The Time Machine

“Just one more tweek and we’ll be good to go,” said Jordan.

“I can’t wait for this vacation. It’s much needed.”

“There. Finished. I just now got around to making the repairs since I crashed it,” said Jordan.

“Looks good.”

Jordan climbed into the driverseat while his companion climbed into the passenger seat.

“Alright, Harvey. We’re off.”

Feeling the jolt suddenly Harvey had to steady himself.

“That’s a little jolting isn’t it?”

“You get used to it.”

Harvey turned to the side and watched the stars pass at light speed. Mesmerized by the beauty of the space around him. He felt himself growing starry eyed with wonder feeling like a child again. The prickles that crawled across his flesh made him shiver.

“How fast are we going?”

“Eleven parsecs.”

Smiling at the scenery, Harvey enjoyed the ride. Focused on the scenery flying by the window, he didn’t notice when the airship was rocked.

“Oh, dear,” said Jordan.

“What’s wrong?”

“I think the engine just shut down.”

“How?”

“I’m not sure. We’re going to have to make an emergency landing.”

“Try to be gentle. I get motion sickness.”

Jordan eased the airship to the nearest time shift and landed as gently as possible. The landing was solid and Harvey was satisfied with the landing. He could hardly detect it.

“What decade are we in?”

“The instrument panel says 1980s.”

“This is so far off from where we were going. Do you know anything from that era?”

“Not at all.”

“We should find a store so I can fix the problem.”

“I think we should hang out for a few minutes. Check it out.”

The companions left the vehicle and began to explore the destination with much curiosity. Clothing of vibrant colors adorned most of the civilians.

“This could be exciting. Let’s talk to someone.”

“Not yet. I want to just observe.”

Walking the sidewalk, Jordan glimpsed his reflection in the shop windows and felt out of place. Glimpsing something that caught he made a uturn and back tracked to the little shop. Quickly scanning the room for the item that attracted him. Spotting it in the corner, he walked over to it as his companion walked through the door looking for him and found Jordan holding and running his hands over a machine that Harvey didn’t recognize, but found rather intriguing.

“What is this contraption?”

“Beautiful isn’t it?”

Turning around to view his companion, he noticed that he was standing amongst several machines that looked similar.

“Look, Harvey, they’re everywhere.”

“What are they exactly?”

“Let’s find out.”

Turning to look for a cashier, Harvey spotted someone who appeared to be an employee and approached. Tapping her on the shoulder, she spun around a little too quickly and she lost her balance knocking into Jordan.

“Can you tell me what these machines are and what they do?” said Jordan.

The girl looked at him, rolled her eyes and laughed as she walked away. Looking at Harvey trying to figure out what he said that was so laughable. Harvey only shrugged. Jordan moved onto the next individual and posed his query yet again and was once again greeted with a raucous laughter.

“What’s so funny? It’s a serious question.”

“We’ll figure it out ourselves,” said Harvey.

Jordan took out his wallet and removed his credit card. Studying the machine to find the credit card swipe, but found himself discombobulated.

“They don’t take credit cards? Then how does this thing operate?”

Jordan found a coin slot and grew a little more encouraged.

“Here it is.”

A couple of boys who were walking past stopped to watch. Jordan stuck the credit card into the slot and said that it was too big. He heard the boys snicker and turned to look at them.

“What are you doing?” said the older looking one.

“Looking for a place for this,” Jordan held up the card and waggled it at them. The younger one snatched it from Jordan and turned it over in his hands.

“What is this thing?”

Jordan and Harvey looked confused and at each other.

“What do you mean?” asked Harvey.

“It’s a credit card. Have you never seen one? I thought everyone had one.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“Then how does this machine operate?” said Harvey.

Both young boys responded simultaneously.

“Quarters.”

The younger boy reached his hand into his jeans pocket and handed a handful to Jordan who stared with confusion and amusement. The boy grabbed his hand, turned it palm up, and dropped the quarters in to it. Reaching back into his pocket and extracted his own quarter, held it up for Jordan and Harvey to view before inserting it into the slot. The older duet watched as the machine kicked on and stepped back startled. They watched as the lights on the machine lit up the boxy television screen highlighting a prompt to start the game. One of the younger duo stepped up to the machine.

“It’s a video game.”

“Doesn’t look like a video game I’ve ever seen,” said Harvey.

“Watch,” the older boy commanded as he demonstrated how the machine worked.

Jordan and Harvey stood in awe as the boy played what seemed like hours. When the kid finally lost his last life, he gestured for the older two to try it.

“Jordan. It doesn’t look like a video game.”

“If you don’t like this one, there’s dozens to choose from. But...you really just have to play them to figure out which is your favorite.”

“All of these machines are different games?” said Jordan.

“Yea. They all do different stuff. Here,” the older boy reached into his pockets and extracted two fistsfull of quarters and handed them to Jordan and Harvey, “You can have the rest of my money. It’s time for us to head home. Have fun.”

Jordan handed a handful to Harvey and looked for the next game. When Harvey spotted the next one, Jordan suddenly remembered the time machine.

“Harvey! We didn’t park the time machine. We have to get back.”

Jordan and Harvey raced back to their ride. There was a crowd gathered around it. Upon arriving at the spot, Jordan saw someone enter the driver seat. In a panic, Jordan sprinted with adrenaline rushing through his body. As he leaped at the machine it lurched through time and space. Barely missing the contraption, he heard the crowd’s excitement. Exasperated, Jordan returned to where Harvey was standing.

“What are we going to do?” said Harvey.

“Not only are we not able to get home, but if the guy messes with anything on the machine he may end up not able to get back here. Or tampering with history.”

As soon as the thought passed his lips, the machine appeared back on the sidewalk where it was left. Jordan and Harvey raced back to the time machine where Jordan examined it rather quickly. Without hesitation, they both jumped back into it and waved to the bystanders.

Back home, Jordan and Harvey settled in for a night of relation glad to be home.

“Next time, we need to be more careful,” said Harvey.

“Agreed,” said Jordan as he bid his farewell.

Harvey ran upstairs and grabbed a blanket to cover the machine until he had the energy to repair it again. Returning to the couch, he settled in for relaxation.