Time traveling: a chapter book by Yash

                     

Fiddling with Machines.

Professor Drake was in his master laboratory making a masterpiece ‘The Turbo Washing Machine’. He was an energetic man who was relatively young for a mechanical professor. He came first in his college at the age of twelve. He always had some quick gadgets handy. This machine was the most difficult he had tried to make in his whole life. He had a deadline in three days. One thing he hated more than zucchini was not submitting in time though he needed help. Or he would lose his reputation.

It was a normal day for Ben and Max. They were just coming back from school when Professor Drake called them on their phones. He said, “It’s an emergency! The new machine I am making is a little bit hard to make. I need your help. Come fast.” The boys worked for him after college. They scurried over to his lab. He was working intensely with sweat dripping all over his face. Ben asked, “What are you making, professor?” Professor replied, “I am making a turbo washing machine”, “Oh! We’ll help you, right Ben?” asked Max. Ben replied “Yeah! Surely.” Professor smiled; he knew that he could always count on the boys for some help.

They made the machine successfully. Now, it was time to test it. Ben brought some clothes dipped in mud. He put it in the machine. The setting was set on super speed. Professor started the machine. In ten seconds, it stopped. Ben looked confused. Professor replied, “Oh, don’t worry. It stops on its own.” Max took the clothes out. They were clean but all of them were changed into some suits that looked like those which superheroes wore. They all wore it at the same time. There was a watch that was attached to the sleeves. Professor had almost pressed the button on the watch when Max stopped them for a selfie. Once the professor pressed the button, they were sucked into the portal that appeared in front of them.

Bam! We have an encounter with Gaia.

Ben landed on something soft. It was Max, who groaned in a sick way. Professor asked, “Where are we?” None of them knew. They kept roaming around the grasslands. The grasses were as tall as them; they couldn’t see anything beyond. They had no idea where they were heading. They walked towards the east as the professor had told them. The professor always had handy gadgets. Ben asked, “Professor, do you have anything to help us?” He removed a tall blade about 4 feet long with a handle. He tossed it to Ben. Ben caught it with one hand. He examined it carefully. He noticed a small button on the edge of the handle. He pressed it. To his surprise, the blade became a big lawnmower.

Ben mowed the grass around him for about six miles. He became tired. Max tried using the lawnmower, but for him, it turned into a pair of scissors. He said, “Professor, what exactly is this?” Professor replied, “It is a metal manipulator which works upon what you think. For example, now think of it to become a sword.” In less than a second, it turned into a sword with a hilt made of gold. Ben told, “Cool! Let me try.” He turned it into a big knight of metal. Professor took it. He turned it into a sword about a mile long. He started to cut off the grass around them. They were in the open in about no time. No person was in sight except a lady. The lady wore elegant green robes that looked power possessing yet cozy.  Ben realized that she looked like the statue of Gaia in the museum. He started shouting, “Lady Gaia!” She looked back and smiled.

“So, I have been expecting you, brave warriors!” said Gaia. Ben said, “Lady Gaia, we have been transported from our world to your world to get a ring.” “There are no two different worlds but one in different times.”, replied Gaia, “I can help you, but it comes for a price.” “What price?”, asked Max. “That depends on you; if I like your offering, I may give you the ring. I need a gift to give to Uranus. It’s our first anniversary after all.” The three of them started discussing what they should give. Ben had a wonderful idea, “What if we give her the metal manipulator. As Uranus was a warrior, we could give him a sword.” They agreed on it. When they gave it to Gaia, she was pleased. She gave them the ring, “This will keep you safe if you’re on the ground. Just give it a shine. It will surely help you.” Suddenly a portal opened in front of them. They walked into it hoping they would go home. 

  We Meet The Dinosaurs

They landed in some place which didn’t look like home. It was a vast patch of land with trees as huge as skyscrapers and volcanoes as hot as the sun. It was late evening. They kept walking towards a place where they would be safe. They were walking when Max asked, “Professor, anything?”. Professor nodded. He gave him a mat of small tiny balls that looked like ball bearings. “What does it do?”, Ben asked. Professor said, “Just stand on it and lean backward." They did just that, and the next second, they were speeding through the places. It was like a mat that moved on its own. They stopped on a patch of land for lunch, so Ben just plucked off a few fruits from the branches of the trees which had branches just enough for them to reach.

They found a place to sit. Max drank a vial of water which was in the professor’s bag. They were munching through the food when they saw a small creature with a tail that had spikes on it. The professor said, “It’s a stegosaurus baby!” Forced by his science habits, he quickly took a sample of its skin for research when he realized that they had just seen a dinosaur. This meant that they were in the dinosaur era. Max wanted to tame a baby dinosaur but changed his mind when he saw a huge snake slither up and gobble up all the eggs. The professor warned them about why they should not be hanging around the Stegosaurus, as they would attract many dinosaurs like T-Rex, Giganotosaurus, and the Spinosaurus. 

