I soon learned a strange thing about my little hosts. They did not stay interested in things for a long time. They came to me and cried with surprise like children. But, like children, they soon stopped looking at me. They walked away to play with other toys.
I finished my dinner. I tried to talk to the people, but it was difficult. I saw that most of the people were now gone. It was strange, but I soon stopped worrying about these little people. I walked out of the big hall and into the sun again.
I met more of these men from the future. They followed me for a short distance. They talked and laughed about me. They smiled and moved their hands in a friendly way. Then, they left me alone again.
It was evening when I left the great hall. The sun was low and the light was warm. At first, I was confused. Everything was different from my own world. Even the flowers were different.
The big building was on the side of a wide river valley. The River Thames was there, but it was in a new place. It was about one mile away from its old position. I decided to walk to the top of a hill.
I wanted to see the whole world from a high place. I wanted to see the world in the year Eight Hundred and Two Thousand Seven Hundred and One. I knew this date because of the little dials (small clocks that show numbers) on my machine.
I walked and I looked at everything. I wanted to understand why the world was in ruins (the broken parts of old buildings). The world was beautiful, but it was broken. I saw a large pile of stone and metal on the hill.
There were many beautiful plants near the pile of stone. They looked like nettles (plants with leaves that usually hurt your skin). But these plants did not hurt me. They were a beautiful brown color. This was the remains of a very large building.
I stopped to rest on a flat area of the hill. I looked around and I realized something. I did not see any small houses. In my time, England has many small houses and cottages. But here, those houses were gone.
"Communism (a system where everyone shares everything and no one owns anything)," I said to myself.
Then I had another thought. I looked at the six little people who followed me. I saw a new fact. They all wore the same clothes. They all had soft faces with no hair. Their bodies were all round and soft.
The men and the women looked exactly the same. Even the children looked like small versions of their parents. In my time, men are strong and women are soft. We are different because we have different jobs. We live in families to stay safe.
In the future, life is easy and safe. There is no violence and there is no danger. So, the people do not need to be strong. They do not need to have different roles. This was my idea at that time.
I walked more and I saw a small building. It looked like a well (a deep hole in the ground for water). It had a cupola (a small roof shaped like half a ball) over it. I thought it was strange to see a well there. Then I continued my walk.
There were no big buildings at the top of the hill. I was a fast walker, so I was soon alone. I felt free and I felt like an explorer. I reached the top of the hill.
I found a seat made of a yellow metal. It was old and it had pink rust (a colorful coating that forms on old metal). It was covered in soft moss. The arms of the seat looked like griffins (imaginary animals that are half lion and half eagle).
I sat on the seat. I looked at the view of the old world at sunset. It was very beautiful. The sun was below the line of the earth. The sky was gold, purple, and red. Below me, the River Thames looked like a shiny metal line.
I saw the big palaces among the green trees. Some were broken and some were still good. I saw white statues in the gardens. There were no fences and no farms. The whole earth was now a garden.
I watched the sunset and I tried to understand this world. At that time, I thought I knew the truth. But later, I learned that I only knew a small part of the truth.
I thought that humanity was near its end. This was the sunset of mankind. In my time, we work hard to make life better. We want to make life safe and easy. We work together to win against Nature.
The people of the future were successful. They won the battle. But strength only comes when we have problems. If life is too easy, people become weak. This was the result of their hard work.
Today, our science is still simple. we kill some weeds and we grow some plants. We change animals slowly. But in the future, people changed everything perfectly. They organized the whole world.
The air had no insects that bite. The earth had no bad plants. There were only fruits and sweet flowers. There were no diseases. No one was ever sick.
These people lived in beautiful shelters. They wore fine clothes. They did not work. There were no shops and no businesses. I thought I was in a paradise.
But why are humans smart? We are smart because life is hard. We must be clever to survive. We must be brave to protect our families. In the future, there is no danger. So, the people do not need to be smart or brave.
The people were small and weak. They were not very intelligent. They used their energy to change the world long ago. Now, they had no more work to do. So, they became weak and lazy.
The people only wanted to pick flowers. They liked to dance and sing in the sun. They did nothing else. In my time, pain and necessity keep us active. In the future, the people had no needs.
I stood in the dark. I thought I understood the secret of these people. I thought they were few in number. That is why the buildings were in ruins. My idea was very simple. It was a good story, but it was wrong.