The Time Machine

The Time Traveller, a scientist from the late 19th century, explains to his dinner guests his theory that time is the fourth dimension. To prove his point, he unveils a model of a machine that can travel through time. The model vanishes, convincing some but not all of his friends. The next week, the Time Traveller returns from a journey, disheveled and exhausted, claiming to have traveled into the future. He recounts his experiences: arriving in the year 802,701 AD, he finds humanity has evolved into two distinct species: the graceful, childlike Eloi who live on the surface, and the subterranean, ape-like Morlocks who are carnivorous and fear the light. Initially, he lives among the Eloi, enjoying their idyllic existence and forming a bond with a young woman named Weena. However, he soon discovers the Eloi are essentially livestock for the Morlocks, who emerge at night to prey on them. His Time Machine is stolen and hidden within the pedestal of a large white sphinx. He ventures into the underground world of the Morlocks to retrieve it, narrowly escaping their clutches and witnessing their brutal nature. He realizes the Eloi's complacency and dependence on the Morlocks for survival has led to their degeneration. A catastrophic forest fire, which he inadvertently starts while fleeing the Morlocks, results in Weena's death. He eventually retrieves his Time Machine and travels into the far future, witnessing the Earth's dying days, the sun growing immense and red, and the planet succumbing to ice and darkness. He then returns to his own time, narrowly escaping the Morlocks one last time. Back in his laboratory, he attempts to prove his journey to his skeptical friends, but the Time Machine vanishes again, and the Time Traveller himself disappears, presumably on another journey, leaving his friends and the narrator to ponder the incredible events.