The Magic Elixir Ch. 01

This tale is based on the short story "The New Accelerator", written in 1901 by H.G. Wells. Wells' characters and the basic scientific premise have been used here but in a much altered form. Much of Wells' literary output is available online, and it is well worth reading some of the lesser-known short stories. Though the style and language seems rather antique to us now, many of the ideas are still fresh.

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Think of this as a confession, if you will, or an explanation if you are more charitable. You may have read the little story about me and my good friend Professor Gibberne that I wrote many years ago. The times being what they were I could not, of course, relate the whole of it. And many remarkable things came to pass afterwards, so I have set my mind to telling the whole of it so far. Forgive me if my phrasing seems somewhat dated, but I was born a long time ago, and it is hard to shake off the habits of one's youth.

I told the story to the point at which Gibberne and I had tried the Accelerator but once out of the house and numerous times under controlled conditions in the laboratory, until we were sure that we had measured and understood its effects. In brief, my good friend Professor Gibberne was a most ingenious scientist, with a particular interest in the effects of drugs on the human body. After many years of study and experiment dedicated to seeking a drug which would invigorate the body and accelerate the nervous system to new heights he perfected the New Accelerator. Although he had been hoping for a doubling of energy and speed he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. The New Accelerator increased the tempo of the body a thousandfold, and allowed the user to do in minutes what he would ordinarily do in hours or days.

At first the Professor had thought to market the accelerator immediately under the name Gibberne's Nervous Accelerator and to provide it in strengths of 200, 900 and 2,000 to 1. Thus, we spent many weeks experimenting with the dosages in the laboratory, until we had finally perfected the manner of controlling both the rate of acceleration and the length of time the effects would last.

So, well satisfied with our progress, Gibberne and I sat one evening in his library and discussed our plans for the future.

"This will allow me to secure a place in the annals of science. I will be listed among the greats! And of course the money to be made from this will enable me to continue my researches at leisure without worry about the future."

"Most assuredly," I replied. "But should we not be concerned about the effect on society? I know that as scientists that is not our concern; yet, I would not like to think that we will be remembered for the evil that we have unleashed, like a modern Pandora."

"Nonsense!" exclaimed Gibberne. "We are merely extending the boundaries of science. What use is made of that we cannot guess, nor be held responsible for. Any tool may be used for both good and evil, and it is up to the civil authorities to control the effects. I have no doubt that the accelerator will be put to evil uses by some, but think of the good it can do. Firemen able to go into a burning building and rescue the occupants at their leisure. Scholars able to research in a day what would take many months or years in ordinary time and without the petty annoyances and disruptions that plague us in daily life."

"You are right, I suppose. There will be much of good that can come of this. And yet, I cannot help but think of the evil that will also surely come."

And yet I acquiesced without demur when he suggested that I join him in the experiments in the use and dosage of the New Accelerator. You may have read my first story abut the next events, as we tested and refined the Accelerator. You may have noticed how brief and lacking in detail that story was; that of course, was due to a deliberate evasiveness on my part. As we were preparing to put Gibberne's Nervous Accelerator onto the market, a bit of publicity was felt to be efficacious in bringing our product to the attention of the market, but we neither of us dared to reveal the full and true story of our experiments. This, then, is as much in the way of a confession as it is a journal, and given the way our world has changed since the introduction of the New Accelerator, I now feel free to tell the entire story.

Allow me to go into a little more background behind this stupendous elixir. As I said, it allows an individual to work, to move, to think, to live at a much faster rate than the ordinary flow of time. But only the individual. Time moves at its regular pace in the world at large; all substances, air and water and earth and fire, continue at their measured pace, one second per second of elapsed time as the earth follows its course in the heavens. But the individual lives at a far greater rate, dependent on strength of the dosage of the Accelerator that he has taken. Thus, if I take the 200 strength draught, I live at a rate 200 times faster than the world around me. A gentle stroll of three miles per hour is, to the outside world, a superlative run of 600 miles per hour. Should I stand beside you for a minute by my internal measurements, then you will notice a brief blur lasting a mere three tenths of a second. And you may imagine what will happen at the dosages of 900 or 2,000 to 1.

