The Bibliotheca of Deep Inquiry

Welcome to the Bibliotheca of Deep Inquiry located in London. This mysterious library is special, even magical, according to others. But one thing they all agree on is that those who read these books will never be happy with what they get. As if it were a prognosis, the books in this library provide insight into how their lives could turn out. However, no one was ever happy with the outcome. And those who received the most optimistic projection, felt that it wasn’t enough, and they desired more. 

Consider William Roberson’s scenario. He was a sweet guy who was also quite dashing. He aspired to be a gentleman inventor who would use his innovations to improve the world. In the 1800s, he went into the library, unaware of its strange forces, in search of books that would inspire him. He came across a book called “The Potential of Mr. Roberson.” which had an intriguing title. He didn’t meet many people with the same surname as him. So he sat down and opened it with great interest. 

It had predicted that his invention, the automatic tea pourer, would become a popular household item in the United Kingdom. Then it stated that he will be awarded a medal for his contributions to the household appliance industry in England. Rather than being delighted with this discovery, Mr. Roberson was very disappointed. He wanted to create more than just kitchen tools, and he wanted them to be known all over the world. He handed back the book to the library and went home to consider how he could change his apparent destiny.

He sat at his desk, trying to expand his horizons. How about an automatic orange juicer? No, that wasn’t great enough. A tenderizer that could tenderize all food? Still insignificant cookery. Wait, why not a four-wheeled bicycle? A quadricycle, to be precise! With the quadricycle, perfect balance is no longer needed. It is capable of being ridden by everyone! He then went to his garden and began constructing it. He dismantled a number of bicycles and used the gears and parts to help him realize his vision. After many trials and errors, he finally created the perfect quadricycle. 

His neighbor’s children took it out for a test drive and the results were successful. Since it was so fantastic, the kids asked for one of their own. Mr. Roberson grinned with delight. Soon, every kid in town wanted to ride a quadricycle. Mr. Roberson got right to work making them more quadricycles. Quadricycles were soon being ridden by every child in town to school and the playground. Mr. Roberson returned to the Bibliotheca, pleased with his improved notoriety, to see how his future would unfold. According to the book, the quadricycle would be a sensation with children, and he would be a remarkable person to them with his neat toy innovations. 

Mr. Roberson was initially pleased, but soon became unimpressed. He wanted his creations to be popular with adults as well as children. So yet again, he put the book back on the shelf and went back to his desk to think of something greater. A liquor glass that doesn't spill? No, it was reserved for adults only. Heels that can be removed? No, it's only for grown-up women. But wait, a transparent umbrella! Everyone uses umbrellas, and the thickness makes it difficult to see where they are headed. It was brilliant! 

He went straight to his garden and went to work. Mr. Roberson was approached by some parents who requested a quadricycle for their children, but he deemed it outdated and continued to operate on his newest invention. Two weeks later, he created the transparent umbrella. He sold it to a gardening family who lived next door. So it was a relief for them to actually have a way to function when it was raining. When the town heard of this fantastic technology, they knew they had to have it. Some from America also wanted it for their homeland. Even countries like Asia and South America were interested in this fantastic invention. Quite quickly, The transparent umbrella became popular all over the world. 

Mr. Roberson's dream of inventing something that would change the world seemed to have come true. He returned to the bibliotheca in search of the future-telling book in order to secure his future. The book, however, was not on the shelf. He became frantic and began searching the entire library for it. But then, he saw a mysterious woman writing into it with some strange ink that would manifest with a wave of her hand. 

She revealed herself as Madame Maireni, a fortune teller who founded the library so she wouldn’t be overwhelmed by patrons seeking predictions about their futures. He demanded her to tell him what his honest future would hold now. She predicted that his transparent umbrella would become famous in the coming years, but that after a few years, people would overlook who invented it and it would be reduced to the status of a mere umbrella. He was profoundly frustrated with this answer, so he set out to create something no one had ever done before, so that his legacy would last for centuries.

So he went back to his desk and started thinking even broader. An indoor cloud? What’s the point of that? Is it possible to make an automated sewing machine? That's just too generic. But then, it hit him. A teleporter! A method of rapidly transporting someone from one place to another. It was utterly genius! As a result, he went to his garden and started working. But, unlike his other creations, he had little to work with while designing this teleporter, so he had to start from scratch. After a few weeks, he was still working on this invention. Weeks turned to months and months turned to years. Still, Mr. Roberson kept working. When his neighbors came to check on him to see if he was well, he rudely shut them out like a cranky old man. 

70 years passed, and Mr. Roberson was nearly 90 years old when he finally perfected the teleporter. He invited all of his old neighbors and their grown children to his house to see this wonderful invention. He proclaimed that it would change the world and that he would be remembered as the greatest inventor of all time by future generations. When he turned it on, he was sucked into a mysterious vortex that began sucking in a lot of the objects around it.The neighbors fled into the house for their lives. The vortex then couldn't keep itself together any longer and exploded due to the pressure.

No one knows where Mr. Roberson went, but he will be remembered by future generations as the inventor who could never be satisfied. It also goes to show that someone who reads their own future will never be happy, so enjoy what you have right now.