The plot of the science fiction novella, The Time Machine by H.G. Wells revolves around a scientist named the Time Traveller and his adventures on the Time Machine which is a vehicle that can travel backwards and forwards in time. The novella is set in England in the nineteenth century and it has a story-within-the-story which focuses on the Time Traveller’s adventures. It begins with a discussion among a group of gentlemen regarding the nature of time and space. The Time Traveller shows a miniature model of the Time Machine to his friends and demonstrates the way in which it can vanish into space. He also shows them the large Time Machine that he built in his laboratory, and on which he plans to go on a journey through time.
The Time Traveller’s journey on the Time Machine takes him to the future in A.D. 802,701, where he initially meets the Eloi who are a beautiful, warm and friendly people. The environment in the year A.D. 802,701 consists of landscapes and the remains of vast structures of granite and aluminium which is an unusual combination. The Time Traveller saves a beautiful Eloi woman named Weena from drowning while bathing in a stream and they form a close friendship. Later on, the Time Traveller encounters the Morlocks, a savage species that is devoid of humaneness, and resembles the apes and lives underground. The Time Traveller learns that the Morlocks are carnivorous and that they kill the Eloi.
The Time Machine takes the reader on a terrifying journey into the future where a dystopian society of Morlocks seeks to rule and dominate the world. At the end of the novel, Wells explores a possibility which is like a terrifying nightmare, and the only consolation is that it is a work of fiction and scientific imagination.