And so our experiments proceeded. We did not foresee the results of these experiments on the world or on ourselves. Or rather, we chose to turn a blind eye to the consequences that might ensue.

So without further remonstrance I shall tell you of our adventures after those which were previously recorded. When next we ventured out of doors we had a much better idea of the dosages and their effects and how to prepare ourselves for the adventure. We first donned tight clothing, so that the wind could not whip our coats and pants around as we moved. Then we took a dosage of 200, fearing that the higher dosages were too great to use out of doors. We had left the front door of Gibberne's house open, remembering the consequence inertia had on inanimate objects in our accelerated state, and strolled out carefully after the Accelerator had taken effect.

Because we were using a dosage much weaker than we had previously tried outdoors we were not subject to the same heat from friction and its consequent problems. We made our way down the road to the village, observing passers-by as we went. All were still, caught in an instant of repose as they went about their tasks. I particularly observed the women, looking like statues holding their parasols as they strolled in the park. I could not help looking at them closely, the form of their breasts and bottoms drawing my eyes. You must remember that in those days all was concealed, and bachelors like ourselves did not dare to look too closely at a lady lest we be shunned as perverts.

"Quite a sight, eh W?"

"Yes indeed. The spring air has brought out the loveliness of women like flowers in bloom. Shall we go over to the beach and see what the latest fashions decree for bathing?"

"Yes indeed. And maybe more."

With the last cryptic sentence Gibberne proceeded down to the strand, and I followed with some puzzlement. On arriving at the shore we walked to the sandy beach, a rarity in our pebbly and gravelly English seaside. The sight that greeted us was, to my mind, overwhelming. Hundreds of bathers were on the shore walking, sitting on wooden chairs or strolling along the sand, all of them in a perfect state of stasis. I confess that I do not get out much, and the sight of all the lovely women quite overwhelmed me. So much so that I noticed a stirring in my loins and felt the need to adjust my slacks for a bit more comfort.

"Come with me! There is much more to see and do." Taking me by the arm Gibberne pulled me toward some bathing machines which were standing half in the water. They were small wooden houses that had doors on the water side which allowed their patrons to step into and out of the water without showing themselves in their bathing dress to the ruder folk along the beach. Gibberne pulled me along until we were standing beside one of these doors, soaking our trousers in the water so we could look inside And what a sight! A lovely woman with porcelain skin was posing herself in front of a mirror, with her head turned half-around to see the view of her suit from the rear.

I was transfixed by this sight, not least because it felt so wickedly delicious to peer, unseen and unnoticed, at a woman in an intimate moment. But the Professor was not interested in just a chance glimpse of leg or disarrangement of bathing costume. He pulled me back from the door and whispered "We'll come back later at a more propitious time." I was then pulled along to the next bathing machine, and then the next again and so on until Gibberne found what he was looking for.

A woman in bathing dress was walking up the wooden stairs and approaching the door of her bathing machine. Gibberne tugged my arm more urgently and led me up the stairs and inside the interior. "hsst" I whispered. "What are you doing? This cannot be right!" He ignored me and led me inside just in front of the woman, who was moving too slowly for us to detect any but the slightest motion. Once inside we stood by a corner out of sight of the woman and waited while she made her slow way inside. We knew that she could not see us while we moved, but this would allow us to stay still without being observed.

You may wonder why I acquiesced in this venture. Gibberne had obviously done this before, for his timing and deliberate movements suggested some degree of practice, yet this particular sort of adventure was not something we had discussed before. Obviously he knew me better than I knew myself, for I stood patiently back waiting for what was about to unfold. I did make some whispered comments to him, for we had plenty of time.

"This is not right, Gibberne! Surely we are intruders of the worst sort in doing this. Surely no gentleman would stoop so low."

