Time Traveller
You thank the sheriff for his offer, but inform him that you really shoudl head back to your town. He grins, thanks you for your help again, and then trudges off to the saloon.
You brush yourself off, raising a cloud of dust, and head for the place where you left the machine. Finding it intact, to your relief, you climb in and punch in the numbers for your time.
There is a lurch and a bump, and you gingerly open the door into the lab. The overseer is standing there smiling, and nothing seems to have changed.
"Did you get the pictures?" He asks, and you nod.
"Yes, I did. I visited the Wild West and had a run in with a few outlaws though. Can you check that it ddn't alter anything?"
The overseer nods and checks his computer. He types and reads for a good few minutes before he turns to you solemnly.
"In this case, nothing has been drastically altered. The outlaws you met would have gone on to make an attack on a small town. They would have all been shot in the attempt. That would have been three days after the time you were there."
"No alterations at all?" you ask.
"Well, a sheriff of that town won't receive the medal he got for defending the town, but that's all the change the computer says. But you should have realised by now to be an observer!"
"Yes sir," you say sheepishly, but then the overseer throws an arm around your shoulders.
"Well, don't worry about it. The experiment was a success! You travelled through time and got pictures to prove it! You're going to be famous! Let's head to the cafeteria!"
You let him lead you from the room, glancing back at the machine and thinking about your adventure.
You brush yourself off, raising a cloud of dust, and head for the place where you left the machine. Finding it intact, to your relief, you climb in and punch in the numbers for your time.
There is a lurch and a bump, and you gingerly open the door into the lab. The overseer is standing there smiling, and nothing seems to have changed.
"Did you get the pictures?" He asks, and you nod.
"Yes, I did. I visited the Wild West and had a run in with a few outlaws though. Can you check that it ddn't alter anything?"
The overseer nods and checks his computer. He types and reads for a good few minutes before he turns to you solemnly.
"In this case, nothing has been drastically altered. The outlaws you met would have gone on to make an attack on a small town. They would have all been shot in the attempt. That would have been three days after the time you were there."
"No alterations at all?" you ask.
"Well, a sheriff of that town won't receive the medal he got for defending the town, but that's all the change the computer says. But you should have realised by now to be an observer!"
"Yes sir," you say sheepishly, but then the overseer throws an arm around your shoulders.
"Well, don't worry about it. The experiment was a success! You travelled through time and got pictures to prove it! You're going to be famous! Let's head to the cafeteria!"
You let him lead you from the room, glancing back at the machine and thinking about your adventure.
