Penelope retightened the last bolt, checked the wiring one last time then typed some sample coordinates into the typesetter. She ran her fingertips over the shiny brass fittings. She looked at her reflection in the large grandfather clock face and pulled the goggles down over her hazel brown eyes. She watched the gyrosphere whirl, spinning faster and faster. The steam engine pumped the pistons faster and faster. The whirl of the spinning cogs reached fever pitch. She was tempted to pull the handle and let the machine kick in and take off but at the last second, she pulled the Abort lever and let the machine slowly settle into idling mode.
Augustus glanced up from his writing desk.
“Is it all working?”
Penelope wiped her hands on a rag and straightened up.
“Yes, Sir. Everything seems to be primed and ready to go. You just need to make sure the emergency direction override dial is set to off before you release the brake. It’s a bit wobbly and keeps slipping.”
“Wonderful. You are such a treasure, Penelope.” Augustus walked towards the machine and clapped his hands together. He wrapped his arm around Penelope, ran his hand down her back, over her corset and down to her bustle.
Penelope blushed and flinched slightly from his touch. She lowered her eyes and stared at the floor as he ran his hand back up her spine and stroked her hair.
“I’ve got my speech all ready. I’m sure the chaps at the Royal Physics Academy will be amazed at my invention. Who’d have thought it, eh? Inventing time travel.”
“Yes, Sir.” Penelope seethed. The village idiot hardly knew one end of a sprocket set from the other but Penelope was enough of a realist to know that no woman would be allowed the money or access to build something like this, so she had to make do with hiding in Augustus Midgeley’s shadow.
~o0O0o~
“Gentlemen may I present...” He whipped the tarpaulin away. “My time machine!”
The assembled gentlemen of the Royal Physics Society gasped at the beautiful brass machine. The whole contraption was the size of a small wardrobe. The seat was upholstered in a deep maroon velvet and the pistons slid in and out gracefully as the steam engine idled. There were three light bulbs flickering on the control panel above a brass panel constructed out of what looked like a typewriter.
“Have you tried it out yet?”
The crowd turned to watch as Sir David Hetherington strode forward towards the machine.
“Um... Well no.” Augustus ran his fingers through his tousled brown hair.
Sir David pointed the end of his cane at the bulbs.
“What are the bulbs for?”
Augustus rolled his fingers through the end of his moustache as he beamed with smug pride.
“The bulbs show the state of the machine. White light means it is idling. When it is starting up, the bulbs will turn green in order. When the third bulb turns green, the machine will travel.”
He smiled as he looked at the admiring gaze of the onlookers.
“When they turn red, we are arriving. Once the third one turns red, we are at our destination.”
“And how do you know what your destination is?” This time, it was the waspish voice of Sir Chrispin Wittering enquiring.
“I type the destination using the typesetter.” Augustus paused, surveying the room. “Would you gentlemen like a quick demonstration?”
There was a murmur of excitement buzzing around the room. The gentlemen of the Royal Physics Society liked nothing more than a concrete example of the ingenuity of the British male. Man’s ability to grapple with the unknown and tame and civilise it was what had made this Empire so great.
“How far into the future shall I go?” Augustus enquired. “Are you prepared to wait five minutes?”
“I’m sure we could wait that long,” Sir David chuckled.
The gentlemen crowded around as Augustus climbed on board and typed his destination into the machine. The brass keys clicked as the ribbon flowed into the machine. Augustus carefully calculated and entered the 4-dimensional coordinates.
Satisfied he had entered everything correctly, he stood up and saluted the crowd. Penelope watched with bated breath through a crack in the door. She hoped he would manage to enter them correctly. She had done every test programming and worried that Augustus with his usual cavalier attitude would manage to mess it up.
Augustus pulled on his long cream travelling coat and tightened his leather belt around him. With his tartan tam o’shanter on his head, he adjusted the flying goggles and grinned. Saluting the crowd, he sat in the armchair and pulled the control lever.
The pistons began to move. The flywheels spun and the hopper whirled. Steam billowed from tiny gaps in the brass exhaust pipes as the pistons pumped faster and faster. A whistle blew as the pistons reached maximum velocity, the lightbulbs turned green one by one by one. As the third bulb turned green, there was a bang of acrid black smoke.
When the noise and the smoke cleared, there was a gasp from the assembled throng. The stage was empty. Penelope gripped the door frame tighter as she counted the seconds in her head. She watched the doddery old men walk up onto the stage and look around at the space that the time machine had occupied. If this works, Penelope thought, Augustus is going to crush a couple of the fools when he arrives if they don’t move out of the way.