They were walking behind the oh-I-can't-stop-releasing-obnoxious-gases dinosaurs to reach their time machine when Ben asked, “Max, don’t you think our moms would be waiting for us?” He looked back only to find out that Max was lost. They started calling out his name. Max shouted though it sounded very near to them. They heard Max saying, “I’m right here behind you!”. Ben looked behind but saw nothing; he did notice some footsteps behind him which had the prints of the Sneakers which Max was wearing. The professor realized what had happened; Max had drunk an invisibility potion instead of water. The professor told Max to not worry as it would wear off soon. They were walking towards a cave for resting when the portal opened below them, and they fell into it. This time it took them some time to reach the next destination. 

                                     Egypt, the wonderland!

Inside the portal, there were images of different places everywhere. They couldn’t touch them, but they could see them which was strange. They walked through a light that appeared in front of them. They landed face-first on the sand. Max spat out some sand that was in his mouth. Ben looked around. There was nothing but sand. He said, “We're in a desert!” The professor said, “Shh! Do you hear that?” “What?”, asked Max. “I can hear the sound of water gurgling; we have to follow it.”, replied the professor. They walked about a few hundred meters when they spotted a river. “We have to walk along the stream as it usually  ends up in an estuary.” the professor advised.        

While they were walking, the professor noticed the watch on the suit. The watch had many buttons. He pressed it, but nothing happened. He was about to start walking again when the watch turned into a compass. The compass showed that they were walking towards the north. Then, he remembered that the Nile flowed towards the north which means that they were in Egypt. The professor told the boys that they were in Egypt. The boys sarcastically told, “Wow!” They were strutting on the sand when Max screamed, “Help!” Ben looked back. He saw that Max was in quicksand. Ben remembered that Max was wearing the ring Gaia gave them. He shouted, “Use that ring!” Max shined the ring with his shirt. In no time, a huge ball of earth swallowed Max. The professor shouted, “Max are you in there?” He replied, “Yes I’m in here. It seems like the earth listens to everything I say!”.

Max told the earth ball to stop. It stopped right next to a boulder which made it camouflage. In the far lands, they saw a hut. They saw a man inside. They said “Hello!” He replied “Nim Pe Pek-Ran?”  “What are you speaking?”, Max asked. The man replied, “Nim Pe Pek-Ran?”  The professor told them that they were in Ancient Egypt. The language was Coptic. They just walked away. The professor was mumbling to himself “First the goddess…… Dinosaurs….and now Ancient Egypt.” He said, “We are witnessing the earth from the creation of it to the later events of it.” Their watch started ringing as if someone was calling them on their phones. A portal opened in front of them and they jumped into it.

                                 They visit the Mayans

Max was finding it hard to control his hunger, so he raided a few trees on the way. They spotted a dinosaur-sized pyramid and yes, they knew how big dinosaurs were. They walked towards it. On the edge of the pyramid, ‘Chichén Itzá’ was written. When the professor saw that, his eyes popped open. They were in early Mayan Civilization. Standing in front of them was The Chichén Itzá. Professor rushed at such speed, Ben thought the professor was a cheetah. He then found a gate to exit the pyramid. 

They found themselves in the city of Chichén Itzá. In the middle of the city, there was a huge pyramid that made the one before look like a pile of dust. It was The Pyramid of Kukulkan. The professor scanned the place and saw a dusty old rack named ‘Le registros le maaya'obo’. He took a quick look at his watch and pressed on a button. In a few moments, it became a translator. The inscription meant ‘The Mayan records.’ He was about to enter when Ben stopped him, “We can’t go in there; it's late, we need to sleep.” Ben was right. He couldn’t go in now. They found a huge tree. They slept below the leaves.

The next day, the professor got up early, but he didn’t wake the boys. He went to the rack of papers and started to examine them. The Mayans were known for their predictive knowledge, and the professor wondered whether the Mayans had predicted their arrival. He went through the predictions sections. He found his name at the edge. Under the name, there was a small map that was folded. He ripped the map off and started following the directions. He found a chest on the ground which was located on the edge of the cities. In the chest, there was one scroll and a red gem. He picked the gem and started reading the scroll. It read, "You must find the two other royal rubies and attach it to your machine." He went back to the racks only to see the boys waiting for him. They interrogated him about his sudden disappearance. He told them everything. They were walking towards the tree when Max suggested that they should try to set the place where they wanted to go. The professor said that the idea was brilliant.

                                                Royal Rulers               

Ben steadied the watch. Max rubbed it. The professor tried all the buttons, but nothing was helping them. They sat down dejected. The watch was like an albatross around their neck. The professor was shining the watch which happened to be switched on at the time. A button popped onto the screen as if it was a touchscreen. He pressed on it, and it came on all their screens. They pressed on it and few options came on the screen. They read ‘Akbar’s reign', 'Egypt', and 'Zimbabwe’. They knew where they wanted to go. Together, they pressed on Akbar’s reign, and a portal appeared in front of them. They walked right into it. They landed in some congested market with everyone around selling different things. They walked around to locate the palace.

With the help of the translator, they asked the people where the palace was. The people replied that the palace was in the next city, and it would take them two days to reach there. Max said, “Well that was bummer! What should we do now, any ideas?” The professor told, “There is one way. You can use the ring Gaia gave you?”  Max was about to rub the ring when Ben stopped him. He told, “Not here; not in front of everyone!” Ben had a point. They went to a far edge where no one saw them. Max rubbed the ring and a huge ball swallowed all of them. Max commanded the ball to go underground. Ben looked confused. He asked, "Why underground?” Max replied, “Here we can go full speed ahead without obstacles.” He grinned which made Ben happy, and they disappeared in the mud. They were zooming past the ground. They came to an abrupt stop. Max asked the ball for the reason. The ball sent them above the ground, and they were right inside the palace hall.

They were trying not to get noticed, and they were pretty successful all the way till the king’s room. They looked around, but they had no luck finding the ruby. They heard footsteps approaching. They quickly hid in the wardrobe and remained silent. Then King Akbar entered the room and silently sat on his throne as if he was anxious about something. He muttered, “War is raging, and there is nothing I can do about it.” At that moment the professor let out a horrific sneeze. The king got up and warned, “Who’s there? I assure you that you won’t leave the room alive if you don’t show yourself.” The professor smirked and came out of the wardrobe. He said to Akbar, “I challenge you to a duel, one-on-one. If I win then you give me the ruby of your sword.” Akbar said, “If I win, then I chop your head off.” Professor didn’t say anything; instead, he removed a metal manipulator. He turned it into a long sword. After that, it was pretty much one-sided. The professor lunged with the sword and then turned it into a huge shield as big as a wall and soon Akbar was on the ground with the sword an inch away from his throat. Akbar gave the ruby to him; the professor took pity on him and gave him the metal manipulator and told him how to use it. Akbar was grateful for that and assured him a safe journey through the kingdom

                    They enter Hitler’s Tent of Doom.

Max asked the professor, “How did you do that?”, the professor replied, “I always keep an extra manipulator with me. The sword fought according to how I thought it would.” Max gave a huge grin and said, “You have pretty crazy thoughts.” Their watches chimed and on the screen were three new locations: Adolf Hitler’s battlegrounds, France 17 BCE, and Kenya 12 BCE. They looked confused about which to choose. Their closest option was Adolf Hitler’s battlegrounds. They clicked on it, and the portal opened below their feet. They screamed as they plummeted through the portal. They landed on hard, sandy ground. They got up and saw that they were in the middle of the battlegrounds and every side was charging towards them.

They ran to take cover. They hid behind a building’s ruins. They waited for everyone to pass by. They realized that no one was killing each other; instead, everyone was practicing for World War 2. They started searching for the ruby. The professor removed a machine that looked like a metal box with two antennas. He switched it on. It spread its antennas and gave a beep. It gave the exact location of the ruby. The boys and the professor went to the location. It was not nearby. In fact, it was on the outskirts of the city. When they reached, in front of them stood a tent made of purple silk. Max walked in but Ben pulled him back. Ben told, “Guys, we are in front of Adolf Hitler’s tent."

The professor removed a vial of some blue drink, “I found it when I was searching for the answers in The Chichén Itzá." Ben asked, “What does it do?” He replied, “Let’s find out.” He drank a sip and gave it to the boys. They were about to go in when a person bumped into them. The person looked confused as if he didn’t know they were there. He just walked around the tent and entered from the back. Max whispered, “I think we are invisible.” To prove that they were invisible, Max went to that person and shook his hand in front of his face. He didn’t even flinch. They were actually invisible! The professor walked in quietly while Ben stayed outside to warn them of incoming danger. The professor spotted the ruby and silently picked it up, but the ruby didn’t become invisible. The person got up and said, “Hey!” He ran after the ruby. The professor kept running with the boys on his heels. They had to find a safe place to hide. They climbed a tree and lost them.

                              With a vroom they are back.

They were on the tree. Max asked, “Now what, professor? What should we do with the three rubies?” The professor was examining the watch and noticed a slot near the buttons which was just the same size as their rubies. He attached one onto the slot and it fit perfectly. He told the boys to do the same. The boys took a bit longer to attach the ruby as they couldn’t find the slot. When they did attach the rubies they waited for something to happen, but nothing happened. They sat there perplexed wanting to know if they could ever be back home.

The professor was looking at the ruby with intense eyes as if he wanted to know what secrets were hidden within the history of the rubies. He pressed on it. A screen popped up with a big red button. He didn’t know what to do. He removed the ruby. The screen dissolved away. The boys were already asleep; the professor went to sleep too. When they woke up, the professor told them about how he clicked the button and how that screen with the red button popped on it. The boys and the professor did the same thing again. They clicked on the red button. In five minutes, a portal opened in front of them and they hoped that they would be home.

They were back home, and they couldn’t believe it. They were back in the professor’s lab. They went out to check what time and day it was, and they were surprised to find out that it was the same day and the same time they had started time traveling. The three wanted to believe it was a dream, but they couldn’t. It was just too real. Several days passed by, and the professor was now famous for creating a time machine. He was mostly occupied with lab work. Ben and Max were just too busy with schoolwork. Their new favorite subject was history. They started to settle back to normal life and knew that life couldn’t get dangerous.

Written by: Yash Srivastava

Edited by: Aanchal Agrawal