First published 2013
A clockwork man stumbles into a quiet English village during a cricket match, his temporal displacement creating chaos in the 1920s countryside. This mechanical being carries advanced technology from thousands of years in the future, when humanity's descendants known as the Makers routinely implant clockwork devices into human skulls. These implants grant extraordinary abilities like unrestricted movement through time and space, but they come at the price of personal freedom and independent thought. The clockwork man's malfunctioning device has torn him from his regulated future existence and deposited him in an era unprepared for his presence. As villagers grapple with this impossible visitor, comedic situations spiral into increasingly bewildering encounters. The story explores what happens when advanced technology meets a simpler time, and whether the trade of human agency for cosmic mobility represents progress or tragedy. Through mishaps both amusing and revelatory, the narrative examines the tension between technological capability and human autonomy.
Genres: science-fiction, historical-fiction, adventure, fantasy
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking, whimsical
Tropes: culture-clash, fish-out-of-water
Setting: England, Countryside
Period: 1920s, Future
144 pages · Paperback · HiLoBooks