The Reluctant Chrononaut: Reluctant Chrononaut Adventures by Lindsay Petersen

Author:Lindsay Petersen [Petersen, Lindsay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-02-08T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THREE

“What do you suppose we’ll find?” asked Johnny as he spooned massive portions onto his plate.

“Well, that’s what we’re going to discover, isn’t it, young man? The whole point of exploring is finding the unexpected; if one knows in advance what he’ll find there’s hardly a reason to explore,” said Wells around a mouthful of sautéed fish.

“Non, disagree I must! Even having expectations and learning them confirmed is an aspect essential to the progress of, of, Progress! The theories, the hypotheses, these are all very well and good, but confirmation must be obtained. Regard, for how long were Aristotle’s theories accepted as Truth, but once they were subjected to the tests and analyses mankind learned that, merde, we had been journeying on the path wrong, the mauvais sens.”

Harris put in, “Speaking for myself, I reckon that half the paths I’ve gone down have seemed ‘wrong’ at first, and half of those turned out right, leastways that’s how I see them now. And it’s the same way with the paths that seemed ‘right’ at first, but t’other way ‘round.”

“Yes, well, every saint has a past – and every sinner a future,” put in Wilde. “I believe that it is the wrong paths, the seeming errors, that bring us to eventual epiphany.”

“So we may hold out hope for you yet, Oscar?” asked Hillyer. “It was you that said, I believe, we are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars? I fear that an ego as great as yours must suffer a truly cataclysmic downfall before it learns true humility.”

“I believe it already has,” muttered Harris.

“If one desires to know the true man, give him a mask to hide behind. My mask was shattered,” he shrugged. “For my future, I intend to write plays and tales -- as Sebastian Melmoth.”

Hillyer’s brows raised and he was about to respond but Aronnax interrupted. “Messieurs, Madame Docteur, I wish not to pursue another wrong path in our conversation. Young man, you asked what we suppose we will find.

“Young man, for myself, I believe we shall discover the underland passage that connects the Loch Ness to the Loch Linnhe. There will be confirmed by the freshwater current mixing with the seawater at the passage’s outlet, before which I believe we awaited … before. Further in the passage we shall find freshwater creatures of a variety unguessed at, except by me, including new species …”

“…Even genera I should not doubt,” interjected Conseil.

“…even genera as my assistant has suggested. Fluorescence and grotesque morphology will be the rule, not the exception!”

“Are you counting ‘Nessie’ as a new genus, then?” winked Harris.

“It is possible that the beast has already been classified by the paleontologists. It is not inconceivable that it is a plesiosaur, of the long-necked suborder Plesiosauroidea or the shorter-necked Pliosauroidea,” opined Conseil.

Shaking his head, Hillyer said, “One hardly knows what to say when it is the scientist members of a group who propose the most fanciful theories. Yes, yes, I knew in

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