Life Time By Lee Harris Panel 1 A hand sketching diagrams and mathematical symbols in a notepad. Caption: I knew the secret to time travel. The only thing stopping me was the funds to build the machine. Panel 2 Two people at the door. One is handing the other a lottery ticket. The one doing the handing is dressed in a manner that will make them recognisable in the next frame. Caption: An older me showed up at my door. Panel 3 Close-up on a window. The recognisable person from the previous frame has been mowed down by a truck in the street, below.  Caption: I never saw me, again. Panel 4 Standing, looking proud at a glorious machine. Caption: It took years to build the basic machine… Panel 5 Similar to panel 1, but with code. Caption: … and years more to write the code that would power it. Pane 6: Climbing into the machine. Caption: The machine would send me back, and automatically return me, after an hour in the past. Panel 7 Sitting in the machine. A screen shows a hazy version of panel 2. Caption: Of course, I knew when my first test would take me. Panel 8 Close-up on the control panel. A hand-written post-it note with lottery numbers is on there, and a hand is pushing a lever forward. Caption: History has already shown that this cannot go wrong. Panel 9 some sort of vague, wavy, flash-back/shooting-into-warp background, as the machine does its job and reality has folded away. This panel is all design, no recognisable, images, though feel free to hide a suggestion of Death (capital D), if it’s not too corny. Caption: When I return I’ll have made history. I can’t wait to see what comes next.

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Life Time
Posted on 17th November 2023 by pj

About Lee Harris

Lee Harris is a British editor of science fiction, fantasy and horror. He is the only British editor ever to have been nominated in the Hugo Awards "short form" editing category (with two nominations), and the first British editor ever to have been nominated in the editing "long form" category.

Website

Script

Life Time

By Lee Harris

Panel 1

A hand sketching diagrams and mathematical symbols in a notepad.

Caption: I knew the secret to time travel. The only thing stopping me was the funds to build the machine.

Panel 2

Two people at the door. One is handing the other a lottery ticket. The one doing the handing is dressed in a manner that will make them recognisable in the next frame.

Caption: An older me showed up at my door.

Panel 3

Close-up on a window. The recognisable person from the previous frame has been mowed down by a truck in the street, below.

Caption: I never saw me, again.

Panel 4

Standing, looking proud at a glorious machine.

Caption: It took years to build the basic machine…

Panel 5

Similar to panel 1, but with code.

Caption: … and years more to write the code that would power it.

Pane 6:

Climbing into the machine.

Caption: The machine would send me back, and automatically return me, after an hour in the past.

Panel 7

Sitting in the machine. A screen shows a hazy version of panel 2.

Caption: Of course, I knew when my first test would take me.

Panel 8

Close-up on the control panel. A hand-written post-it note with lottery numbers is on there, and a hand is pushing a lever forward.

Caption: History has already shown that this cannot go wrong.

Panel 9

some sort of vague, wavy, flash-back/shooting-into-warp background, as the machine does its job and reality has folded away. This panel is all design, no recognisable, images, though feel free to hide a suggestion of Death (capital D), if it’s not too corny.

Caption: When I return I’ll have made history. I can’t wait to see what comes next.

Artists Notes

Raised on 2000ad, I felt that I needed to bury what happens on panel 3 a bit, because really, it's the twist ending. So it's there and a careful read will tell you it's there, but a reread will make it much more obvious! Also accidentally stumbling across the motif of the infinity symbol and how it could also look like a vehicle headlights is one of those delightful moments in drawing that you live for.