Ｄｏｃ Ｈａｓ Ｉｎｖｅｎｔｅｄ Ａｔ Ｌａｓｔ！
文字数 4,689文字
On July 19th, Doc called me in excitement.
“Hey Ichiro, I’ve invented something really works!”
Since he hates mobile phones and things like that, we always communicate using radio i.e. walky-talky. These were also his invention, looked very much like mobile phones. It’s because he remodeled a pair of mobile phones to walky-talky. And one of them is on the desk in my room. When it rings I know it’s Doc, though the sound is not so cool.
Because I’d heard him say, “I’ve invented something really works!” again and again, I thought at first, it had to be something so stupid. But since it was the day before summer vacation and I was completely free, I decided to go and see that was ‘something really works’. So I arrived at Doc’s house on my bike and went into the laboratory to find a big box. And beside the box stood Doc who was very excited and said,
“This is the Time Age Machine!”
“The Time so and so Machine? So what?”
Then I looked at the big box carefully once again. There was a curtain covering nearly one third of the front side and it seemed I could get in. On the remaining two thirds of the front side was an instruments panel with a lot of meters and switches. And I immediately understood that it had to be an elaborate machine. Then, Doc said, “This really is a fantastic machine and it took many years to complete. Well, why don’t you get in?”
So I opened the curtain and gingerly went into it.
“There is only a mirror and a chair, Doc.”
Then I sat on the chair and closed the curtain.
“I guess we can take passport ID photos or something like that.”
“Keep on watching the mirror and you will really see a serious sit!”
“Really?”
“So how old are you?”
“How old? Well I’m seventeen. I’m a high school sophomore. So what?”
“Then, tell me any number from zero to sixteen.”
“Zero to sixteen, why?”
”Just tell me!”
“Uh, fifteen.”
“Fifteen? It’s unsatisfactory!”
“Unsatisfactory? Then make it ten.”
“Why you are so passive? You must be more daring!”
“More daring? What do you mean?"
"Hold your tongue!"
"Okey…, well…, it's seven.”
“Well it must be…, it must be five!”
“You should have decided the number!”
“Hold your tongue! Now I guarantee, you will be thoroughly astonished. Keep watching the mirror carefully in front of you!”
Saying so, Doc seemed to be operating many kinds of switches or knobs, and finally said,
“OK. Five. Perfect! Now, keep on watching the mirror. And you will see a…”
“OK, OK. I know that. I will be astonished. You've told me! Well, does smoke or something appear?”
Then he switched it on. So the Machine began to zoom. And soon after that, I felt slightly warm, slight tickling, mild pain, ecstasy and parts of my skin began to wobble! Anyhow, it was a feeling very difficult to explain.
Then all of a sudden, my whole body became smaller and smaller and my face became younger and younger, as the machine worked. And within a minute I became as young as a junior high school boy, elementary school boy and of course I became shorter and shorter. When I was as short as an early elementary school boy, I was too short to see the mirror. So I stood up on the chair. And still I kept on becoming younger and younger and became as young as a 1st grade student before becoming a 5 year old. Then the Machine seemed to stop. And I heard his voice from outside.
“Well, I’ve made you into a five-year old boy! How about that?”
I was thoroughly astonished and stood still on the chair. My clothes were too big for me. Then I opened the curtain and said,
“What’s happened to me? Wow! Is that my voice?”
“Of course, yes. It’s the voice when you were five years old.”
“Five years old? Are you kidding? What on earth has happened to me?”
“I told you it’s the Time Age Machine. And I’ve just showed you the function of the Age Machine.”
“Age Machine?”
“Exactly. This Machine has changed you to a five year-old boy and now you see, this Machine really works!”
“Yes. Yes. It’s really tremendous! So congratulations, Doc! But I can’t go to school when I'm a five-year old.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll soon be back to your age. Well, you are seventeen years old, aren’t you?”
“Well yes. I’m seventeen years and three months. I was born in April.”
Then Doc said “OK.” and closed the curtain once again, switched on something outside and the Machine began to zoom as before, so I'd changed back to my age. Then I opened the curtain and said,
“Unreal! By the way, can I be at any age?
“Preciously.”
“Even a hundred years old?”
“It might be, but you’d better not.”
“Why?”
“You might be ashes.”
“Wow, it’s dangerous! But it’s fantastic. We can be at any age!”
