The young inventor had always had an unhealthy interest in terrorism.
So, when he had finally perfected his hand-held time transporter, it seemed perfectly natural that he should want to return to some of the more exciting moments to witness them first hand. He was thrilled by events that most would find repulsive. This being the case, it came about that he, a twenty-something genius, programmed his device to do just that. The tiny dial that was designed to rotate anti-clockwise and send him into the past, sat on the upper black dot representing present time. Although this control was not marked up with any great accuracy, it would, he felt, find events based on the microchip’s programming. As a result of this, he started his journey into these past events by rotating the knob very slowly.
Swish! He’d been jettisoned back several years. Pakistan, December 16, 2014, the Peshawar school attack. Taliban gunmen were attacking a school. He remembered the event, with government troops ending the siege, but not before 141 people died. He stood watching from a distance. He got a kick out of watching, but didn’t feel completely safe, so he tweaked the dial.
Swish again. He recognised it immediately. He was in Norway, it was July 22, 2011. These were the Norway attacks. 8 Died in the Oslo bombing and 69 on the nearby island of Utoya. When he’d seen enough, he turned the dial.
With a flash, he was in Mumbai. It was November 26, 2008. Buildings were being stormed by a terrorist group. These attacks would kill 164 people. He was fascinated. After a while, he moved on.
Instantly, he was there for the Delhi Blasts, October 29, 2005. Bombs placed in bags in busy places, killing 67 people. He had hardly touched the control when he jumped back just a few more months.
Suddenly, he was there for the London Bombings, July 7, 2005. Four suicide bombers, rucksacks with explosives. He knew that shortly after this came more bomb attacks on the 21st, targeting the city’s transport system, with 52 dying. He was enthralled with the sight of so much chaos. He made another adjustment.
Madrid now, the train bombings, March 11, 2004. Coordinated bombings against the commuter train system. Leaving 192 people dead. He just watched, with no thought given to the misery unfolding. Tweak.
Istanbul, November 15, 2003, with more coming five days later. Four truck bomb attacks, 57 dead. Another tweak.
Moscow, the Dubrovka Theatre Siege, October 23, 2002. Rebels storming a theatre with a two-and-a-half day siege to follow, killing 170 people. Tweak again.
Now, the United States. The World Trade Centre attack in New York, September 11, 2001. An extremist group hijacking passenger planes and flying them into the towers of the World Trade Centre, leaving 2,996 people dead. Whereas, most people would find his interest in such things to be prurient, he was enjoying himself immensely.
It was then, although well back from the action, he became aware of a great wall of dark grey dust sweeping towards him. He had to move quickly, but in his panic, he fumbled with the device. Dialling back to present time as soon as possible, he had twisted the control around to the stop, but held on to it for several seconds. If he’d only had the presence of mind to look at his tiny screen before it went blank, he would know what year it was. Looking around, he realised that he was somewhere he’d never been before. It was not a country he recognised. Was this in fact still planet Earth?
All he knew was, somehow his programming had brought him here. He found himself looking up at the entrance of the Museum of Terrorist History. He entered and was pleased to find that the lady at the front desk spoke English. Nevertheless, he had no idea what country he was in. Strolling around looking at the artefacts, only a few of which he recognised, his attention was drawn to the labels. Considering the fact that he was looking at the past, everything technological was, well, so extremely advanced! It had all gone way passed the science of digital technology. Not only that, the dates they showed were simply unbelievable! He was no longer in the twenty-first century, but had been shot forward some one hundred and fifty odd years!
Outside again and in a daze, he looked down at his screen. It was blank. His three little batteries were obviously flat. He had enquiries to make. He went back inside and spoke first to the woman at the desk, who seemed not to understand him at all, then the curator. After a fruitless conversation with him, he found himself outside again; this time sitting on the steps.
He was slowly coming to terms with the fact that the one thing he could be really sure about was the knowledge that he had absolutely no chance of buying a ‘triple A’ battery any time soon!