Unit 8 Section 4 Focusing on culture

An excerpt from The Time Machine

The Time Machine is a novel by H. G. Wells. It is about a man called “The Time Traveller”. The following excerpt introduces us to five different characters. Here they are having a conversation after dinner about time travel.

“But,” said the Medical Man, “if Time is really only a fourth dimension of Space, why can’t we move in Time as we move about in the other dimensions of Space?”

The Time Traveller smiled. “Are you so sure we can move freely in Space? We can go right and left, backward and forward, but not up and down.”

“Not exactly,” said the Medical Man.

“There are balloons.”

“Yes, but not before the balloons.”

“Well, they could a bit,” said the Medical Man. “But you can’t move at all in Time. We can’t get away from the present moment.”

“My dear sir, I’m sorry to disappoint you but you’re wrong about this. The whole world is wrong. We always get away from the present moment. Our thoughts pass along the Time-Dimension from the cradle to the grave.”

The Psychologist nodded. He agreed with the Medical Man, “You can move about in all directions of Space, but you can’t move about in Time.”

“You are wrong. For example, if I am remembering an event very clearly, I go back to the moment when it happened. I jump back for a moment. Of course, I can’t stay back for long. But if a man can go up in a balloon, why shouldn’t he stop or speed up along the Time-Dimension, or even travel the other way?”  

“Oh, this,” began Filby, “is all nonsense.”

“Why not?” said the Time Traveller.

“It’s against reason,” said Filby.

“What reason?” said the Time Traveller.

“You can argue that black is white,” said Filby, “but you will never make me believe.”

“Possibly not,” said the Time Traveller. “But now you begin to see my reason for studying the Four Dimensions. Long ago I had a vague idea of a machine—”

“To travel through Time!” said the Very Young Man.