"And yet you continue to wait with me. Come, man., we have a perfect opportunity here, and no harm will come of it to us or to that young woman. We are merely connoisseurs of the female form, and society must take the blame for not giving old bachelors like us an opportunity to behold the female form. This has to be better than skulking around the low streets of the city and engaging the services of some poor prostitute. When we have had our fill we will leave, and none will be the wiser. We take nothing but pleasure and leave nothing but admiration."

Our discussions went on for a while, but I stayed despite the weakness of his argument, for in my heart I could not turn away from the sight before me. We waited some hours as the woman walked up the stairs and entered the mobile hut, hours which were but a minute to her. I must confess that I was getting quite restless waiting, for I am a man of action, and having to adjust my position every so often to avoid detection was the only respite I had.

But eventually she started to remove her bathing dress, and Gibberne and I watched eagerly as her clothes started to come off. First the buttons on the front came undone as she slowly pried them open, revealing ever more of her front. Fabulous smooth skin was revealed with each move, the front of her outfit widening ever more to show the chest, then the inner side of the breasts, a stomach of perfect smoothness. When the buttons were undone she lifted her arm to her shoulder to pull down the right sleeve of the garment, and as it slowly dropped one perfect breast was revealed. With no pause the left sleeve was also pulled down, and we could fully see the top half of her body. It was but the work of a few minutes more to tug at the hem of the bathing dress and pull it down past the faultless globes of her buttocks and reveal herself in full glory.

We beheld her wonderful cunny in some awe; alabaster skin shading down to a few stray hairs and then the hair growing luxuriantly thick as if to conceal the last vestige of her modesty from unknown eyes. Then, as if to securely ensnare us this vision of loveliness reached out for a towel and started to dry herself. I could not look away, and I felt rather than saw my friend's eyes also drinking in every vestige of this marvelous sight.

I could not help myself in what I did next, for the sight of her body was too overwhelming too resist. For some time I had felt a tightness in my groin as I looked at the hidden charms revealed to me, so I slowly reached down and undid a few of my trouser buttons in order to provide more room for my engorged manhood. With my hands over my groin it took no thought to slowly rub myself, feeling a wonderful sensation of warmth and pleasure as I did so. I moved as close as I dared to our lovely tableau vivant and stared at her as she raised a leg in a precarious position and rested it on a stool. Now all was revealed. With her legs spread, one on the ground and the other on the stool, I could see perfectly well all the delights normally reserved for married men.

Suddenly I was pulled away by an arm, and I could only think that I had gone too far and that Gibberne was appalled by my boldness and lasciviousness. But he only whispered to me to move as he pulled me to another spot within the cabin. I realized that staying too long in one spot would cause us to be revealed to a normal onlooker, but I had been too enchanted by the sight before me to pay heed to this detail.

We continued thus for some hours, moving around so as not to be observed. By the time the woman had finished drying herself and started to put on some clothes I was quite sated with the sights I had seen and getting tired from the hours of moving and standing.

"Gibberne, how will we get out of here? I don't relish spending several more hours just waiting for an opportunity."

"Just so. All we need is to quickly get out the door and close it again. If she notices at all it will appear to be a gust of wind that has rattled the door."

His prompt answer made me even more certain that he had done this before, so I readily agreed. But I had one more errand before we left. I had spied a lady's calling card case on a small desk in the room, so I quickly went over and took out a card and placed it in my vest pocket before we left.

We escaped the room with no problem, and walked home in silence. As we approached my house I could hold my tongue no longer. Feeling all a-jumble with guilt and with the emotions that I had experienced that day I felt the desire and need to talk about it.

"Won't you come inside please, professor? I think we have much to discuss. Cook has the afternoon off today and our discussions will not be disturbed or overheard."

"Of course we do, and I think that we had better talk about our commonality of interest and approach."

