To Whom This May Concern
By (time traveler)

I wanted to start writing down my adventures. I have been traveling for quite a while and I am not sure if I will ever make it or want to make it home. The writings in this journal are for anyone that finds them. I am alone now and if I do not make it back to my time, I wanted to document these adventures for future reference. Awoken by drips of cold dew running down my face, my eyes slowly begin to open and the bright sunlight began to sting my eyes. My body started to adjust to the light and I sat up. I see a blurred silhouette of a gentleman in the clearing ahead. Where am I? I whispered these words a few times as I stumbled to the clearing where the man was sitting. When I reached my destination, I could see that the man was wearing raggedy clothing, he must be a homeless man, I thought to myself. The man looked like he was in his mid to upper forties. I spoke a few words to the older gentleman, but my attempt seemed to go unnoticed. I then raised my voice and introduced myself, “Hello sir, my name is Eric.” I startled the stranger and he started speaking in a language unfamiliar to me. He sprung to his feet and quickly sped off. I followed him for about one half mile, having to jog to keep up with his pace. After nearly catching up to him we had reached some sort of stone formation. The homeless looking man made his way into the area, and I continued to follow him. When we got closer to the rock formation I noticed a crevice or cave of some sort. The man went inside, and I cautiously followed. As I entered the scarcely lit cave I noticed lots of drawings on the inside walls. I remember reading about paintings like these. I could point out pictures of horses, rhinos, men gathering and hunting, and also a picture of a man with a bird’s head. There were paintings of woman and children and most of the paintings were made out of a red clay type material. The paintings looked so primitive; they would have definitely passed as paintings from 13,000 BCE. I seemed to have lost the man I was following because he was nowhere to be found. He must have made his way into the back of the cave, I could not see past the area that the sun lit up. All of a sudden I heard several voices headed in my direction and they were getting closer and closer. I quickly exited the cave to find a safer place to hide, where I could see my surroundings better. I could see seven men including the man I had seen earlier exiting the cave shortly after I did. All of the men were carrying spears and a knife made from stone on their belts. I immediately ran for my life, heading in the direction from which I came. The men seen me and started chasing me. Luckily I had a head start because they were much faster than I had expected. As I reached the clearing, I searched for a place to hide. I ran to the area where I woke up, but I could not find anything that would hide me. Struggling to find a place to hide, I finally noticed some large bushes on the other side of a small hill. I dove into the brush and hit my head on something that I had not spotted earlier. There stood a metal contraption, a machine of some kind. The men were very close to me now and I had no choice but to enter the machine and close the door behind me. My heart was racing while my eyes were adjusting to the almost pure darkness and I could see several buttons covering the dashboard. The men were at my position now and I could hear the spears poking and prodding the outside of the vessel. Fearing for my life, I begin pushing buttons, led lights started flickering, and other lights started illuminating. Frantically, I pushed button after button until I heard the machine start up and the motor started to rumble. I paused for a second and could still hear the men outside. A noise started to get louder and louder and the next thing I know a bright light flashed and all was silent.
I sat silently still and could hear nothing. I gathered up the courage to open the door and peek outside. Oddly enough there was not a soul outside, but I noticed I was not in the brush anymore. The terrain seems different from before. I closed the door and decided to investigate the contraption that saved my life. I looked around the interior of the vehicle and found a manual with sticky notes on several pages. I started reading some of the notes. IF YOU START FORGETTING THINGS, READ THIS; PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE DATE-O-METER, ENTER COORDINATES/DATE, TOO MANY JUMPS COULD CAUSE MEMORY LOSS. I sat for many hours reading the manual and the many notes inside. This was a time machine! How in the hell did I end up in a faraway land with a time machine? Some of the notes explained some of these questions to me. I had acquired a time machine and was looking for a new place to start a new life. I’m not exactly sure what happened to me previously, but it must have been tragic. I exited the craft to get some fresh air. When I turned to face north there was a large structure 100 yards away. I stood in front of this monument, which could only be described as magnificent. I recognized the craftsmanship right away; it was Stonehenge, a beautiful arrangement that always intrigued me. This formation was actually known as a cromlech, and had become the most famous one ever discovered. The structure is believed to have been a sort of burial ground, but I did not see any evidence of human life around it. Stonehenge looked as if it were just built within the last 10 years. I cannot believe I am in the time that this megalithic structure was created. After several hours of gawking at the structure and the scenery surrounding it, I decided it was best to move on. I changed the dial on the date-o-meter and chose a latitude and longitude, and started the time machine’s motor. The metal beast once again drifted me off on another adventure.
