"Герберт Уэллс. The Time Machine (Машина времени, англ.)" - читать интересную книгу автора

be able to stop or accelerate his drift along the Time-Dimension, or even
turn about and travel the other way?'

`Oh, THIS,' began Filby, `is all-'

`Why not?' said the Time Traveller.

`It's against reason,' said Filby.

`What reason?' said the Time Traveller.

`You can show black is white by argument,' said Filby, `but you will
never convince me.'

`Possibly not,' said the Time Traveller. `But now you begin to see the
object of my investigations into the geometry of Four Dimensions. Long ago
I had a vague inkling of a machine-'

`To travel through Time!' exclaimed the Very Young Man.

`That shall travel indifferently in any direction of Space and Time, as
the driver determines.'

Filby contented himself with laughter.

`But I have experimental verification,' said the Time Traveller.

`It would be remarkably convenient for the historian,' the Psychologist
suggested. `One might travel back and verify the accepted account of the
Battle of Hastings, for instance!'

`Don't you think you would attract attention?' said the Medical Man.
`Our ancestors had no great tolerance for anachronisms.'

`One might get one's Greek from the very lips of Homer and Plato,' the
Very Young Man thought.

`In which case they would certainly plough you for the Little-go. The
German scholars have improved Greek so much.'

`Then there is the future,' said the Very Young Man. `Just think! One
might invest all one's money, leave it to accumulate at interest, and hurry
on ahead!'

`To discover a society,' said I, `erected on a strictly communistic
basis.'

`Of all the wild extravagant theories!' began the Psychologist.

`Yes, so it seemed to me, and so I never talked of it until-'