for me, but you must hurry and ask them. There is a slight glitch to the telescope. You are only allotted so many hours before you return to your time. And remember it is only a one trip deal. There is no way to return after this. Trust me. Your father told me that his father tried time and time again. But to no avail."

"I guess my only question is, what would you change if you could change things?" I wasn't sure what else to ask.

"If I could change anything, I would change getting to watch Arthur grow up. So much comes along with that, too. Getting to love Nancy longer, getting the chance to use the telescope..." His voice trailed off and I could tell he was in deep thought. "Grandfather, I'm sorry you never got the chance to watch Arthur grow up. He is a great man!" "I did get a chance to meet him once. I was able to learn some about him and he told me that Nancy lived to be 60 years old. Something they called cancer took her. Seems it was in her lymph nodes or something like that. He told me she didn't suffer. If I could have only..." I started to feel strange, like something was tugging on me. Before I could say anything to Grandfather Arthur, I felt a final tug and found myself back in my attic.

It was over. The conversation that I wanted to have so bad, was over. Grandfather was right. You are only allowed so much time. I looked around. The telescope wasn't where I left it. What had happened to it? I got up and started looking around. In the corner of the attic, right where it had been to start with, stood the box. It looked like it did when I found it. Brand new and never opened. How is this even possible? Would I have to wait until my son, if I have one, is able to open it? What would happen if I tried to open it again? But wait, Grandfather had said that it wasn't possible. Those before me had tried. I guess I will leave it for now. But I sure would like to know what would happen if I could reinvent this telescope. What places could I visit if I could make the usage more? Is Tom Thomason still alive? Could he tell me the secrets of the machine? I am going to ask father and we will see if he is available.

Until next time Grandfather Arthur...until next time.