A Sound of Thunder: Alternate Ending

The Machine slowed; its scream fell to a murmur.

The Machine stopped. The sun stopped in the sky.

The fog that had enveloped the Machine blew away and they were in an old time, a very old time indeed, three hunters and two Safari Heads with their blue metal guns across their knees.

"Christ isn't born yet," said Travis, "Moses has not gone to the mountains to talk with God. The Pyramids are still on the earth, waiting to be cut out and put up. Remember that. Alexander, Caesar, Napoleon, Hitler - ­none of them exists." The man nodded.

"That" ­Travis pointed "is the jungle of sixty million two thousand and fifty five years before President Keith." He indicated a metal path that struck off into green wilderness, over streaming swamp, among giant ferns and palms.

"And that," he said, and then paused, blinked, and tried to continue. "That is, um… what is that?"

It was climbing out from under the Path, with silky black fur, carefully finding its way out from among the wires of the Machine. It was a foot tall, with its tail held straight above it. It proudly walked down the Path, taking in the new sights and sounds of the steaming, prehistoric jungle.

"Sir," Eckles said. "It’s a cat."

The cat stood on the edge of the Path, and jumped off.

Eckles watched, intrigued. He turned around and saw Travis. Mr. Travis was white, like a pearl, or a block of ice. His lower jaw quivered. He was immobile, impenetrable. His assistant, Lesperance, watched him, and then turned around to face the hunters.

"You have no need to be worried." he said, "We have everything under control." Next to him, a quiet sound was heard. Mr. Travis was saying something. "Excuse me?"

"Get me that cat." Mr. Travis said under his breath.

Kramer looked confused. Nobody moved.

Travis was getting worked up. He was so mad, he was ready to explode.

"GET ME THAT CAT!" he shouted.

Everyone bolted, chasing the cat. They paid no attention to the Path, the foreign grass up to their shoulders, or the soggy ground filled with insects and snails. When the cat, peacefully walking in the grass, saw them coming, it was off. Cats run faster than people, and everything, plus they're more agile.

The cat had escaped. The men returned to the machine. Eckles smiled, sensing the humor of the situation. Kramer and Lesperance looked worried. Travis was either unconscious or paralyzed with anger, and Billings messed with his gun uncomfortably. Now, all of them in the machine again, they turned to Travis for directions. When he didn’t respond, Lesperance took action.

"Men, I’m sorry for this, but this safari has been canceled because of unforeseen circumstances. We will not shoot our dinosaur, and return to the present day as soon as possible."

Kramer glared at the other men. "I paid a heavy fee for this trip. You can’t call off the safari just because a stray cat got away. This is insane!"

Lesperance tried to remain calm. He said "Excuse us, Mr. Kramer, but this situation is beyond our control. I’m not changing my mind. What’s important is that we get back and…"

"And I get my refund," Kramer interrupted. "You may have stolen my time, but you won’t keep my money."

Lesperance shrugged, exasperated. "Mr. Kramer, I promise I will do my best to refund you, but…"

"I’ll sue you!" Kramer shouted.

Travis banged his fist on the metal wall of the machine. Silence said nothing. Everyone looked at him.

He sat up, and started speaking. "Mr. Kramer, this is a situation beyond our control. When we get back, you won’t have a refund. Why? You won't have a court to sue my good assistant through. You won't have a bank, a house, a car, a job, a wife. Why? Kramer, this expedition has changed things beyond our control. That cursed cat… Who knows what changes we made to History? That cat has a million year headstart on humanity!"

A pause. Then Eckles asks, "I get that, but it’s just one cat. It can’t reproduce on its own, how can it survive, as a species? Not that it couldn’t still change history, but…"

Kramer blinked. He bit his lip, inwardly cursed, and started talking. "I’m glad you understand, Mr. Eckles. You see, this isn’t the first stray cat that we brought back to prehistory."

Lesperance looked at him. "Excuse me? You never told me about that!"
Kramer continued. "Sorry. I kept it a secret. Back when I started the company, back when it was just me and the guy at the desk, I was downstairs testing the time machine. The cat was sleeping in the wiring, you know how much of a mess THAT is. I was alone, so the cat got away. I came back, somehow nothing changed, or maybe something did, but I never found out. All I knew was that I could never let another cat get loose. We heightened security, grew as a company. We have been doing great, and now I fear I ruined everything.

Lesperance and Travis got up, shut and sealed the door, and quietly prepared the machine for travel. Soon they were off, traveling through the changed ages and alternate years, closed to the outside world and wondering what in the world happened. The hunters and guides removed their oxygen helmets, changed out of their pristine, unsoiled clothes, and sat uneasily in the darkened machine.

Thousands of years passed by. Eckles was still smiling, although inwardly concerned. He was actually somewhat glad he never faced the Dinosaur. He had been somewhat worried about that, actually. Just thinking about it … It was nothing like the countless animals he had as trophies in his home, or the safaris and hunts he’d been on in every country. It was crazy to even think about.

The machine came to a shuddering stop, then rapidly jerked upward. Kramer, who was pacing the floor slowly, was knocked down and hit the floor hard. The machine was dim, closed off from the outside. Lesperance slowly walked to the door, then paused. He put a finger to his lips. Then, the silence fades to distant sounds of work being done, people going about their day to day lives. Mr. Travis smiled. They all smiled, because Civilization was still there. If their luck kept up, they could go out to find the good old Time Travel Safari place up and running, and a refund for Kramer.

Lesperance opened the door. A cloud of dust wafts in, with rays of sun shining through. Eckles looks out the door, but the area is covered with dust and sunbeams. There are dark shapes moving around, but it’s impossible to tell what they are. Lesperance motioned for Travis to come, and the other safari members followed them. They went out into the cloud. The dust enveloped them at first, but as they got closer to the open air, one of the figures approached them.

It was a Cat, as tall as a human being, standing upright on his hind legs. He was clothed in an odd, colorful, garb, not dissimilar to the orange robes of a Buddhist monk. He wore a pair of glasses on the base of his snout, and carefully considered the Man in front of him.

Several other of the strange creatures were gathered near the scene, farther back. There was a mother holding her kitten, and a white furred cat holding oddly shaped tools, and some children that had been playing an unknown game. They looked at time travelers and they started purring in a noisy way. They seemed to be discussing, arguing and deciding something.

It was like the sound of Thunder.

Reflection

In retrospect, I wanted to expand on many of the ideas in this story in different ways. The idea that multiple stray cats were brought back in time is pretty absurd, and that they displaced humanity goes even further, but it’s a lot of fun to think about. That’s one of things I wanted to expand on. The cat civilization had grown up in place of Humans, but they have a similar society. I thought, maybe they would have somewhat more advanced technology than us currently, maybe they discovered nuclear fission, but at the same time, there were some things that they may not have discovered. Also, the fact that their cats have shaped their culture in deep ways, such as grooming habits, senses and sensitivity, and maybe limited hand dexterity. So, in conclusion, the small change of introducing a viable cat population to the age of the dinosaurs has a pretty profound impact on the world. This is an idea that I’d like to work on going forward.