At last, it is done. I have completed my time machine. Now, I will be able to travel from time to time, anytime. This historic day shall be written down in history books forever into eternity. The day man traveled through time. First, I will travel to prehistoric Kenya. I would like to see for myself what ancient hominids look like.
I have arrived. Kenya is a beautiful place. Long grasses wave in the wind. A herd of zebra graze quietly nearby. Some water buffalo drink from a waterhole. The sun shines overhead. A cool breeze caresses my face. I look around, searching for what I have come to see: some ancient hominids called homo erectus. Homo erectus lived about 1.8 million years ago, and thrived for around 1.5 million years. Cautiously, I start forward - careful not to step in anything nasty, or disturb any unfriendly animal. It's then that I see them. A tribe of what seem to be half-monkey, half-men creatures lope out of a small forest and onto the open savanna. Homo erectus. These ancient beings had developed enough to be bipedal, but some still had the tendency to walk on all fours. I grinned, wishing that I had brought my camera. I was the first human from the 21st century to ever see a live homo erectus. I can hear them grunting and see them gesturing with their hands. This is unreal. This is unbelievable. I can't believe that I am seeing creatures that are supposed to stay in history books for real. I watch them, enthralled by their alien-ness. I saw a few start to use tools, and others went away to hunt. I watched, and I learned. It was amazing until I felt myself sliding away from this time. Oh no! My time machine wasn't working! I anxiously glanced at my watch. I had been in ancient Kenya for exactly 60 minutes. I was being pulled. Away, away, away. Where would I end up next?
Ancient Sumeria. I am now in the middle of the Fertile Crescent. I can't say that I am unhappy by this twist of events. The Sumerians invented many wonderful things such as the wheel, cuneiform, chariots, and sailboats. I look around and breathe in deeply. I am on the crest of a small hill. I can see what I assume to be the Euphrates River maybe about a mile ahead of me, but I may be wrong - it could be the Tigris River. Behind me, there is a city. The buildings are all made of reddish mud/clay bricks, and there is one, especially impressive piece of architecture that catches my eye. A ziggurat, probably built in honor of the ancient Sumerian goddess, Ishtar, stands tall and proud. Although the buildings may seem old and crude now, in 2011, I know that they probably took ages to build, and am quite impressed by what the Mesopotamians have managed to create. I feel proud of the human race, for what we were, for what we have become, and for what we can still be. Uh-oh...I feel that tugging again. I check my watch. I have been in Sumer for exactly 60 minutes. I'm starting to feel like there's a pattern. I wonder what will happen next?
Now I stand in ancient Egypt. The heat of the sun burns my skin. I am right next to the beautiful blue Nile River. Some pyramids stand in the distance. Something else does, too. What is that? I squint, trying to discern what that shape might be. Then, I realize that it is a pyramid that is being constructed - it is only half completed now. I can just barely make out the small, moving figures that are slaves, hauling the humongous rocks used to build the pyramids. As I stand, gazing at the pyramids, a beautifully crafted boat sails by. Its sail is loosely hanging down, but I see some slaves or servants rowing it upstream. A richly clothed man, who must have been the owner of the boat shouts at me, and I look away. It is then that I realize how rich and black the soil of ancient Egypt is. I can understand why people would want to settle here. Just by looking at it, you can tell that it is full of vitamins and minerals - nice, fertile soil for a farmer. Aagh! Oh no! I can feel myself leaving again! I don't need to check my watch to know that I have been standing in Egypt for only one hour. I sigh and resign myself to another adventure.
I am now in ancient India. I am standing on the bank of the Ganges River, watching a sobbing family giving one last farewell to their 15-year-old son who died of sickness. They are giving him one last drink of the holy Ganges water, and bathing him in it before they cremate him and throw his remains into the sacred river. This is a very sad scene, and I have no wish to watch it. I look away. I see the Taj Mahal. It looks as if it is coated with pink icing from the orange-pink sunset. The four pillars of that enormous tomb stand up, straight and erect. I know that the straightness of the Taj Mahal pillars is really just an illusion, but I find it hard to believe. I give the architects of the Taj Mahal credit. I don't really want to stay here very long, so I sit and watch the sun turn into a glowing orange ball and sink into the towering Himalayas. I don't know why, but ancient India has never really interested me, and it's cool and all, but right now, I just want to go home. I feel it. I'm about to leave India and go somewhere else. I hope it's somewhere in my time.
Yes! I am on an archaeological dig in 2011. The people here are looking for more evidence of homo floresiensis, because they want to prove that this species of hominid was not just a weird mutation of homo erectus or homo habilis. They want people to know that homo floresiensis was its own species of human entirely. Oh, I am so glad to be back home in my own time.
I have arrived. Kenya is a beautiful place. Long grasses wave in the wind. A herd of zebra graze quietly nearby. Some water buffalo drink from a waterhole. The sun shines overhead. A cool breeze caresses my face. I look around, searching for what I have come to see: some ancient hominids called homo erectus. Homo erectus lived about 1.8 million years ago, and thrived for around 1.5 million years. Cautiously, I start forward - careful not to step in anything nasty, or disturb any unfriendly animal. It's then that I see them. A tribe of what seem to be half-monkey, half-men creatures lope out of a small forest and onto the open savanna. Homo erectus. These ancient beings had developed enough to be bipedal, but some still had the tendency to walk on all fours. I grinned, wishing that I had brought my camera. I was the first human from the 21st century to ever see a live homo erectus. I can hear them grunting and see them gesturing with their hands. This is unreal. This is unbelievable. I can't believe that I am seeing creatures that are supposed to stay in history books for real. I watch them, enthralled by their alien-ness. I saw a few start to use tools, and others went away to hunt. I watched, and I learned. It was amazing until I felt myself sliding away from this time. Oh no! My time machine wasn't working! I anxiously glanced at my watch. I had been in ancient Kenya for exactly 60 minutes. I was being pulled. Away, away, away. Where would I end up next?
Yes! I am on an archaeological dig in 2011. The people here are looking for more evidence of homo floresiensis, because they want to prove that this species of hominid was not just a weird mutation of homo erectus or homo habilis. They want people to know that homo floresiensis was its own species of human entirely. Oh, I am so glad to be back home in my own time.
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