The Time Machine

At precisely 6 o’clock, the alarm rang. To be fair, it wasn’t a traditional alarm that rings endlessly, or even one of those digital ones that always fail to wake you; no, this alarm was specially designed for people who always sleep in. The contraption had a traditional alarm at the center, which would set off a 5 foot by 5 foot bell when rung. Inside the bell was a bucket of Lego that would rattle around when the bell was activated. Furthermore, at the very bottom of the bucket was a chalkboard that had old nail clippings positioned right on top of it; when the Lego rattled, it would push around the nails that would scrape the chalkboard. This contraption took up at least a quarter of Conan’s room. He had planned this out days in advance to make sure he woke up in time, for he was notorious for sleeping in a few hours late. Today, he couldn’t afford sleeping in; today was the big day. This day, January 15, 2029, was the big day. On this day, the first real time machine would be unveiled in many places around the world (all at once). The world’s greatest nations had been working diligently day and night, scientists flying through theorems and architects furiously scribbling designs on paper. Everyone had been anticipating this day, when the Time Machine would be revealed, or at least Times Square. The amazing thing about Time Machines is that they can both be presented and proven to work at once; the original one would be presented at Times Square, but the next day the same Machine would be taken back in time to the previous day, but in Moscow. Every day, the Time Machine would continue to go back in time to January 15, 2029 until it had visited all of the countries on the globe. But Conan had a different idea for what the Time Machine could do. Soon, he knew he would have to take stressful tests and overcome physical challenges; so why not leave it to another version of himself and jump forward in time to skip all of those things? Conan’s plan rested in his mind like a parasite, one that would never go away. All his life he would remember this, and in the days since he had devised it he couldn’t stop thinking about it. A minute after the clock rang, Conan woke up to the unpleasant sound of a digital clock, an alarm clock, a very large bell, the sloshing of a bucket of Legos, and the crown of the contraption; the excruciating sound of nails on a chalkboard. Conan sat up with a wry smile on his face, the plan fixed in his head. First, he would dress in the business suit of rich businessman Harold Banks. Everyone knew that he was going to get a preview of the Time Machine at 6:30 sharp, and Conan knew that he was always precise, and this time should be no different. Conan had calculated that if pedaling furiously on his bike, he could arrive five minutes before Banks; that way, he could pass through security with ease. But Conan also knew that Banks might arrive a few minutes early; that’s why he had stolen Banks’s limousine, helicopter, personal get, motorcycle, jet ski, steamboat, canoe, and yacht. Conan had modified the car to be powered by his bicycle; this way, he wouldn’t draw suspicion from the guards. After he took the tour, Conan would pretend to be interested in a cabinet that held medicine inside the Machine, then would knock the tour guide out and start the Machine, setting it to January 1, 2050. By then, he would have finished his studies and was free to do whatever he wanted in life. Now, it was time to set his plan into action. This is going to be the best day of my life, Conan thought. He couldn’t have known how wrong he was.