“Exactly!”
“By the way, you said this is the Time Age Machine. So I guess it must be a Time Machine too.”
“Hey Ichiro, I’ve invented something really works!”
Since he hates mobile phones and things like that, we always communicate using radio i.e. walky-talky. These were also his invention, looked very much like mobile phones. It’s because he remodeled a pair of mobile phones to walky-talky. And one of them is on the desk in my room. When it rings I know it’s Doc, though the sound is not so cool.
Because I’d heard him say, “I’ve invented something really works!” again and again, I thought at first, it had to be something so stupid. But since it was the day before summer vacation and I was completely free, I decided to go and see that was ‘something really works’. So I arrived at Doc’s house on my bike and went into the laboratory to find a big box. And beside the box stood Doc who was very excited and said,
“This is the Time Age Machine!”
“The Time so and so Machine? So what?”
Then I looked at the big box carefully once again. There was a curtain covering nearly one third of the front side and it seemed I could get in. On the remaining two thirds of the front side was an instruments panel with a lot of meters and switches. And I immediately understood that it had to be an elaborate machine. Then, Doc said, “This really is a fantastic machine and it took many years to complete. Well, why don’t you get in?”
So I opened the curtain and gingerly went into it.
“There is only a mirror and a chair, Doc.”
Then I sat on the chair and closed the curtain.
“I guess we can take passport ID photos or something like that.”
“Keep on watching the mirror and you will really see a serious sit!”
“Really?”
“So how old are you?”
“How old? Well I’m seventeen. I’m a high school sophomore. So what?”
“Then, tell me any number from zero to sixteen.”
“Zero to sixteen, why?”
”Just tell me!”
“Uh, fifteen.”
“Fifteen? It’s unsatisfactory!”
“Unsatisfactory? Then make it ten.”
“Why you are so passive? You must be more daring!”
“More daring? What do you mean?"
"Hold your tongue!"
"Okey…, well…, it's seven.”
“Well it must be…, it must be five!”
“You should have decided the number!”
“Hold your tongue! Now I guarantee, you will be thoroughly astonished. Keep watching the mirror carefully in front of you!”
Saying so, Doc seemed to be operating many kinds of switches or knobs, and finally said,
“OK. Five. Perfect! Now, keep on watching the mirror. And you will see a…”
“OK, OK. I know that. I will be astonished. You've told me! Well, does smoke or something appear?”
Then he switched it on. So the Machine began to zoom. And soon after that, I felt slightly warm, slight tickling, mild pain, ecstasy and parts of my skin began to wobble! Anyhow, it was a feeling very difficult to explain.
Then all of a sudden, my whole body became smaller and smaller and my face became younger and younger, as the machine worked. And within a minute I became as young as a junior high school boy, elementary school boy and of course I became shorter and shorter. When I was as short as an early elementary school boy, I was too short to see the mirror. So I stood up on the chair. And still I kept on becoming younger and younger and became as young as a 1st grade student before becoming a 5 year old. Then the Machine seemed to stop. And I heard his voice from outside.
“Well, I’ve made you into a five-year old boy! How about that?”
I was thoroughly astonished and stood still on the chair. My clothes were too big for me. Then I opened the curtain and said,
“What’s happened to me? Wow! Is that my voice?”
“Of course, yes. It’s the voice when you were five years old.”
“Five years old? Are you kidding? What on earth has happened to me?”
“I told you it’s the Time Age Machine. And I’ve just showed you the function of the Age Machine.”
“Age Machine?”
“Exactly. This Machine has changed you to a five year-old boy and now you see, this Machine really works!”
“Yes. Yes. It’s really tremendous! So congratulations, Doc! But I can’t go to school when I'm a five-year old.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll soon be back to your age. Well, you are seventeen years old, aren’t you?”
“Well yes. I’m seventeen years and three months. I was born in April.”
Then Doc said “OK.” and closed the curtain once again, switched on something outside and the Machine began to zoom as before, so I'd changed back to my age. Then I opened the curtain and said,
“Unreal! By the way, can I be at any age?
“Preciously.”
“Even a hundred years old?”
“It might be, but you’d better not.”
“Why?”
“You might be ashes.”
“Wow, it’s dangerous! But it’s fantastic. We can be at any age!”
“Exactly!”
“By the way, you said this is the Time Age Machine. So I guess it must be a Time Machine too.”
