Chapters 25-27 Summary

Charles is 17 and his father 49 at the start of Chapter 25, when they are on their way to show their time machine to the director of the Institute of Conceptual Technology. The institute is an imposing building on a hill above town that represents the hallowed halls of scientific achievement to Charles's father. Charles and TAMMY watch from the future as father and son drive to a local park to meet the institute director. This is the most important day in the working life of Charles's father, who is focused, not his usual distracted self. When the director arrives, his imposing reputation and physical presence dominate, even though he is polite and gentlemanly. Charles's father talks slowly about the invention, saying that the key is "the acquisition of tensed information." His theory is that humans can tell they are in the present...