Wells (World 63)
H(erbert) G(eorge) Wells
(1866 – 1946; first SF publication, 1894), despite what
Warehouse 13
tells us, was a man, about thirty years behind Verne. He wrote lots of stories, including science fiction titles
The Time Machine
,
The Island of Doctor Moreau
,
The Invisible Man
and
The War of the Worlds
— all written within four years!
The War of the Worlds
is the Martian invasion story with which Orson Welles terrified the U.S. through a radio dramatization, in 1938. In
The World Set Free
Wells predicted the devastation of nuclear weapons. He also created the first published rules for miniatures gaming (and arguably for wargaming of any sort) in
Floor Games
and
Little Wars
.
Time Machines
In The Time Machine , a gentleman inventor devises an apparatus that will carry its rider forwards and backwards in time, and he eventually explores millions of years into the future, witnessing the final destruction of the Earth. A precise description of the machine is never given, although we know it has ivory and nickel bars, and brass rails.