The Time Machine

By H.G. Wells, 1895

“The Time Traveller came to the place reserved for him without a word. He smiled quietly, in his old way. 'Where's my mutton?' he said. 'What a treat it is to stick a fork into meat again!'

'Story!' cried the Editor.

'Story be damned!' said the Time Traveller. 'I want something to eat. I won't say a word until I get some peptone into my arteries. Thanks. And the salt.'

'One word,' said I. 'Have you been time travelling?'

'Yes,' said the Time Traveller, with his mouth full, nodding his head.”

This novel deals with a time traveller who pays a visit to the far future. But instead of some advanced civilization, he encounters a decadent humanity, divided between a so-called upper race, the Eloi, and the cruel Morlocks who live underground.

This book was not a favourite, but yet interesting! It is particularly effective at sharing scientific ideas, and also delivers a message to an incredulous humanity: here is the future you created by your errors.

1. I liked the way the story is told. The style is concise not too heavy; the plot is easy to read and sufficiently plausible even if a time machine is at stake. On this point it was similar to classical fantastic stories like “La Peau de Chagrin” by Balzac.

1. Science is here depicted with precision given the background of the author. I think about the evolution of humanity in two races, one living outside and the other underground. It made me think Darwin’s finches that adapted to their environment, in this case depending on the island. However, H.G. Wells shows the impact of this natural evolution on society: an absurd specialisation.

1. The book sends us a message, more clearly than the in “The War of the worlds”. He seems indirectly to warn us against the condition of workers, who take revenge in the form of the Morlocks. The ideal world of the Eloi is finally an illusion as they are mere food for the latter. Where are those glorious days promised by 19th science? For H.G. Wells, no utopia could exist if some are excluded.
   

For the reasons, I think this novel is a precursor to dystopias like “1984” (Orwell), with yet a bigger emphasis on science.

Medicis