221B Baker Street, London, England:
"Holmes?"
"Yes, Watson?"
"What on earth is that strange contraption?"
"I don't know. Yet."
221B Baker Street, London, England:
"Sherlock?"
"Yes, John?"
"What the hell is that weird machine?"
"I don't know. Yet."
221B Baker Street, London, England:
"Well, Holmes?"
"It appears to be some sort of device far more complex than any I have experienced in the past."
"Too complicated for you?"
"On the contrary. I would say this could be used for a sort of time-travel."
221B Baker Street, London, England:
"Well, Sherlock?"
"It's some kind of futuristic technology. I can't quite figure out how it works."
"Too complicated for you?"
"No. It's most definitely used for time-travel. Not in the way you might think, though."
"Send a letter through time?"
"Certainly. You observe the symbols at the top? They are clearly indicating some time. There is no place for a person or object, but examine this slot. It is the right measurements for a sheet of paper."
"But it could be sent to anyone!"
"No, no, my dear Watson. Whoever sent us this item obviously has a destination in mind. There is no way that I can fathom to change the symbols at the top."
"Sherlock, that's crazy. How can anyone send a letter through time?"
"The people who made this can, John. They sent it to us, after all. I suspect that this was actually sent to us from a different time, and that someone else has an identical one."
"What makes you say that?"
"There's no point in sending a letter without anyone to receive it."
"Holmes, you can't be serious. You have no idea who will get this letter!"
"I intend to find out."
...
"Sherlock . . ."
"I see it, John. An old style of paper, but looks new. Written with an old fountain pen by a man, in excellent shape and extremely intelligent. At least, that's what I can tell from a glance."
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"Are you going to read it?"
"Of course. Here, take a look."
To whoever may receive this letter,
In hope that you are able to read English, I have decided to write and send this letter in order to make a little sense of the situation I find myself in. Just today, I discovered that a strange device had appeared in the flat that a companion and I share. We were naturally baffled as to its origins, as nothing this sophisticated has, to my knowledge, been constructed by human hands. We believe this to be a device that has the ability to span time, by means unknown to me.
At the time I write this letter, it is the year 1890 by our reckoning. I live in London, a large city in England, an island west of the coast of continental Europe, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean.
I live with a dear friend and colleague of mine, Dr. John Watson, at the address of 221B Baker Street. I spend my time solving matters that range from trivial to interesting, both at the request of the police and private clients. I am regarded as having the greatest intelligence and deductive prowess of any man alive today, save perhaps one.
I truly hope that we may communicate and perhaps work together to unravel the riddle that has been presented to us.
Sincerely,
Sherlock Holmes
"You can't believe this, Sherlock. It's crazy."
"Of course it's crazy. That's not going to stop me from sending a reply."
...
"Holmes! The device is lighting up again!"
"Similar to when I sent a letter through. Hmmm. We seem to be receiving something this time."
"What's it written on? I've never seen a substance quite like that."
"It would appear to be paper from the future, judging by its obvious increase in quality. I believe we can safely say that we have received a letter from people who do not yet exist. As for the letter itself . . . come, read it with me, Watson."
To the person or people who sent the last letter,
It seems that we have come across a similar puzzle. I am also sending this letter by a machine with the abilities you described in your letter. My friend and I also share a flat and found this thing sitting in the room. As far as I know, humans in our time have never been able to make any kind of time machine, even one that can't send humans across time. Some scientists may be getting close, though. However, I am tempted to think that this wasn't built by humans at all.
Far stranger that that is the other information you gave us. You see, my friend and I also live in London, England, a country that is a large island in the Atlantic Ocean. In fact, we live at 221B Baker Street. For the record, my friend's name happens to be Dr. John Watson. Oh, and this year is 2010 by our calendar.
Sincerely,
Sherlock Holmes
"What the devil could this all mean?"
"You are strongly moved indeed, