The whole world was as beautiful as the river valley. I climbed every hill. I saw many beautiful buildings in different styles. There were many green trees and flowers everywhere. Sometimes the water of the river was shiny like silver. The hills were blue under the quiet sky.
I saw some strange wells (deep, round holes in the ground for water or air). These wells were very deep. One well was near the path on the hill. It had a ring of bronze (a hard, yellow-brown metal) around the top. It had a small cupola (a roof shaped like half a ball) to keep out the rain.
I sat by these wells and looked down. I could not see any water. I lit a match, but I saw no reflection. But I heard a sound from the deep holes. It was a "thud-thud-thud" sound. It sounded like a big machine.
I used my matches to look at the air. I saw that the air moved down into the holes. I threw a piece of paper into a well. The paper did not fall slowly. The well sucked the paper down very fast.
I also saw tall towers on the hills. The air above the towers moved like the air on a hot beach. I thought the towers and the wells were part of a ventilation (a system that moves fresh air) system. This system moved air under the ground. I did not know why.
It was difficult to understand this future world. Imagine a man from a small village in Africa. Imagine he visits a big city like London for the first time. He would not understand the trains or the telephones. We would try to explain things to him, but he might not believe us.
The gap between that man and a Londoner is small. But the gap between me and these people was very big. I felt that there was a secret organization in this world. Everything was automatic. But I could not explain how it worked.
I looked for graves or places for dead people. I did not see any. This was a mystery to me. Then I noticed another strange thing. There were no old people and no sick people. Everyone was young and healthy.
My first ideas about this world began to change. I looked at the big palaces again. They were only places for eating and sleeping. I did not find any machines or tools. But the people wore nice clothes and sandals.
How did they get these things? Someone must make the clothes and the shoes. But these little people did not work. They did not have shops or factories. They spent all their time playing, bathing in the river, and eating fruit.
Then I thought about the Time Machine. Something took it inside the bronze pedestal. I did not know why. I did not understand the wells or the towers. I felt that I was missing a clue to the secret.
On my third day, I made a friend. I was watching the little people swim in the river. One person had a pain in her leg and could not swim. The river began to carry her away. She was drowning.
The other people did not try to save her. They just watched. I was surprised that they did not care. I quickly took off my clothes and jumped into the water. I caught the little woman and pulled her to the land.
I rubbed her arms and legs. Soon, she felt better. I did not expect her to say thank you. I thought these people were not capable of thanks. But I was wrong about her.
In the afternoon, I met the little woman again. she was very happy to see me. She gave me a big garland (a circle of flowers worn around the neck). She made it just for me. I was feeling lonely, so this gift made me happy.
We sat together in a small stone building. We talked with smiles and signs. She was very friendly, like a child. We gave each other flowers and she kissed my hands. I learned that her name was Weena.
Weena and I became good friends for one week. She was exactly like a child. She wanted to be with me all the time. She followed me everywhere. Sometimes she got very tired, and I had to leave her behind.
Weena was very sad when I left her. She cried and screamed. She was a lot of trouble, but she was also a comfort. She loved me like a child loves a parent. I did not know how much she cared for me until later.
Because of Weena, I felt happy when I returned to the White Sphinx. It felt like coming home. I looked for her white and gold clothes on the hill. She was always there waiting for me.
I learned from Weena that fear was still in the world. She was not afraid during the day. She was very brave when the sun was out. But she was terrified of the dark and the shadows.
The dark was the only thing she feared. All the little people felt the same. At night, they all slept together in the big houses. They never stayed outside in the dark. No one slept alone.
I was foolish and I did not learn the lesson of their fear. I did not want to sleep with the crowd. I wanted to sleep alone outside. This made Weena very worried.
One night, I woke up at dawn. I had a bad dream that I was drowning. I saw a grey animal run out of the room. It was the early morning, so the light was grey and strange. I went outside to see the sunrise.
The moon was going down and the sky was pale. The bushes looked black. I looked up the hill and I saw three white figures. They looked like ghosts. I saw a white ape-like (looking like a large monkey) creature running up the hill.
I saw another group of these creatures carrying something dark. They moved very fast and disappeared into the bushes. I was not sure if my eyes were correct. It was very early and cold.
When the sun came up, the white figures were gone. I thought they were ghosts. I thought about them all morning. Then I saved Weena from the river, and I forgot about the white creatures for a while.
The weather in this future world was very hot. I think the sun was hotter than in my time. One hot morning, I looked for shade in a big ruin. I found a dark path between some old stone walls.
It was very dark inside the ruin. Suddenly, I stopped. I saw two eyes watching me from the dark. They were glowing. I was afraid of a wild animal, so I did not move.
Then I remembered that this world was safe. I remembered that the people were afraid of the dark. I walked forward and I spoke. My voice was loud and shaky. I reached out my hand and touched something soft.
The eyes moved quickly. Something white ran past me. I turned around. I saw a strange, white, ape-like creature. It ran across the sunlight with its head down. It hit a stone, then it ran into a dark shadow.
The creature was a dull white color. It had large, red-grey eyes. It had light hair on its head and back. It ran very fast. I followed it to another pile of stones.
I could not find the creature at first. But then I found one of the round wells. I lit a match and looked down. I saw the small, white creature climbing down the wall. It looked like a human spider.
I saw metal steps on the side of the well. It was a ladder. The creature was climbing down into the deep hole. My match burned my fingers and went out. When I lit another match, the monster was gone.
I sat by the well for a long time. I realized a terrible truth. Humans were now two different species. The beautiful people of the sun were not the only humans. This white creature of the dark was also a human.
I thought about the towers and the air system. I began to understand. These white creatures lived under the ground. I called them the Morlocks (the name of the underground people). The beautiful people of the sun were the Eloi (the name of the people who live above ground).
I was afraid to go down the well. I saw two Eloi running and playing in the sun. They saw me looking down the well. They looked very upset. It was not polite to talk about the wells.
I tried to ask them questions about the well. They turned away and did not answer. I decided to find Weena. I had a new idea about this world. I started to understand the secret of the wells and the Time Machine.
My new theory was simple. The humans had split into two groups long ago. The rich people stayed above ground in the sun. The workers were sent to work under the ground in factories.
In my own time, we already put many things under the ground. We have underground trains and workrooms. In the future, the workers lived under the ground all the time. They became the Morlocks.
The rich people above ground had everything they needed. They became the Eloi. They were beautiful but weak and small. They did not need to be smart because the machines under the ground did all the work.
The Eloi were the masters and the Morlocks were the servants. But the Eloi were very afraid of the dark. This was strange. I asked Weena about the underworld. She began to shake with fear.
Weena did not want to answer my questions. She began to cry. I felt bad, so I stopped asking. I lit a match to make her happy again. She smiled and clapped her hands. But I knew I had to go down into the dark.