Back in Time

Brett had been testing out his time machine for a while. Mostly he’d drop items in, set it for a few minutes in the future and wait. The items would then reappear safe and sound. Feeling quite confident, he decided to use himself as the first human subject. His first mistake was directional. He had intended to go sixty years into the future; instead he went sixty years into the past. Further, to avoid a potential paradox, going back wasn’t quite like going forward. To minimize problems, his body seemed to have vaporized on its way back with his mind and soul inhabiting a person from the past. Rushing to a mirror, his reflection was very familiar. He soon realized it was the face of his own grandmother, except when she was young. The thoughts running through Brett’s head were all over the place. First, he’d have to make a version of his machine here in the past in order to get back. He’d also have to make sure he didn’t take any actions that might undo his own existence! After all, looking at the calendar, he realized his own mother wasn’t even going to be born for another ten months. With a quick calculation in his head, he realized he was going to have to work on a new version of his machine as quickly as possible!