The Eye in Time

It was a Sunday afternoon. We had eaten a delicious roast dinner prepared by the Professor’s staff, and retired to the library. We sat in our customary seats, and glasses of brandy and whisky were distributed among the guests.

Suitably nourished, and with minds lubricated by alcohol, we were ready for our usual weekly pasttime. Our host, the Professor, stood dramatically with his hand resting on the mantel, staring into the flames below.

“Gentlemen, I would like you to consider this proposal. That, in addition to three dimensions of space, there are also three dimensions of time.”

He paused, then looked at the faces around him to see how his guests reacted. The Colonel made a sort of coughing sound, then studiously swirlled his brandy.

“Your thoughts, Colonel?”

“Load of nonsense, if you ask me. Scientific mumbo-jumbo. What good is it?”

“It may surprise you. Any other thoughts?”

The Mathematician straightened himself up, hands clasped behind his back. “It has long been accepted that Minkowski Space, with three dimensions of space and one of time, is far too simplistic. M-Theory suggests there are ten or eleven dimensions. How does your theory relate to that?”

“You misunderstand. I did not say it was a theory. I state it as a fact. Gentlemen, let me draw your attention to the screen at the back of the room. What do you see?”

The Reporter glanced quickly at it. “It’s a view of this room. What of it?”

“From which vantage point, sir?”

The Reporter examined the picture, then the room. He began to look more and more puzzled, checking and rechecking the picture. “Where is your camera? It has to be here somewhere.”

“There is no camera as such, The image comes from the machine in the basement. Now, watch this.” The Professor went to a console and made a few adjustments. The image changed. It was almost dark.

“Colonel, would you reach into your left jacket pocket?”

The Colonel did so and, on the screen, they saw the pocket open and fingers appear. “What the devil?” The Colonel fished around in his pocket, trying to find a camera.

“Let’s take this to the next level.” The Professor’s fingers flew around the console interface, and the image changed again.

“That’s us.”

“Look closer. For instance, examine the Chesterfield.”

“Then this image comes from..”

“...Last month, when our Politician friend was here. And now...”

The picture was no longer the library, but the high street. There was something strange about the view. It sank in when they realised how many cars were Ford Cortinas and Morris Oxfords. Somehow, they were looking at the town as it was in the Seventies.

“What, exactly, is going on here, Professor?”

“Well, we are used to moving relatively easily in three dimensions of space, but we can only move in one dimension of time, and that in a single direction. My viewer makes use of a dimension of time that is perpendicular to the time dimension we know. Using it, I can view any place and any time.”

“Surely, this is a trick. I am well aware of the theories. I have a computer model of Calabi-Yau that I use in my lectures. What you are claiming here, though, goes well beyond the theoretical.”

“Indeed it does. And I now offer you a challenge. Name anywhere in space and time, and I will show it.”

“Very well,” The Reporter said, “What about the assassination of John F Kennedy?”

The Professor smiled, made a few changes, and there was the motorcade coming through Dallas. They saw the shot, saw the President die. Then the Professor froze the picture, zoomed closer until they could see the bullet’s entry point. Then he reversed the apparent flow of time. They followed the path of the bullet back...back...until.

“Well, I’ll be...!”

“So that’s what happened.”

After a pause, the Mathematician posed his challenge. “Show us this planet fifty million years ago.”

Another smile from the Professor, and he set the controls.

“Well, Professor?”

“I don’t understand it.”

“Yes, the screen appears to be blank. Is this in a cave at night?”

“No. There should be something. Let’s move forward to one million years ago.”

“Still blank, Professor. Try something more recent. Say, five thousand years ago.”

The screen sprang to life. The view was of a forest. Birds flew through the air, and a wolf roamed among the trees.

“OK, go back to ten thousand years.”

Again, the screen went black.

The Professor checked the view every hundred years. It was still blank, until they reached about six thousand years.

On the screen, clearly displayed, was a message:-

STAGE 5 OF 7. INSTALLATION 75% COMPLETE. PLEASE WAIT.