The Time Machine - Chapter 10

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Episode Transcript

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Chapter ten of The Time Machine byH. G. Wells. About eight
or nine in the morning, Icame to the same seat of yellow metal
from which I had viewed the worldupon the evening of my arrival. I
thought of my hasty conclusions upon thatevening, and could not refrain from laughing

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bitterly at my confidence. Here wasthe same beautiful scene, the same abundant
foliage, the same splendid palaces andmagnificent ruins, the same silver river running
between its fertile banks. The gayrobes of the beautiful people moved hither and
thither among the trees. Some werebathing in exactly the place where I had

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saved Weena, And that suddenly gaveme a keen stab of pain. And
like blots upon the landscape rose thecupulas above the ways to the underworld.
I understood now what all the beautyof the over world people covered? Very
pleasant? Was their day as pleasantas the day of the cattle in the

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field. Like the cattle, theyknew of no enemies, and provided against
no needs, And their end wasthe same. I grieved to think how
brief the dream of the human intellecthad been. It had committed suicide,
It had set itself steadfastly towards comfortsand ease, a balanced society with security

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and permanency as its watchword. Ithad attained its hopes and come to this
at last, once life and propertymust have reached almost absolute safety. The
rich had been assured of his wealthand comfort, the toiler assured of his
life and work. No doubt,in that perfect world there had been no

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unemployed problem, no social question leftunsolved, and a great quiet had followed.
It is a law of nature weoverlook that intellectual versatility is the compensation
for change, danger, and trouble. An animal perfectly in harmony with its
environment is a perfect mechanism. Naturenever appeals to intelligence until habit and instinct

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are useless. There is no intelligencewhere there is no change and no need
of change. Only those animals partakeof intelligence that have to meet a huge
variety of needs and dangers. So, as I see it, the upper
world man had drifted towards his feebleprettiness, and the underworld to mere mechanical

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industry. But that perfect state hadlacked one thing even for mechanical perfection,
absolute permanency. Apparently, as timewent on, the feeding of the underworld,
however it was effected, had becomedisjointed. Mother Necessity, who had

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been staved off for a few thousandyears, came back again, and she
began below the underworld, being incontact with machinery, which, however perfect,
still needs some little thought. Outsidehabit had probably retained perforce rather more
initiative, if less of every otherhuman character than the upper And when other

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meat failed them, they turned towhat old habit had hitherto forbidden. So
I say I saw it in mylast view of the world of eight hundred
and two thousand, seven hundred andone. It may be as wrong an
explanation as mortal wit could invent.It is how the thing shaped itself to
me, And as that I giveit to you. After the fatigues,

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excitements, and terrors of the pastdays, and in spite of my grief,
this seat and the tranquil view andthe warm sunlight were very pleasant.
I was very tired and leapy,and soon my theorizing passed into dozing.
Catching myself at that, I tookmy own hint, and spreading myself out

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upon the turf, I had along and refreshing sleep. I awoke a
little before sunsetting. I now feltsafe against being caught napping by the Morlocks,
and stretching myself, I came downon the hill towards the White Sphinx.
I had my crowbar in one handand the other hand played with the
matches in my pocket. And nowcame a most unexpected thing. As I

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approached the pedestal of the Sphinx,I found the bronze valves were open.
They had slid down into grooves atthat I stopped short before them, hesitating
to enter. Within was a smallapartment, and on a raised place in
the corner of this was the timemachine. I had the small levers in

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my pocket, so here, afterall my elaborate preparations for the siege of
the White Sphinx, was a meeksurrender. I threw my iron bar away,
almost sorry not to use it.A sudden thought came into my head
as I stooped towards the portal.For once at least I grasped the mental

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operations of the Morlocks. Suppressing astrong inclination to laugh, I stepped through
the bronze frame and up to thetime machine. I was surprised to find
it had been carefully oiled and cleaned. I have suspected since that the Morlocks
had even partially taken it to pieceswhile trying in their dim way to grasp

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its purpose. Now, as Istood and examined it, finding a pleasure
in the mere touch of the contrivance, the thing I had expected happened.
The bronze panel suddenly slid up andstruck the frame with a clang. I
was in the dark, trapped,so the morlocks thought, And at that

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I chuckled gleefully. I could alreadyhear their murmuring laughter as they came towards
me. Very calmly, I triedto strike the match. I had only
to fix on the levers and departthen like a ghost. But I had
overlooked one little thing. The matcheswere of that abominable kind that light only

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on the box. You may imaginehow all my calm vanished. The little
brutes were close upon me. Onetouched me. I made a sweeping blow
in the dark at them with thelevers, and began to scramble into the
saddle of the machine. Then cameone hand upon me, and then another.
Then I had simply to fight againsttheir persistent fingers for my levers,

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and at the same time few forthe studs over which these fitted. One.
Indeed, they almost got away fromme. As it slipped from my
hand. I had to bud inthe dark with my head. I could
hear the morlock's skull ring to recoverit. It was a nearer thing than
the fight in the forest, Ithink, this last scramble. But at

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last the lever was fitted and pulledover. The clinging hands slipped from me.
The darkness presently fell from my eyes. I found myself in the same
gray light and tumult I have alreadydescribed. End of Chapter ten