Leonard laid a blanket down on the metal table, then removed his clothes and placed himself naked under the beam. He glanced over at the controls as the machine ticked down the last seconds of it's built in countdown. Thirty years. That's what it was set for.
At 61 he was sick and tired of losing everything to younger men in the company. The jobs, the woman, the promotions. They should all be his. He was the smartest guy in their research and development division, even if he was getting on in years, and he deserved better. Once, not so very long ago, he'd been a handsome stud, envy of men, and sought after by woman. Now, in a short time, he would be again.
He looked up as the tubes above began to glow. How much of this would he remember, he wondered? It didn't matter. He'd set the controls to reduce him by thirty years. At that point he was already working for the company -- he'd have no trouble figuring out what he'd done -- especially from the notes he left for himself.
The machinery hummed, everything was set. There was no turning back now. The beam began to energize, glowing brighter. The glare caused him him to turn his head and glance once more at the controls. As he did he suddenly gasp in horror! The control was set for THIRTY YEARS, but below it, on a seperate panel, was the control the regulated the power. In his haste he'd bee running the machine at twice it's normal power rate to increase it's efficiency. In horror he realized, too late, that the regular was actually set to "TIMES TWO!"
A few seconds, and 60 years later, a small child lay naked on a blanket, staring blankly up at the strange machinery above him.