The travel through time

Finally, the last bolt was tightened. I wiped the beads of perspiration that had blossomed on my forehead. Putting down my wrench, I stepped back to admire the sleek, streamlined figure of the machine. Running my hand down the cold metal, headlines flashed across my vision.

‘The most awaited machine now a reality.’

‘Time travel not a fantasy anymore.’

The thought of fame and recognition spread a cheeky smile on my bony contours. I still couldn’t believe it. I- merely an amateur- had invented humanity’s most coveted contraption, the machine many geniuses tried to create. In my lab now stood the one and only Time Machine!

I was so exhilarated, I could run around the street yelling ‘Eureka!’ (fully clothed though). Snapping out of my reverie, I thought logically. Before I told the world about my machine, I had to test if it worked. Taking in a deep breath, I walked towards it. Who knew if I would return? It was a huge risk. But a risk worth taking.

Gingerly, I entered the machine and shut the door behind me. Sitting down on the solitary chair, I buckled up, hands trembling with anticipation. I stared at the numerous buttons, looking up at me expectantly, beckoning me to press them. Sending up a silent prayer, I inserted a random ancient date. As the machine whizzed through time, it began voyaging crazily close to the speed of light-if not faster. Goodbye Einstein’s theory.

Inside the machine, I clung on to the seat for dear life. It was so dark, I could barely see my own silhouette. Still uncertain of my decision to fly solo and with a rapidly pacing heart I traversed through what seemed a figment of my fantasy. Yet deep within, my surging passions for the success of my creation knew that I was close, too close to think otherwise…

It wasn’t long before there was a loud thud and my machine touched the ground. Gathering my wits, I threw open the door. Sunlight barged in lighting up the interiors of the time machine.  I took an unsteady and uncertain step forward, only to find myself on a battlefield.

Guessing it wasn’t a good idea to reveal your identity-especially if you come from the future- right before a war, I hid behind a huge grey boulder in the distance. It happened to be on the side of the battlefield which enabled me to get a good look at the front lines of both armies.

I looked at the warriors. All of them had the perfect build of a warrior. They carried themselves like princes and an air of royalty surrounded them. All of them were undoubtedly skilled and brave arms men. Livid with rage, their eyes bore the look of deadly, penetrating hostility. Some, however looked concerned and worried like they knew of the devastation the war would bring.

Suddenly, a desperate thought usurped my mind. I needed to figure out where I was to prove that my time machine had worked.

I was sure I hadn’t landed somewhere around World war 1 or 2. There were no tanks, cannons or grenades to be seen. Instead, there were chariots, horses, elephants, bows, maces, lances and swords.

“I must have travelled very far back in time.” I said to myself. I knew it wasn’t a very primitive era though, since wars couldn’t possibly take place before civilisation.

There were a million questions running through my mind. ‘Where am I?’ Was the pertinent question to which I couldn’t find any answer. I decided to watch as an impartial observer hoping that some clue would give away the secret the universe seemed to be guarding so closely. I looked around in dazed horror absorbing everything that could lead me to untangle this unfathomable mystery.

Suddenly, something caught my fancy. A gleaming chariot stood bang in middle of both the armies. The charioteer and the warrior were discussing something in hushed voices. At one point, the charioteer raised his hand signalled to something. Nothing happened- not that I was paying attention.

I was busy wondering what could be so important that the foolish charioteer had to drive the warrior to the centre of the battlefield? What discussion could be so important? Battle strategy? At the last minute? Why wasn’t the opposition attacking? The dubiousness of the situation couldn’t be missed.

I looked up at the sky in exasperation. A bird was paused in mid-flight. That was strange, it completely defied Newton’s laws of gravity. I looked around. Flags stood still, the eyes of the warriors gazed somewhere at the horizon- unfocused. Then I realised that when the charioteer had signalled, he had paused time itself. How was that possible? How could any ordinary person freeze time? Unless…no, it couldn’t be likely…but there was no other logical explanation…who could deny it when it was as clear as a crystal?

The charioteer whom I had unknowingly called foolish was none other than Lord Krishna, himself. Hopefully, I would be forgiven for my impertinence. The warrior was no ordinary man either. He was Lord Krishna’s sakha, the great archer, the Pandav prince, Arjun. And they weren’t discussing battle strategy at all. This was when the sermon of the Gita would be delivered.

A wave of euphoria swept over me. I wanted to yell ‘It works! My machine works!’ But I paused, thinking better of it. I felt the anticipation crawling over me and the apprehension gnawing at my toes. With my hair standing on its end, I leaned in to listen to the Lord speak. Eavesdropping was never my thing but I couldn’t do anything about it, it was as if my feet were rooted to the ground.

At one-point Arjun asked the Lord to reveal his true celestial form. Lord Krishna agreed.  I was sure my ears had betrayed me. I couldn’t believe what I was about to witness. My heart was beating so fast, that I thought it would break out of my rib cage.  I was surely the most fortunate person in the world.

A bright light filled the surroundings. As I shielded my eyes with my hands, I felt my stomach do a back flip. Eventually, my eyes grew accustomed to the light and I saw the Supreme Lord, his awe-inspiring self, filling worlds that we know of and those that we don’t and everything in between. With his infinite arms and heads- seeing everything. The universe was but an infinitesimal, obscure speck in comparison to the resplendence of the grand architect whose cosmic form I beheld. The earth under my feet trembled in the presence of the Elysian vision. When he spoke, his empyrean voice filled the cosmos. I was full of an inexplicable feeling of dread and bliss. I could have sat there for aeons simply gazing up at the formidable yet divine figure. But before I could get an eye-full, the superlunary vision slowly receded. As it disappeared, I knew that it would be an imperishable part of me, reminding me that we are all fragments of the same reality.

The conversation soon came to an end. As the numerous conches were blown in unison, I realised I must leave. Staying seemed tempting but I had an inexhaustible to-do list waiting for me in my lab.

Back in my lab, I sat down to contemplate. The events that had taken place earlier today were so surreal and overwhelming that I thought it was all a dream. But as I ran my hand over the cold metallic surface of my creation I knew it wasn’t. I knew that years of hard work had finally paid off. Time travel was indeed possible! I only pray that this magnificent gadget is used appropriately by the ever-so-greedy and egotistical species, Man… Amen