Plot:
The Philosopher is out walking up the slate steps up Academy Hill, as she frequently does when puzzling out problems. The path circles the school so she can pace it for hours if need be.
A call to wait up comes from the Artisan.
“Well, keep up,” the Philosopher grumbles. The Philosopher despises the Artisan as a “flipper of rocks” who has no respect for deep thought.
The Artisan holds a metal cylinder, which he refers to as a precision instrument, a real time machine. He wants to make sure he’s dialed it in right. “Yeah, it’s ugly, a shakedown cruise. But it works. It’s a genuine time machine.”
He continues, explaining how it works, telling the skeptical Philosopher, “You’re great at dismembering the universe, but you couldn’t assemble a tricycle.”
Thoughts:
Author Andy Tubbesing gives the reader a cute and lively depiction of tension between the practical and theoretical sciences. The Philosopher and the Artisan get carried away in their own little worlds to notice a bigger picture of what’s going on. They discuss paradoxes of time travel: what would happen if a time traveler accidentally killed his own grandfather?
This is a cute little tale, told with some humor. It doesn’t take itself seriously and is a pleasant read. The only drawback is the ending, which is predictable from a mile away. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading this.
Bio:
According to his blurb, author Andy Tubbesing writes and paints in rural Ohio. Among his visual inspiration are “Bruegel (the elder), Wyeth (the eldest), and Wood (both Grant and Wally).”His literary influences include “Bradbury, Dunsany, and the guy who wrote Beowulf.”
Title: “Tenure”
Author: Andy Tubbesing
First published: Daily Science Fiction, December 2, 2019
The story can be read here.
Reviews of Old and New Stories. Mostly Old 