Well, I'm glad I didn't get into that time machine with you. Rather misanthropic, don't you think? Or is that the point? The six people who traveled along might have preferred another destination, besides the one that took them to the end of time (earth's time).
I enjoyed reading this. But I found the end obscure. You leave us with a puzzle, but I don't think you provide enough clues for us (for me) to unravel that puzzle.
A very sophisticated, well-written story. Thank you for posting it to the Ink Well community.
Yes, I think the time traveler was rather finished with humanity, and preferred to just push the fast-forward button. ha ha
No, oh, perhaps I was unclear then. I should have made it clearer. The other six were in their own machines. They all traveled separately.
And the end - well, that is the greatest journey of all. What happens when this life is over? When this world ends? No one knows, but the time traveler expected that it wouldn't really be the "end", but rather the beginning.
Thank you always for your visits!