Sir Crispin was holding his watch and counting out as the five-minute mark approached.
“Four minutes and forty-five seconds, four minutes and fifty seconds, four minutes and fifty-five seconds. Five minutes!”
Everyone stared expectantly at the space on the stage. Sir Crispin’s voice trailed off. The silence was deafening. Penelope felt the tears threaten to run down her cheeks but she forced herself to watch. He just miscounted, she told herself. He’s typed in five hours rather than five minutes. It will be something silly, that’s all.
Sir Crispen cleared his throat.
“Well gentlemen, it looks like Augustus Midgeley has been somewhat detained. I suggest we move on to the next matter of the evening.” He turned and smiled. “It is, I believe, Sir Godfrey’s seventieth birthday tomorrow. So I suggest we all give him a rendition of ‘For he’s jolly good fellow’.”
Penelope slowly closed the door. Augustus, you blithering idiot, she scolded. Where are you?
~o0O0o~
Augustus watched the bulbs on the panel as he swirled through space and time. The streaks of vermillion created by who knew what guided his path through the darkness. He watched as first one, then a second and finally the third bulb turned red. He braced himself and waited for the landing.
Commissioner Emmeline Penelope Batterbee heard the bang and felt the windows rattle. As Chairwoman of the Royal Physics Society, she made it her job to know what was going on in the building at all times and this was an unexpected occurrence.
She strode along the corridor. The tails of her frock coat flapped behind her as the train of her dress swished along the polished corridors. Following the noise of the excited chatter and footsteps, everyone converged on the great hall. She stopped at the entrance and saw the finest physicists in the country standing in a semicircle, gathered around a hissing contraption on the stage.
“Is she alright?” she called out.
Amelia Carton met the Commissioner’s eye, tugged the bottom of her corset down and stepped closer to the contraption. She gently prodded the unconscious inhabitant with her finger. She stepped back and turned to the assembled throng and announced in a confused voice.
“It’s a man.’”
Emmeline strode quickly forward from the back of the hall.
“Don’t talk nonsense. It can’t be a man.”
The assembled women craned their necks to try and get a glimpse of this scientific anomaly.
“He must have stolen it,” Emmeline continued. “Are you sure it isn’t a woman?”
“That may well be the case, Commissioner,” Amelia responded, looking at the facial hair on Augustus' face. “But this is definitely a male.”
Augustus stirred and looked up into Amilia’s face.
“Penelope?” he murmured.
“No, I’m Amelia,” she whispered as she stroked his hair. “You have a big bump on your head.”
She stood up and turned to the assembled crowd.
“Ladies, I think it best if you give us some space.”
Half an hour later, Augustus was sitting with Amelia in Commissioner Batterbee’s office as the Commissioner attempted to find out how Augustus had got here.
“You… YOU invented it?” Emmeline stammered.
“But how?... I mean, you’re a man. Men don’t do scientific experiments,” she continued. “Men are homemakers, caregivers. Your brains aren’t designed for scientific rational thought.”
Augustus stared at her in confusion and attempted to stand up.
“Madam, I think you’ll find that men are perfectly capable of rational thought.”
“Now, now, dear. Sit down. I do hope you are not one of these so-called Menimists, are you?”
Augustus spluttered “Whattt??”
“Look dear, I know you’ve had a bang to the head. I’m sure it’s confused you. Amelia will have a look at your machine and see if we can get it fixed.”
Emmeline stood up and thrust out her hand. Augustus stretched his hand out and clasped it, shaking it politely.
“If you could just wait outside a moment, I just need to discuss a few things with Amelia here before she takes you to your machine.”
After Augustus had left the room, Emmeline turned to Amelia as she looked at her hand.
“Shaking hands with a man always feels like I’m shaking hands with a child. Don’t you think it seems artificial and vaguely patronising?”
Amelia laughed. “Oh Emmeline, what are we going to do with this man. Do you really think he invented a machine capable of travel to another dimension?”
Emmeline looked pensive. “I don’t know. He must have had a woman’s help somewhere. Find out what you can.”
Augustus ran his eyes over Amelia when she came out of the office. She was tall and strikingly beautiful. She had high cheekbones, smouldering green eyes and bright red lips. Her cropped hair was visible beneath her top hat. He noticed her goggles had a purple tinge on the lenses. She looked efficient, Augustus decided,