H.G. Wells was not only a scientist and novelist, but he was also a futurist who saw things happening in modern warfare that were deadlier than anyone in his generation could conceive of. In his story the “Time Machine” H. G. Wells envisions a man who has discovered a way to travel back and forth in time. He begins a slow progression in moving ahead watching his property change from day to day sunrise to sunrise only to slowly speed up to where he’s decades ahead of his own time. Here he sees war, air raids, and bombing. Impatiently, he pushes his machine more rapidly into the future he comes to an unfamiliar realm.

The paradox begins

What appears to be earth in a very natural state and undeveloped, populated by young people who don’t seem to have a care in the world. It seems their existence is being provided for even though they appear oblivious to intelligent concerns. What he can’t understand is the absence of great scientific strides and the profound knowledge that would be present. After querying the inhabitants of the placid grazing land, H. G. Wells finally locates an old library where the books have decayed with age, but he does find the “Rings of Knowledge” from these he learns about the past and how massive destruction from technologically advanced war had devastated civilization.

The Eloi

To his horror, he finds who is providing the sustenance of the young people living their seemingly placid existence. These people are the Eloi. H.G. Wells finds and underground system of machinery marked by air vents that channel fresh air from the surface to the subterranean existence. He encounters a different breed of cannibalistic humanoids more beast then human. They have been raising the Eloi like ranchers raise and breed cattle for consumption, their consumption! H.G. Wells calls these horrid beasts the Morlocks. They are the descendants of the human race who went underground to survive the wars that destroyed most of civilization on the surface of the planet.

Modern day Morlocks?

With the US and other world powers presently engaged in military tensions and the existing Russia Ukraine War is it possible such a scenario could be played out in real life? In the event that a nuclear exchange that would guarantee mutually assured destruction we can be easily see that only the primary heads of state, the well connected, and military leadership would quickly be transported to the DUMBS (Deep Underground Military Bases) that are said to exist connected by a series of tunnels. These bases are supposedly several stories deep, are powered by generators, have artificial sunlight, food to last for years, recreational facilities, purified air, and constant temperature. Designed to accommodate perhaps hundreds of privileged elites who see no need to die with the masses. They would be the modern day Morlocks!

Who become the Morlocks and who will be the Eloi?

With the cooking off of unattended reactors due to the breakdown of society as a result of mass destruction by nuclear missiles, the surface would be hell for a while and those on the surface of the planet would have to revert back to a primitive way of survival. Eventually, two things could happen. Those contaminated by fall out and radiation could develop terrible DNA damages and mutation becoming perhaps disfigured and inhuman to behold. Would they be the Morlocks rather than the Eloi or would the underground dwellers held within the DUMBS become contaminated regardless due to the critical mass of reactor failures and they themselves mutated into some horrid form of DNA distorted beings? Perhaps the surface dwellers would use nature to recoup and return to normalcy while the elite cowards from below get what they deserve and mutate into something inhuman and beastly? We face a real possibility of finding out!