Journey to the Emerald Era. Science fiction story. Sanzhar Kondybayev

      2:7 Time travel. Sanjar and Richard walked slowly down the long corridor of the university, their steps quietly echoing off the walls, as if the building itself was witnessing what was about to happen. A slight excitement was taking hold of Sanjar, every word Richard said was a mixture of curiosity and doubt. What had seemed like a fantasy was now taking on very real outlines.

      Richard walked next to him, his steps were confident, and he continued to explain the principles of the time machine with such calmness, as if it were the most ordinary lecture.

      “The time machine I was talking about was invented in 2066,” Richard began, his voice even and deep, as if he were discussing a historical fact. “It requires a huge amount of energy to operate. Imagine: to move you forward a hundred years, you need to use as much energy as it would take to provide an entire city with electricity for a week.”

      Sanjar listened, immersing himself in every word. He tried to imagine the scale of this invention, but it still seemed incredible. It was hard for him to believe that time travel was possible, but Richard sounded so confident that his doubts began to melt away.

      “But why so much energy?” Sanjar asked, trying to understand the hidden logic of this device.

      “The thing is that the time machine doesn’t just move you forward or backward in time,” Richard continued, leaning slightly towards Sanjar to make his words stick in his mind. “It creates a separate space around you where time moves differently. You literally exist outside of time while the transition is happening.”

      They approached the elevator, and Richard pressed the call button. The elevator doors opened smoothly, as if inviting them inside.

      “Come in, Sanjar,” Richard said, nodding towards the open doors. “You will move alone, and I will stay here. Inside, you will see a green button with the number 3024.”

      Sanjar thought that this was an ordinary university elevator, which he used every day, so he boldly entered. But when his gaze fell on the panel, he noticed something unusual: a green button that shouldn’t have been there was drawing his gaze like a call.

      “This is your journey, Sanjar,” Richard said, his voice soft but firm. “Press the button.”

      Sanjar felt his heart beat faster. He stood there, weighing the pros and cons, but curiosity and the desire to see the future got the better of him. He slowly reached out and pressed the green button, feeling his fingers tremble slightly.

      The elevator moved smoothly, and the light inside began to change. The white light gradually turned into a soft green, creating a mysterious atmosphere around. Sanjar felt a slight vibration under his feet, as if the elevator was moving not just up, but into another dimension, in which time ceased to exist in its usual form.

      Ten seconds later, the elevator stopped, and the doors slowly opened, revealing something unusual before him. A white cloud spread out in front of Sanjar, in which large green arrows flickered, pointing forward. The cloud seemed dense and mysterious, as if it were hiding something important. Sanjar took a step forward, feeling himself being enveloped by this strange cloud. He heard the elevator doors close behind him and realized that there was no turning back. Silence surrounded him, only the soft rustling of air was heard around him.

      At first, Sanjar thought it was fog, but gradually he began to realize that he was standing on a glass floor, through which a picture of the earth was visible. He froze in place, realizing that he was hovering at an altitude of about 5 kilometers above the ground. Breathing quickly, he dropped to all fours and began to examine the landscape below.

      An incredible view opened up before his eyes: green forests, clean rivers and lakes, flocks of birds slowly flying above the surface of the earth. The sun shone brightly, breaking through the rare clouds. Everything looked so calm and serene, but something was wrong. Where were the roads? Where were the settlements? Where was the smoke and dust? There were no planes, no factories, no dug quarries, no sign of human activity.