Without further discussion we went in and had a cold supper that cook had left and said very little until it was finished. After finishing our supper we repaired to the parlour for a cigar and port, and when we were both relaxed our conversation started anew.

"Gibberne, I am most ashamed of what we did today, yet I cannot help but feel quite pleased with the results of our adventures. But I am even more concerned about the consequences when your elixir reaches the hands of the general public. We are gentlemen, and can restrain ourselves in our harmless pleasures, but the great mass of rough persons will not show such restraint, and you can imagine as well as I what perversions and atrocities may come of this."

Gibberne sat in quiet contemplation for some time carefully considering his response, and then shook himself as if to clear his head and answered. "You may have surmised that I have done this kind of adventuring prior to this afternoon. I have carefully been weighing the same arguments and proposals as you. Am I correct in assuming that you want to halt the sale of Gibberne's elixir?"

"Yes! It's too dangerous to let out into the general public."

He nodded. "I too was concerned about that. Let me explain how I came to feel otherwise. Primus, the elixir exists, and if I suppress this discovery then some other scientist will come up with the same formula at some other time. Secundus, if it is we who control the elixir, rather than some hypothetical future scientist, then we can control its distribution. Tertius, if we control its distribution then we can ensure that only the worthiest of men can buy it, and that we can use some of the profits to set up safeguards to control its use. Come W., we are both honourable gentlemen, and surely much better suited to this task than some unknown drudge whose only motive is profit."

His arguments seemed convincing to me, but I think my own predilections in the use of the elixir foreordained my reaction and my mind suppressed any counter arguments.

"I know that you are worried by our adventure and by your own reactions. I assure you I feel like you, but as I said before we did nothing wrong or ungentlemanly. The elixir has brought in a new era, and we must adapt to it. We took nothing; we left no slightest taint of immodesty that would make any young maiden blush. We are good fellows and cannot be blamed for any slightest breach of good breeding. Come, old friend together we can resolve any troubling issues"

I will not lie and say that his arguments were wholly convincing, but I wholeheartedly accepted them just the same. We spoke long into the night, and when he finally left I had felt a modicum of peace. After he was gone and I was preparing for bed I found the visiting card that I had put in my pocket. The name Hester Pringle was written across the card, with an address in Kensington. Well then, she was down here in Folkestone on a visit to take the waters and she would likely be here less than a fortnight. Somehow this made me feel both glad to be rid of the object of my guilt and unhappy that I would scarce have a chance to see her again.

After a restless night I walked over to Gibberne's house to confer with him some more. I found him in good spirits and could scarcely renew last night's conversation in front of the servants, He bade me come into his laboratory where we could have more privacy, but instead of renewing our previous conversation he was full of new experiments with the elixir. I gladly joined in, preferring this to philosophical discussions on a topic about which I still had some moral qualms. In fact I even suggested some new experiments, and we spent a happy day with vials of chemicals and stopwatches determining the effects of the new accelerator.

I confess that some of those experiments related directly to our adventures of the previous day. In particular I wanted to see the exact length of time that one could remain unobserved before moving on to a new position and how well voices speaking at accelerated speed could be noticed by someone living in normal time. I knew that this would take days of careful measurement, since the one taking the elixir would perforce become quickly bored by the length of apparent time it took to get results.

But Gibberne resolved that problem almost immediately in normal time, although he informed me it took several days' worth of experiments to come up with the formula in quickened time. What he did was to create a new potion which counteracted the effect of the accelerator without producing noxious side effects, a brake or decelerator if you will. What a marvelous effect! Not only did it help our experimentation to proceed apace but it solved some practical problems we had encountered during our adventures.

And although we kept insisting to each other that the primary purpose of the accelerator would be for the expansion of time to allow for more productivity, the greater part of our experiments consisted of researches into the limits of concealment. For instance, we discovered that our whispering during our adventure had been for nought, both by reason of the speed of our voices and the lack of pressure or force behind them, which scarce enabled any person living in normal time to hear them even if we shouted.