What do you think of this as the start of chapter 1? Do you think it draws you in enough?
THE CREATION
Andrew stared into the microcosmic world that he had created. Tiny shafts of golden sunlight splintered from the minute precision engineering. Cogs and spindles whirled in their own miniscule spaces; rubies and diamonds sparkled, embedded in lightly oiled Invar and other rare metal alloys. Only now as a complete entity, with every part in place, each playing its pre-determined role could it function. Tick…counting tiny slivers of existence, tick… in perfect synchronised harmony… tick. It had come to life at last!
It had always seemed strange to him, that at the moment before the last piece of a timepiece was put in place, he held in his hands a collection of valuable but totally useless metal and jewels. But a heartbeat later - there it was, a miniature engine working as though it were alive and would last forever.
In his imagination it seemed as though this timepiece symbolised the science of chronology itself, the arrangement of events in time. But this was no ordinary timepiece. This was something very special. Andrew King had been making this watch on and off for almost a year, ever since the dreams started. At least they seemed like dreams. Now he was not sure where the line between dreaming and waking was drawn.
Soon after he had started, he began to wake at night with new ideas and had gone to his workshop to incorporate them in the construction of the timepiece that he wanted to be his finest creation. As time went by he would often find himself rising from his bed at two or three in the morning when the cold mist was settled over the surrounding countryside and he pulled the shutters closed to keep the blackness out. During those lost hours he would work like a man driven by unknown forces, using skills he had mastered over many years.
Now he held the timepiece in the palm of his hand and gently pressed the casement into place. It closed with the softest hint of a snap, the tiny satisfying snick of a perfect fit, leaving no trace of a seam. It was as if this final act consummated a lifetime’s work and closed a chapter.
He stared at it as though waking from a dream, seeing it for the first time, and shook his head in wonder. He had never seen a design of this kind before with its amazing pattern of symbols and engravings. And now it was done, the spell was broken.
Suddenly he felt exhausted. He had worked late into the night and his mind and body needed rest. He slipped the exquisite object into the blue velvet case and after locking it in the workshop safe climbed the stairs and collapsed on his bed, falling immediately into the deepest and most restful sleep he had had for a long time.
THE CREATION
Andrew stared into the microcosmic world that he had created. Tiny shafts of golden sunlight splintered from the minute precision engineering. Cogs and spindles whirled in their own miniscule spaces; rubies and diamonds sparkled, embedded in lightly oiled Invar and other rare metal alloys. Only now as a complete entity, with every part in place, each playing its pre-determined role could it function. Tick…counting tiny slivers of existence, tick… in perfect synchronised harmony… tick. It had come to life at last!
It had always seemed strange to him, that at the moment before the last piece of a timepiece was put in place, he held in his hands a collection of valuable but totally useless metal and jewels. But a heartbeat later - there it was, a miniature engine working as though it were alive and would last forever.
In his imagination it seemed as though this timepiece symbolised the science of chronology itself, the arrangement of events in time. But this was no ordinary timepiece. This was something very special. Andrew King had been making this watch on and off for almost a year, ever since the dreams started. At least they seemed like dreams. Now he was not sure where the line between dreaming and waking was drawn.
Soon after he had started, he began to wake at night with new ideas and had gone to his workshop to incorporate them in the construction of the timepiece that he wanted to be his finest creation. As time went by he would often find himself rising from his bed at two or three in the morning when the cold mist was settled over the surrounding countryside and he pulled the shutters closed to keep the blackness out. During those lost hours he would work like a man driven by unknown forces, using skills he had mastered over many years.
Now he held the timepiece in the palm of his hand and gently pressed the casement into place. It closed with the softest hint of a snap, the tiny satisfying snick of a perfect fit, leaving no trace of a seam. It was as if this final act consummated a lifetime’s work and closed a chapter.
He stared at it as though waking from a dream, seeing it for the first time, and shook his head in wonder. He had never seen a design of this kind before with its amazing pattern of symbols and engravings. And now it was done, the spell was broken.
Suddenly he felt exhausted. He had worked late into the night and his mind and body needed rest. He slipped the exquisite object into the blue velvet case and after locking it in the workshop safe climbed the stairs and collapsed on his bed, falling immediately into the deepest and most restful sleep he had had for a long time.
