| "The Toynbee Convector" | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ray Bradbury |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | science fiction Short story |
| Published in | Playboy |
| Publication type | Periodical |
| Media type | Print (Magazine) |
| Publication date | January, 1984 |
"The Toynbee Convector" is a science fiction short story by Ray Bradbury. First published in Playboy magazine in 1984, the story was subsequently featured in a 1988 short story collection also titled The Toynbee Convector.
Contents |
The protagonist is Craig Bennett Stiles, also referred to as the Time Traveller, a man from an economically and creatively stagnant society (about 1984). Stiles claims to have invented a time machine (which he privately refers to as his Toynbee Convector, although he does not reveal the name of the device to anyone until much later) which he used to travel forwards in time about a hundred years. Now, after returning to the present, he shows evidence - films and other records collected on his journey - showing that man has developed an advanced civilization with many marvellous and helpful inventions, and a restored natural environment. He also claims to have then destroyed the machine deliberately to prevent anyone else doing the same.
Initially, the people of the past are skeptical of the Traveller's claims, but they are unable to explain or disprove the authenticity of the records brought from the future. Inspired by the prospect of a utopian future, many people begin projects to fulfill the vision and create the world the Traveller claims to have seen.
A hundred years later, the perfect world of Stiles' visions has come to pass, just as he saw in his time travel. As a now aged Stiles recounts the story to a visiting reporter — the first interview he has granted since soon after his return from the future — Stiles calmly reveals what really happened, simply stating, "I lied." Since he knew the people of the world had it in them to create a utopia, he created the illusion of one, to give humanity a goal, and hope. Because of people's belief in the illusion, the imagined utopian future became reality. After explaining his actions to the reporter, Roger Shumway, Stiles dies. As a pyrotechnic display appears overhead — the supposed past version of Stiles arriving via his time machine — Shumway resolves to travel to the future himself and carry on Stiles' legacy. Although Stiles wanted Shumway to tell people the truth so that they would know they had saved themselves, the reporter decides to maintain the illusion and not expose the secret, and destroys the evidence which Stiles had left for him to reveal.
Within the story, it is said that the protagonist chose the name "Toynbee Convector" for his machine, being inspired by "a historian named Toynbee." Bradbury likely references Arnold J. Toynbee, who proposed that civilisation must have a challenge to respond to in order to flourish.
It is unknown what, if any, relation these have to the Toynbee tiles found in the streets of several major cities.
The story was made into an episode of The Ray Bradbury Theater starring James Whitmore (as Stiles) and Michael Hurst (as Roger Shumway). It was first broadcast in 1990.[1]