The Time Machine

"You damned fools, I told you so..." That was what H.G. Wells, a Darwinian biologist, wanted written on his tombstone when he died. It is also one thing worth keeping in mind when reading The Time Machine, the first classic science fiction novel to explore the concept of Time Travel. The story, about a scientist traveling into the future, finds humanity divided into two species with the working poor living underground and feeding on the, previously rich, overground creatures. The message simple and clear, if social justice is not served, eat the rich. Wells had considered the notion of time travel in an earlier short story titled "The Chronic Argonauts," included in this slightly revised edition. William Heinemann, a British publisher, asked Wells if he could develop it into a novel on the same theme. Wells agreed and was paid 100, equal to about $15,000 in today's money, on its publication by Heinemann, in 1895. A single copy of the first Heinemann Edition, in good condition, is currently worth $50,000, so check your attic.