Of Children and Peasants – Part XII

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Excerpt from “Anna Karenina Comes to America” by Leia Tolstaya*, Millerskaya Ltd., New York, 2009. For earlier installments please click on the keyword phrase “Of Children and Peasants”.

“Since we have young ones aboard, I’m going to set the time machine at its gentlest entry speed,” Levin announced.

They were all secured by seatbelts in the spacious cab. The space glass protective shield was lowered and sealed. Levin set the coordinates for his farm. The time was set for 10:01 PM, April 1, 1875.

The children and peasants would be sleeping. Kitty would be up waiting for them, accompanied by Anna and Karenin, who had been persuaded of the truth by various documents written by himself in the future. The marriage was still young and intact; there was no child. Anna had not yet met Vronsky; all could be diverted.

The machine started with a gentle hum, which increased to the moderate hum of a commercial aircraft as the engines powered up.

At first it appeared that the trees were moving away from them. Slowly, then picking up speed gradually, so that the trees sped by like a blur. Then the entire cab lifted, and they were above the trees. They ascended through each layer of the atmosphere, until they were as close to the sun as humanly possible.

Now stars, planets, planetary debris sped past them. There was no feeling of time or place. They just existed. Then things slowly down, as gradually as they had speeded up.

The machine lowered through the strata. All of Europe lay before them; then Russia in general. Both Moscow and St. Petersburg were in view. Then all that could be seen were farms. It was greener than anything they had ever seen. The great farmhouse came into view. They settled by a large barn and glided into it.

To be continued…

*Leia Tolstaya is a pen name for Elizabeth K. Miller, and as such her works fall under the same copyright.