A Witch in Time

In Short

This science fiction short story follows Nat Lyon, a time traveler who commits the ultimate crime of "Time Meddling" by rescuing Abigaile Goodyeare, a woman sentenced to death for witchcraft in 17th-century New England. The two embark on a nomadic, centuries-spanning honeymoon to escape the relentless pursuit of the Time Inspection Corps. Written with the imaginative scope of mid-century speculative fiction, the work explores the tension between state-mandated order and the fierce, irrational defiance of human love, ultimately arriving at a haunting, cyclical resolution that lingers long after the final page.

The Story

The narrative begins in the 17th century, where Nat Lyon, a researcher from the 25th century, observes a witchcraft trial. Moved by the sight of Abigaile Goodyeare—a terrified young woman falsely accused—Nat uses a paralysis ray to halt the execution and spirits her away in his time machine. He takes her to 18th-century Mexico, where the two forge an unlikely bond despite their vast cultural differences. Nat, realizing he cannot return her to her own time to be executed, nor risk her discovery in his own era, decides to go on the run.

As they travel through various historical eras, they fall in love and marry, attempting to outwit Anton Bor, the ascetic, unrelenting Chief of the Time Inspection Corps. Their life becomes a series of narrow escapes and long periods of hiding. They live in different centuries, adopting new identities and enjoying simple, human pleasures that contrast sharply with the sterile, regimented society Nat left behind. However, the TIC is never far behind, utilizing advanced technology and the determination of Bor, who seems to possess a personal, ancestral link to Abigaile’s original persecutors.

Despite their resourcefulness—including Abigaile’s own lethal ingenuity when threatened by a TIC agent—the couple is eventually captured in their twilight years while living in Florida. They are brought before a 25th-century tribunal and sentenced to "correct" their original interference. Nat is forced to return to the day of the trial, where he must watch as the authorities place the paralyzed Abigaile back onto the gallows.

The story’s conclusion pivots to a chilling historical document. As the execution proceeds, a magical or temporal phenomenon occurs. The witnesses watch in horror as the young, beautiful Abigaile vanishes, replaced instantly by an aged, withered crone. The "witch" has been subjected to a forced, rapid aging process to satisfy the demands of the timeline, proving that while Nat could save her body, he could not save her from the inescapable machinery of history. The ending leaves the reader with the eerie suggestion that local legends of the supernatural were, in fact, the scars left by a time traveler’s futile rebellion.

How It Unfolds

The rescue Nat witnesses an execution and impulsively uses a paralysis ray to save Abigaile Goodyeare from the gallows. He spirits her away, realizing immediately that he has committed a serious crime against his 25th-century society.

The honeymoon The couple travels through human history, visiting Ancient Greece and other civilizations while evading the Time Inspection Corps. They realize that to escape, they must remain nomadic and avoid returning to their home era.

The chase Anton Bor and his agents track the couple across the centuries, leading to a series of tense encounters. Nat and Abigaile adapt to life in different times, but the "neutralizing fields" developed by the TIC make hiding increasingly difficult.

The confrontation After years of hiding, the couple is apprehended in Florida and brought before a tribunal. They are forced to participate in the "correction" of their original act of mercy.

The final transformation Nat is compelled to return to the 17th-century gallows, where the authorities complete the execution. A historical record confirms that the witnesses saw the girl undergo a terrifying, instantaneous transformation into an old woman.

The People

Nat Lyon is an idealistic, slightly impulsive researcher from the 25th century. His desire to save an innocent life leads him to abandon his career and his society. Over the course of the story, he shifts from a detached academic observer to a deeply protective partner who realizes that his own era’s lack of emotion is a form of sterility.

Abigaile Goodyeare begins as a frightened, pious girl from the Puritan era who views Nat as either a demon or an angel. Her capacity for growth is remarkable; she learns to navigate the complexities of time travel, master new languages, and even use a dagger for self-protection. She remains the emotional anchor of the story, driven by a fierce loyalty to Nat that persists even when the law closes in.

Anton Bor serves as the story’s antagonist, representing the cold, unyielding nature of the Time Inspection Corps. He is a man of logic and "righteous wrath," obsessed with maintaining the integrity of the timeline. Bor’s ancestry is linked to the very men who condemned Abigaile, suggesting that his pursuit is not merely a matter of professional duty, but a deep-seated, generational crusade against those who do not fit his rigid, ordered world.

In Its Own Voice

Describing the moment he first spots the woman he is about to save, Nat reflects on the disparity between his view of history and the gritty reality of a prisoner.

"There was romance in history, he thought, when viewed in the abstract, but not when one faced history in the person of a female who had languished several days in an unsanitary prison."

After years of being hunted, Abigaile begins to suspect that their nemesis is driven by something more personal than mere scientific or legal procedure.

"Perhaps, Dear Nat," Abby said, lapsing into her original old New England speech, as she often did when thinking deeply, "He followeth us by inductive methods rather than through his science."

The final historical record provides a haunting, supernatural explanation for how the "witch" managed to age so drastically in front of the witnesses.

"... as we watched, it seemed suddenly our vision blurred and there was the smell of brimstone in the aire and when we could see againe, there in the place of comely young Abigaile Goodyeare, was a wrinkled gruesome crone..."

What It's Really About

The central argument of the book is the collision between human morality and systemic order. Nat Lyon acts on an individual moral impulse—the desire to save a single life—which puts him in direct opposition to a state-controlled future that values the continuity of history over the fate of the individual. The book questions whether history is a fixed, sacred text that must be preserved at any cost, or if it is something that can and should be shaped by compassion. By framing the "time traveler" as a criminal, the author explores the idea that true freedom requires an escape from the rigid, sterile expectations of a society that has traded its humanity for total control.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy the brisk, imaginative pacing of mid-century "golden age" science fiction will find much to admire here. It is a compact, poignant story that refuses to provide a comfortable resolution, which is its greatest strength. The prose is clean and direct, though readers should be prepared for the intentional shift in dialect when Abigaile speaks; her transition from archaic Puritan phrasing to a more modern tone serves as a gentle reminder of the couple’s displacement.

The book is particularly effective in how it utilizes the concept of a "time-travel honeymoon" to visit various historical settings, providing a sense of scale despite its brevity. What stays with you is the final, haunting image of the "witch" on the gallows—a moment that transforms a story of romantic adventure into a grim, cyclical tragedy about the cruelty of bureaucracy. It is a stark reminder that even in fiction, the most romantic gestures are often cut short by the cold, unyielding weight of the past. For those who appreciate stories that linger in the mind like a half-remembered nightmare, this is a compelling and thought-provoking read.