Mike fired up the box and the lasers came to life.

The machine produced a small circular area of distortion. It was a vortex about eight inches across that looked like ripples above a fire. 

This was unexpected. 

Mike didn’t know what the vortex was or if it was dangerous. So he grabbed a sheet-metal screw and tossed it through the field.

It vanished.

Mike just stared and blinked and waited. The screw was just… gone.

So Mike powered down his machine and turned to head back into the house.

Then heard something clattering.

It was the screw. It rolled to a stop about two feet from the box.

Mike thought he invented some kind of teleportation device.

He didn’t.

Michael “Mad Man” Marcum invented a time machine.