Synchronized Time and Age
Next evening, I went to Doc’s laboratory. Unusually, Doc was not doing an experiment. Rather, he was counting a wad of bills.
“I can’t imagine how much it costs to go to the medical school hospital by taxi.”
Then we were to go to fifty years in the future. And Doc set the date and time of the Time Age Machine that we promised with Arisa. So we got in the Machine and Doc pushed the start button. But soon after that, we heard a bang and the Machine stopped. Then we smelled something burning.
“Oh my god! The Machine might short-circuit. Ichiro, you can fix it!”
“Well, you invented it, Doc!”
“But you fixed it!”
So I went to the back of the Machine to find a burnt plastic cover. Then I removed the cover and found a fuse, which seemed to be blown off as before. I told Doc and he fetched a new fuse. So I asked,
“How many amps?”
“Thirty.”
“It’s too small. It should be fifty since we are going fifty years in the future!”
“Well, you still talk big to a great physicist!”
“I’m tired of hearing the same stories so often! And apart from a great physicist or not, it should be fifty. We should have some safety margin!”
“OK. I understand. You are a great physicist too.”
Saying so, Doc grabbed a fuse rated fifty amps and put it in the fuse box. Then the Machine operated quite normally once again. So we got in the Machine and Doc set the date and time again and pushed the start button. At this time, the Machine seemed to operate quite normally at first. But when we looked at the mirror in the Machine, we found we were becoming older and older just as though the Time Machine and the Age Machine were synchronized!
“Oh my god!” Doc shouted. “Something is still wrong!”
“What do you mean?”
“Time and Age is synchronized now. So we will be fifty years older when we reach fifty years in the future!”
“Wow! You will be one hundred and fifteen!”
“Let’s push the emergency shutdown switch!”
Saying so, Doc pushed the switch again and again but it didn’t stop. Doc said, “The switch doesn’t work. Perhaps it won’t stop until fifty years later!”
“Oh, no!”
“You know how to operate the Machine, don’t you, Ichiro?”
“Well, yes. I’ve seen you operate it.”
“Ok, good…”
And as soon as he said so, I found his face becoming older and older as if he was going to die. His hair began to fall out steadily, his body hunched over, his face wrinkled and when the Machine went through thirty years in the future, Doc said looking at me,
“You...must...get...the...medicine...for...his...mother...”
So I replied “Yes.” and as soon as I spoke, Doc fell down on the floor of the machine and in an instant, he was reduced to ashes. And after a while the Machine stopped.
