the day was Feb. 20 2107, 7:45 pm
"will this finally work today?" a discouraged query of an old man with a solemn expression.
standing alone in the the dark.
waiting for someone to answer his question.
nevertheless not a single soul could give answer to his query.
not even himself.
in-front of him was a large peculiar machine that was connected to a pod.
but maybe even the word large would be an understatement
it was humongous.
connected to the machine was a thing similar to a pod maybe calling it a capsule might be more accurate,
the capsule dimensions were big enough to fit a man inside.
but even the capsule couldn't be compared to the size of the machines it was affixed to.
it was humongous but still not comparable to the large hadron collider.
a machine of this size could have many different use, but this machine had a tad simple use.
it could turn back time.
the large peculiar device was a time machine.
an extraordinary yet simple machibe
a man's romance to say.
"it has been 50 years now" says the old-man as he touch the capsule
he starts reminiscing everything that happened in this very laboratory.
maybe after countless of years of being a researcher he became attached to this place.
the laboratory itself was like his home
it was not only because he was a researcher
rather than that it was because he lived at the laboratory
to a man like him. he had no reason to go outside.
it was not like he had anything that could be called a form of entertainment.
maybe it was because he had no time.
for him it was a bit ironic 'to get back the time he lost, he threw away his lifetime'
a sad yet cruel reality
after spending all his time doing work, he had no one to call a friend...
what was a friend to begin with?
someone that knows everything about you?
someone that is always there for you?
or maybe someone who you could talk to?
by those standard how could a man who secluded himself get a friend?
'oh right' he thought as he recalled the face of that idiot. maybe that idiot was not there everytime maybe she doesn't know everything about me.
but he knew he could talk or call that idiot.
a small smirk rose to his face, as he recalled the intern he hired 29 years ago
that idiot was strange, an odd fellow indeed.
"time was really fast when that idiot was here"
at the end he could only remember one person.
maybe it was a bit lonely
but he had no regret.
nevertheless even if there was none or even if there was only one it really made no difference
in his mind he had no time to waste
to him this project was the reason he lived
for his goal he had thrown away things that were useless to him.
he lived yet dying could have been better
the way he lived couldn't even be called living by normal standards
he was more like a robot
rather than going outside he chose to stay cooped for months
and would only go out once in order to resupply his daily necessities
it was not like he was a no-life gamer or a NEET
he had a job.
maybe it was because he had a job
maybe he just didn't want to waste his precious time
that could be used to improve his project
for the past 50 years he had lived in the same place same food same routine
again and again repeating this endless cycle.
day by day he drove his brain to its end he worked until his own body collapsed
it was only after 50 years of working as a researcher
the machine that took his lifetime to build was now at his hands reach
although it he has not been successful even once
this was the physical embodiment of his efforts and hard work
was he looking it with pride ?
the answer was "no"
to him this was just a tool for him even himself was just a tool
'so what if i sacrificed my lifetime? to begin with what is life.'
he had always thought 'how does one calculate the worth a persons life.
is it calculated by kindness? ambition? achievements? affirmation made by other people?'
if this things were the necessary things needed to define the worth of life,
then Hitler's life had more worth than the people he killed.
at the end we are the one who gives life a meaning'
'in the end i can say that my life has not a single worth at all'
"haaahhh" he sighed gripping a letter which was the reason of his melancholy
the letter came from the science community prior this month
the contents of the letter were his dismissal from the science community and the halt of funding to his project
after countless of failure for the past 50 years of his life as a researcher
without a single success he was deemed as useless
even if he was helping in deepening the understanding of time
it was certain that he would lose sponsors
after-all the funds given were for a successful machine
it was not meant to increase the understanding of time itself
he thought 'how many century would humanity take to reach where he is now'
"those ungrateful mongrels"
so after 50 years his project was finally considered infeasible by his sponsor
it was reasonable why he had finally received a letter of his dismissal
after he lost his sponsor the science community didn't see him as a valuable asset
it was better to let 'someone who brings money' to use the laboratory
"those fucking bloody mongrels they fuckin did it now. treating science as a product, those mother fucking greedy pigs"
was his first reaction upon receiving the letter.
but as time passed he calmed down and began to recollect his thoughts
"i should have been born earlier fuck"
he always had the impression that
'science after the 19th century was not about seeking knowledge it was all about money.'
"i must be getting old to just be angered by something as trivial as this"
after a month here he was holding the letter in his laboratory
this was his last day as a researcher before they close his laboratory
he was already 68 years old
this meant that if his lab was closed he wouldn't get another chance in his life time
so this time he couldn't afford to fail this was his last chance
this was his last attempt to test the machine he spent his entire lifetime to make
he enters the pod and activates the time machine as the pod began to spin
the emergency bell rings
then everythings goes black
suddenly the scenery dissolves into small particles
it began to show after images or was it memories maybe fragments of time?
He watched as the past the future the present became one
He saw the civilization forming and being led to its destruction
Civilization after civilization
He saw history repeat itself again and again
How barbaric even after humanity had evolved even after thousand of years they were still stupid not that he was an exception
suddenly everything goes black
and he loses consciousness.
he awakens and sees a different scenery. the capsule opens up he swiftly ran outside.
he see a man and quickly approaches
"hello sir can i ask the date today?"
"oh wait" the mans takes out his phone and checks it
"its January, 1 2054. do you also need the time?"
a tear falls down. the man becomes startled by seeing someone suddenly cry
"Are you okay, old man...?"
"thank you"
"Oh...okay good luck to you old man don't know what you're going through but good luck"
as the man leaves the old man looks at his hand. and form a fist
"I...I finally fucking did it..."
tear starts slushing out as if a dam has been broken inside of him.
"This time i will save you"
with the power to travel through time he could save millions of life
maybe even save the whole world
nevertheless he had no intention of saving the world
he wasn't a chivalrous Hero, who wanted to save everyone he could or attain world peace
but he wasn't either a villain that wanted to see destruction
For him this things were meaningless
Peace? Fame? Power? Let others take them
'For i don't seek to gain such things
For me such things were worthless compared to her'
"oh... my golden witch beatrice....."
This was the man named William Dalton
A man who sacrificed his life just to save one person
He had no greed he had no friend he had no family
he had nothing and was always alone.
maybe this time he could change it
maybe this time
but this was the end but also the start of this story
let us begin the story of a man named
William Dalton