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Mike Marcum’s Time Machine Experiments 5 happened to Marcum, it didn't. for kicks, | find it hilarious that "Outside of the project, | pretty much there's a story, among dozens of said. "Il eventually ended up in a_ kept to myself," he said. "Other than urban legends, about me supposedly downtown Cincinnati homeless eat and sleep as little as possible, | being found crushed and dead in the shelter, since at first | couldn't even seldom left the warehouse." Marcum 1930s with a cellphone beside me,” remember my own name." As his had few interactions with people in he said. "Don't know who that was, memory slowly returned, Marcum Kansas City other than his donors, _ but it wasn't me.” ound a temporary job so he could and he hasn't seen his mother since He's still not sure how he travelled eave the homeless shelter. 1986. "I was thinking of checking in time, but he has an idea. "This is "Gradually, over the few months after into missing persons and see if just speculation at this point, but I'm hat, | got most of my memory back," anyone there was looking for me guessing I moved through hyperspace. e said. It turned out that Marcum soon after 1998," he said. "I Think of that as a fifth dimension ad woken up in 2000, two years cancelled those plans after inside which the first four reside," ater. “I was hoping for maybe five remembering | was on probation at Marcum said. "So, in simple terms, minutes ahead and up to 75 to 100 the time and didn't check in with my moved through space as well as time. yards’ distance, but it ended up _ parole officer for two years. After 13 Space and time are actually the same being a bit over two years and 800- years | doubt police are looking for thing per relativity: 186,000 miles o! plus miles." me, otherwise | think they'd have space equals one second of time, in After Marcum had saved enough found me by now." Since Marcum oversimplified terms." He's certain money, he returned to Kansas City to was paid in cash for most of his jobs, hyperspace exists, because without i retrieve the journals that he used to except for a short employment at a he'd be dead. chronicle his experiments, inspect packing factory, taxes haven't been a Although Mike Marcum's las he machine and figure out what had red flag. "To the IRS, I've always attempt at time travel was 13 years appened. What he found been an intermittent blip on the ago, if he could start experimenting demoralised him. "It was just an radar." again he would. "After | returned to empty warehouse when | got back His biggest regret is forgetting his KC for a week and realised here," Marcum said. "To this day,| donors. "I can't remember the everything was gone, I was pretty still don't know what happened. I'm names of the people that helped disheartened and heartbroken," guessing it was dismantled at some build this project so I could look Marcum said. "But if] had the funds, point and the smaller parts were them up and explain what 1! would definitely try to pick up perhaps sold on eBay.” After a week happened," he said. "My main hope where | left off research-wise. Being in Kansas City, trying to remember _ is that they don't think I'm dead—or older and wiser these days and with he names of anyone who had helped worse, think I'm alive and the most some previous knowledge from trial im, he gave up and returned to his ungrateful person on Earth after all and error, I definitely would. Right emporary job in Ohio. “I'm sure Art their help.". He remembers that one now, though, just maintaining the Bell's listeners would be thinking man donated $1,000 to cover court basics of food, clothing and shelter hat the Men in Black came and costs from the transformer theft. is a struggle, so it's on the abducted everyone involved and put "But! can't remember his name if my backburner. The silver lining is: by he parts in Area 51," Marcum said _ life depended on it," Marcum said. my birth certificate I'm thirty-seven, jokingly. "I tend to think of the but biologically I'm thirty-five since I simplest explanation first: they all Mike Marcum Today skipped over two years of the assumed I was dead after not hearing Marcum lives off odd jobs in Ohio, calendar.” 00 c coed + coat said. "Il eventually ended up in a downtown Cincinnati homeless shelter, since at first | couldn't even remember my own name." As his memory slowly returned, Marcum found a temporary job so he could leave the homeless shelter. "Gradually, over the few months after that, I got most of my memory back," he said. It turned out that Marcum had woken up in 2000, two years later. "Il was hoping for maybe five minutes ahead and up to 75 to 100 yards’ distance, but it ended up being a bit over two years and 800- plus miles." After Marcum had saved enough money, he returned to Kansas City to retrieve the journals that he used to chronicle his experiments, inspect the machine and figure out what had happened. What he found demoralised him. "It was just an empty warehouse when | got back there," Marcum said. "To this day, | still don't know what happened. I'm guessing it was dismantled at some point and the smaller parts were perhaps sold on eBay." After a week in Kansas City, trying to remember he names of anyone who had helped im, he gave up and returned to his emporary job in Ohio. "I'm sure Art Bell's listeners would be thinking hat the Men in Black came and abducted everyone involved and put he parts in Area 51," Marcum said jokingly. "I tend to think of the simplest explanation first: they all assumed I was dead after not hearing tom me for two-plus years. I used to ave videos documenting my progress, but those tapes disappeared along with my journals and everything else. In hindsight, | should have made copies and slept with them but wasn't planning on disappearing for so long.” Even though that disappearance should have attracted more attention than the occasional Internet blogger wondering what had v ttey nae Jottee Ure Mike Marcum Today skipped over two years of the Marcum lives off odd jobs in Ohio, calendar.” °° surfs the Internet and reads the occasional scientific journal. "Any About the Author: time you see ‘closed time-like Jason Offutt is the author of four books on curves’ mentioned, that's a code the paranormal, including What Lurks : Beyond: The Paranormal in Your Backyard word for time trave vblicly “talk (reviewed in NEXUS 18/02) and Darkness a | pub vy Walks: The Shadow People Among Us. His about building time machines,” he article “Invasion of the Mysterious Black- said. "It's not a good career move." Eyed Children” was published in NEXUS He's also amused by the Internet 17/02. Jason Offutt also writes a weekly culture that has evolved around him Paranormal column at http://www.from- A . . A the-shadows.blogspot.com. He can be from his two interviews with Art Bell. contacted by email at “After doing a Google on myself just _jasonoffutt@hotmail.com. 84 * NEXUS Continued from page 62 AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2011 www.nexusmagazine.com