The Time Machine D.P. Beyfuss He flicked a switch and there was a soft hum and the lights dimmed.  He stepped inside, closed the door, set the date and sat for a minute while the second thoughts assaulted him.  The machine hummed softly.  He sat in the orange light inside the machine until his mind felt quiet and then pushed the button.  The orange light turned green and then red and then orange again.  The monitor told him he was there; then, he was then.  He stepped out of the machine cautiously. He was nervous.  The warehouse where he kept the machine was still empty but now it was different in a way he couldn't have explained.  It was different and he just assumed it was the lack of thirteen years that made it different.  He left the warehouse and walked across the bridge to the shopping center.  He went to the coffee shop, ordered a cup of coffee and checked the newspaper.  The machine worked.  He was shocked and terrifed and almost hysterically happy.  There was a brief moment when the possible ramifications of his actions grabbed at his lower intestines and squeezed, but he shook this off and smiled stupidly at everyone in the coffee shop.  He sipped his coffee and let his mind wander down the path he was there (then) to create.  He felt for the notes in his pocket and the cash in his other pocket and a jolt of excitement shook him and made him laugh out loud.  "Ho-Ly Shit", he said to himself, "Ho-Ly fuckin' Shit!"  The waitress heard him giggling and looked at him.  She seemed amused and curious and like she'd seen him before.  "Do I know you", she asked, "You look familiar."  "Like someone you've seen but older", he said, feeling mischievous.  “Yeah...." she said, studying him.  He smiled at her, that same stupid smile and he laughed out loud - like a moron he thought - and then shook his head.  "No, no, I'm just passing through", he said, "Just passing through.  "I'm just waiting for the bus", he said, "I'm on my way to the airport."  "Where you going?", she asked and noticed his face light up and the big stupid smile turn bigger, and stupider.  "Texas", he said dreamily, like it was some magical place, "I'm going to Texas."