When the machine stopped I cautiously opened the door and noticed a crowd of people carrying a coffin like structure. The crowd was walking towards, what looked like a tomb or a burial ground. I could see soldiers, slaves and even dignitaries. A few workers were even carrying a litter and I caught a glimpse of the shiny gold object which lay upon it. I grabbed my binoculars to get a closer look. I could not believe my eyes! The object on the litter was not just any object; it was the funeral mask of King Tutankhamen. I had seen so many pictures and read about the young king and the many priceless antiquities that were buried with him, but none as unforgettable as the mask. King Tut was believed to be the son of Akhenaten, and upon his father’s death became king. He died at the age of 19 and only ruled for ten years. There are many speculations as to how he died, but no one knows for sure. The time machine must have taken me to Egypt's Valley of the Kings, located near the Nile River across from the ancient city of Thebes. This desolate place is where the king was laid to rest, but it was not discovered until 1923 by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon. As I stare in amazement, I did not realize my presence had alarmed a dozen armed soldiers. They quickly headed in my direction, defending their king, even after his death. I regrettably had to make myself scarce, before any harm came to me or the machine.
The time was 700 CE and I found myself in a deep forest surrounded by trees. I ventured out a quarter mile from the time machine, to see what the land had to offer. As the trees started to thin out, I found myself staring at a thriving city. There were incredibly large stone buildings and monuments that resembled pyramids. Thankfully I took humanities in college and recognized the city right away. The city of Palenque was believed to have been the most important city in the Mayan civilization. Historians also believe that the city was home to around 100,000 citizens. As I look upon the city, these estimations seem to be true. There were thousands of people walking around, performing chores and daily activities; it was truly an amazing spectacle. I could see a beautiful building which could only be the Temple of Inscriptions; this building was erected over the tomb of King Pakal. It became clear to me how this city became deserted, there were so many people here, and it seemed very overpopulated. I remember reading about the many hardships the Mayans had to deal with. Food, land, and resources are a few of the things these people had to fight for because other civilizations needed to survive too. I walked around the city relatively unnoticed, the occasional sneer made me feel uncomfortable. I decided to head back to my time machine before anything drastic happened.
When the machine came to a halt I found myself focused on a massive white marble structure. There was no doubt in my mind that the building was the Taj Mahal. This beautiful building was constructed by Shah Jahan, as a mausoleum. Jahan dedicated the tomb to his beloved wife, who died giving birth to their fourteenth child. The area surrounding the Taj Mahal is majestic, covered with trees, gardens and pools. I could see the reflection of the great white building in the big pools in front. The aroma of sweet flowers filled the air and the brilliant colors of the varieties of fruit trees mesmerized anyone passing through. Time passed so quickly, I felt so at peace viewing this brilliant work of art. Several hours had past yet time seemed to stand still. I stayed a bit longer and then made my way back to the time machine. When I reached the machine I noticed the door ajar. Suddenly, I heard a loud noise and clattering around inside. I silently crept to the door to try and peek inside. As I slowly opened the door, something forcefully pushed open the door and threw me to the ground. A mountain lion had found its way into my machine and as quickly as he appeared, he disappeared. I dragged myself back to my feet and headed inside. I first noticed the broken glass on the date-o-meter and it was completely illegible. As I investigated the damage further I noticed the chair was torn up, there were scratches where the beast had mauled, and then I noticed the manual was torn to shreds. I will definitely have a hard time getting back home after this attack. I cleaned up the mess and fixed what I could, before heading to my next destination.
I arrived at my next stop, and the machine seemed to work just fine. The time period I am in is a mystery now, but I’m sure everything will be alright. After a few minutes of investigation, I was able to judge the time period I was visiting. The Great Wall of China under construction gave me the clue I needed. I could see hundreds of slaves building this massive land mark. The people looked like little ants building a colony. The wall was constructed under the authority of Zhu Yuanzhang, he enlisted thousands of workers to reinforce and connect partial walls that were already constructed. The Ming emperors feared that the Mongols would reinvade them, so they constructed the wall to protect themselves from a northern invasion. I marveled at every aspect of this creation and could not believe this was created without machinery. I wandered around for a while and I could see the Forbidden City with my binoculars, what a marvel. Historians say the city is walled by fifteen miles of fortifications and is composed of 9,999 buildings and rooms. The number nine was a positive number to the Chinese because in their language nine sounds like the word “everlasting.” I watched the events taking place for a while and then I departed. All these adventures were very informative and allowed me to see things that were only speculative. Being able to visit these times of the past enhanced my feelings of living in that time. The inventions of today are very unique and intriguing, but, what if you we had to do everything on our own, without machines. I had always wondered what life would be like without all the gadgets and gizmos that made every day so much easier. Would it be so bad to have to grow your own vegetables? Raise your own animals? I started thinking to myself, how long have I been doing this? Ok, I’m starting to talk to myself a little too much here.
I decided to find an area where I could be alone. After several time jumps I finally found a secluded area, with animals, fruits and vegetables, a babbling brook and plenty of trees. I decided it was here that I was going to write my journal entries from the experiences within the last two days. I had visited many areas before I started writing down in this journal. I was always so afraid if this book fell into the wrong hands, it could have detrimental consequences. I thought about the past, or was it the future? This time traveling is really screwing up my head.
After several hours of writing in my journal I drifted off to sleep. I was awoken by a poke on my shoulder and someone saying “Eric, wake up!” I must have dozed off during lecture in Humanities and Tara, my instructor was quick to let me know.