# VIII explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Clifford D. Simak.

## What happens

Hudson, Cooper, and Adams complete their pyramid of stones intended for time travel, but when Adams presses the button, the time unit fails to work.

## Themes in this chapter

### The Pursuit of Dreams

The characters' desperate attempt to return to the twentieth century represents the end of their dream, as the time unit fails.

### Survival and Resilience

Despite backbreaking labor and the failure of the time unit, the characters continue to plan and adapt.

## Character check-ins

### IV Hudson

Sits before the burned-out campfire, reflecting on the pyramid and the end of the dream.

### John Cooper

Breaks the silence to express concern about landing on a barbed-wire fence.

### Wesley Adams

Climbs the pyramid with the time unit and presses the button, but nothing happens.

## Key lines

> This was the end of the dream, thought Hudson, no matter how you looked at it.

Hudson believed that, regardless of the outcome, their dream was over.

_Reflects Hudson's despair about the time travel attempt._

> Adams pressed the button. Nothing happened. The unit didn't work.

Adams activated the device, but it failed to operate.

_Climactic moment of the chapter showing the failure of their plan._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_10_se/chapters/viii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_10_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_10_se/chapters