Time Grabber — Text and Context

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In Category - Social Speculation

Authors: Terry, W. E., 1921-1992 [Illustrator], Dickson, Gordon R., 1923-2001 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2021 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Science fiction; Short stories; Rome -- History -- Nero, 54-68 -- Fiction; Epistolary fiction; Time travel -- Fiction Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 8,497

Reading time 37 min

Text sections 1

For Time Grabber — Text and Context, the stored edition analysis reports 8,497 words, 37 min estimated reading time, and 1 detected text section.

The text analysis averages about 17.2 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Science fiction,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #65977

A scholar of sociomatics secretly uses a time-grapple to swap sixteen Romans from Nero's reign with seventeenth-century Roundheads, but the exchange goes awry when the Christians are pitted against gladiators in the arena.

Editorial Edition Score 4.4/5

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Description quality20 pts
Title & short description10 pts
Source metadata20 pts
Text length15 pts
Chapters / structure15 pts
EPUB file integrity20 pts

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Edition quality

File: pg65977

Read the Text

Captain said that these men were Christians, they are Christians. However, if you're doubtful, there's nothing easier than to test the matter. Give any of them a pinch of incense and see if they'll sacrifice to the gods to gain their freedom. If they won't they're Christians. You know how these things work.

Acting CAPTAIN OF POLICE

(_From the Journal of John Stowe_) _March 2, 1649_: Lo! Satan is upon us and his devils do surround us. Trusting in the Lord, however, we have no fear of them.

Early this morning we awoke to find the enchantment still strong about us. Whereupon we took counsel together concerning our conduct in this strait. After several hours of discussion, it was decided that we could not necessarily be considered remiss in our military duties for not pushing on to Carlisle when bound and held by devils. This settled, it remained only to decide on our course of conduct towards these imps of Satan, and Sergeant Flail-of-the-Lord hath determined this by ordering that all present be industrious in prayer and considering of the good works of the Lord.

So it fell out that about the third or fourth hour after sunrise when we were engaged in singing that hymn of sweet comfort--

_Lo! We shall crush His enemies And drown them in their blood--_

that a fat, balding devil of middle age, somewhat wrapped and entwined in a sheet of bed linen approached the outer grating of our cell and did speak with us.

At first we were slow in understanding; but as it did happen that by good chance I had had some teaching in my youth in papist ways, it was not long before I realized that this devil was speaking a particularly barbarous and unnatural form of latin; and, on my conveying this information to Sergeant Flail-of-the-Lord, it was decided that I should speak with the devil for all of us.

I began by abjuring him to turn from the ways of the devil and cast himself upon the mercy of the Lord. But, so imperfect were the creature's wits and so inadequate his grasp of the tongue in which we conversed that he failed to grasp my meaning. Whereupon, I demanded of him by what right he held us and he did name several devils with Romish names and, producing several objects of strange manufacture, seemed to call on us for some kind of action.

At this point, Sergeant Flail-of-the-Lord interrupted to order me that I draw the devil out in conversation and learn whatsoever I could, that the knowledge might be a means to breaking the enchantment. Therefore, I did show interest and beseeched the devil to further explain himself.

Whereupon he did so. And it was apparent immediately that our wise Sergeant, praise the Lord, had correctly judged the state in which we were held. For after a great deal of words which I had some trouble interpreting, it became apparent that this spawn of the Devil, this creature of Satan was endeavoring by means of foul enticements and false promises of release from our enchantment, to cozen us into bowing down to graven images.

No sooner had I understood this, than I was filled with the wrath of the Lord, and, feeling His hand upon me, spoke words of fire to the lost being before me. I observed that he quailed, although odd as it seems, some of our troop claim to have noticed a slight trace of satisfaction upon his hellish visage. Whereupon he closed the interview with a question.

"Are you all Christians?" he demanded of me.

I answered, "Yes," and, rubbing his hands together with an expression of glee he hurried off.

I related all this to my comrades and the Sergeant. The Sergeant then advised us that we continue as we had before, saying that no doubt we were not alone at the mercy of the Devil, but that were being somewhat tested by the Lord, and as long as our faith in Him remained steadfast, no harm could surely come from this.

So hath the day past, very decently in praying and godly conversation. From scraps of conversation I have overheard from neighboring cells it becometh apparent that tomorrow we are to be thrown into the 'Arena,' which I take to be a devilish word for the pit. So be it. We abide the issue, all of us, with firm faith and quiet hearts. Amen.

Continue Reading →

The story opens with a diary entry dated February 16, 2631, in which Philton J. Bugsomer, a scholar of sociomatics, vents his frustration at physicist Croton Myers for refusing to let him use the time-grapple. Bugsomer dismisses Myers's warnings about disrupting the fabric of time as 'scientific double-talk' and resolves to act without permission. The narrative then shifts to a series of memos from 65 A.D., revealing a corrupt Roman official trading a villa for Christians to supply a gladiatorial battle. This epistolary structure immediately establishes a contrast between bureaucratic language and moral callousness.

Epistolary Framing and Character Voice

The story uses diary entries and memos to build its two time periods. Bugsomer's diary entries are self-justifying and indignant, peppered with academic titles and a sense of entitlement. The Roman memos, by contrast, are terse and transactional: Lictus, Captain of the Arena, writes to the Captain of Police requesting Christians, and the reply negotiates a bribe. The clipped, official tone of the memos underscores the casual brutality of the Roman Empire. When the Roundheads appear, their dialogue is marked by archaic phrasing and religious conviction, as when the Sergeant identifies gladiators as embodiments of Pride and Covetousness. These distinct voices—petulant academic, corrupt bureaucrat, pious soldier—create a layered narrative without authorial intrusion.

The Time-Grapple as Plot Device and Limitation

The time-grapple is never explained in technical detail; it is simply a machine that can snatch groups of people from the past. Its limitations drive the plot: it can only grab individuals when they are close together, and the operator can see but not be heard by the subjects. Bugsomer's plan to swap sixteen Romans for sixteen Roundheads fails because the Roundheads, after receiving weapons, scatter across the arena. The machine's field also prevents Bugsomer from intervening directly, forcing him to rely on Myers's remote control. This constraint turns the climax into a desperate attempt to manipulate events from a fixed vantage point, heightening the tension as the gladiatorial combat begins.

Catalog Subjects vs. Textual Evidence

The catalog lists 'Rome -- History -- Nero, 54-68 -- Fiction' and 'Time travel -- Fiction,' but the excerpts reveal a more specific focus. Nero appears only as a petulant spectator, complaining that the Christians are 'sober and dull' and not sufficiently exalted. The story does not depict historical events or figures beyond Nero's cameo; instead, it uses the arena as a stage for a clash of ideologies. The Roundheads interpret the gladiators as allegorical demons, while the Romans see them as entertainment. The 'social speculation' category fits better: the story explores the ethics of using time travel for academic vanity, and the unintended consequences of removing people from their historical context. The epistolary format and satirical tone suggest a critique of bureaucratic and scholarly arrogance rather than a straightforward historical adventure.

Readers should pay attention to how the story balances its two timelines and the way each group's language reveals their worldview. The incomplete excerpts leave the outcome of the arena battle unresolved, but the tension between Bugsomer's self-interest and the Roundheads' faith is the story's core. The narrative rewards attention to the memos' subtext and the characters' limited perspectives.

Sometimes I think about that chaos in Time Grabber, how belief gets tangled up with survival, and it drifts me back to the quiet notes in John Holder's Weapon — Reading Notes. There’s a gentleness there, a patient attention to small details, that feels like a hand resting on a page. It calms the noise.