The professor took a quick glance in her assistant's direction. Amy was looking worried. "Are you absolutely sure this is a good idea, Professor?" asked Amy. "I mean, it's not been tested with a robot or anything. If something happens to you..."

"Oh don't worry Amy. It'll be alright. I've done and redone all the calculations many times and they're all fine. Now, if you'll just open the door..."

Amy opened the door of the mysterious contraption cautiously, as if something was going to jump out at her. She stared at all the blinking lights and screens and dials and switches and everything else. It certainly looked like Professor Brooks had spent a lot of time and energy into making sure every little thing was just right.

Professor Brooks stepped into the machine, with a backpack on her back. "How long do you expect to spend in wherever it is you're going?" asked Amy.

"Well, the machine will teleport itself back in 24 hours time. Just in case something happens. I've read enough time travel stories to know that absolutely anything can happen. It's never been done before, so I don't want to take any chances."

"....Oh. Is that so, Professor?"  replied Amy.

"When you're ready, Amy," said the professor, pointing to the open door of the time machine. The last thing Professor Brooks saw in her own time that day was Amy the assistant looking very worried and closing the door of the machine very slowly.

7894, the professor entered into the keypad of the machine. She had decided to travel to the distant future. After all, it couldn't be more dangerous than going to the past, could it? After all, there were no dinosaurs, no gladiators, no armies fighting with each other, nothing. Nothing as dangerous as what had happened in the past. Or so she thought...

*****************

"Ugh. You could've landed smoother, you idiotic, bricks-for-brains useless fool!" screamed Doctor Matmicks, stepping out of the terrifying machine, looking very cross and feeling quite sick.

"Now, Doctor Matmicks, it wasn't that rough," said his son, Morty, looking worried and backing away. He knew not to make his father angry. Even as a child his father had forced him to call him Doctor Matmick. Morty just wanted to go back to his own time.

"It's all your fault we left the food and money behind! Now we can't eat for at least 24 hours while the stupid thing cools down!" Just as Doctor Matmick said this, a wisp of smoke rose from the machine, which he had been sitting in just a few minutes ago.

"Now look at what you've done! The machine landed too roughly. Now it's gonna blow, and IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" screamed the doctor. "You will pay for what you've done! You'll get blown up with it!" And he tied poor Morty up, leaving him to get blown up with the machine...

Note: As you can probably tell, Doctor Matmick is the bad guy here. If the story starts going "down the drain" as they say, I will probably stop, but that is unlikely. The idea for A Time Traveller's Textbook Mistake came to me one day, so this is just an idea being put on the net.