How to Buy a Time Machine

by StrugglingWriter

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Sam was having a crummy day, a lackluster week, and a downright disappointing life. His girlfriend broke up with him, his car broke down again, and his project at work could most optimistically be described as stalled. As Sam thought of what he said to Amy, his stomach ached with regret. Maybe his mother was right: think before you speak.

“At least I have Ficlets,” Sam thought, settling behind the desk in his home office. Not much of a writer himself, Sam enjoyed browsing the stories on the site, vowing to one day work up the courage to post.

As always, Sam began by searching the tag “Time Travel”. The notion of time as a road, able to be navigated from beginning to ending in much the same way his Neon traveled the turnpike, had always excited him.

As he was about to click on the most recent story, something in the “Sponsored Links” box caught his eye. The Ad Title said “Time Travel Machines” and the text read “Whatever you’re looking for you can get it on eBay”.

Curious, Sam clicked the link.

Prequels

Write a prequel

Sequels

Write a sequel

Comments

Average Reader Rating: 4.0 stars out of 5

  1. How to Buy a Time Machine

    StrugglingWriter's Buddy Icon StrugglingWriter

    Posted about 1 year ago

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    Note: This was inspired by a search I did on Ficlets yesterday for the tag “Time Travel”. The sponsored links did indeed contain a link to “Time Travel Machines” on eBay. I thought it would make an interesting story.

  2. How to Buy a Time Machine

    Tintin's Buddy Icon Tintin

    Posted about 1 year ago

    3.0 out of 5 stars

    I like how it is open ended both ways. Lots of room to play with.

  3. How to Buy a Time Machine

    StrugglingWriter's Buddy Icon StrugglingWriter

    Posted about 1 year ago

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    Thanks Tintin. I would like to see a sequel or prequel.

  4. How to Buy a Time Machine

    Pockets' Buddy Icon Pockets

    Posted about 1 year ago

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    I liked how the character has lots of issues time travel could resolve. I wish I could have gotten further into that in the sequel I wrote, but alas, thwarted by the character limit.

  5. How to Buy a Time Machine

    Rachel Swirsky's Buddy Icon Rachel Swirsky

    Posted about 1 year ago

    3.0 out of 5 stars

    The prose here has a nice rhythm and openness, but the metafictional concept of the writer entering the story doesn’t really work for me.

    As others mentioned, though, it is nicely open-ended, and that may be a more important trait for the form.

  6. How to Buy a Time Machine

    Rachel Swirsky's Buddy Icon Rachel Swirsky

    Posted about 1 year ago

    3.0 out of 5 stars

    The prose here has a nice rhythm and openness, but the metafictional concept of the writer entering the story doesn’t really work for me.

    As others mentioned, though, it is nicely open-ended, and that may be a more important trait for the form.

  7. How to Buy a Time Machine

    User 1547's Buddy Icon User 1547

    Posted about 1 year ago

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    lol….i once was doing a search on nuclear reactors (research) and got “looking for U-235, U-238, Enriched Uranium, and Fission Control rods? Find whatever you need on EBay!” in the sponsored links page of google.

  8. How to Buy a Time Machine

    FlirtingWithaBrickWall's Buddy Icon FlirtingWithaBrickWall

    Posted about 1 year ago

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    pretty awesome, here’s to hoping my sequel did it justice

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