Dr. Edward Barron, a mathematician, tries to convince his machinist friend, August Pointdexter, to enter the time machine that they built together with him. Pointdexter refuses, claiming that Barron’s wish stems from hubris and that there are too many things that could go wrong. Barron cites their past trials, where nothing life-changing happened. Barron stresses that this is an offer, bound to greatness and history-changing, that nobody should give up. Reluctantly, Pointdexter acquiesces. They enter the time machine and go forward 24 hours. When they step out, they are in a space that consists of nothing, just blankness, with no way to leave.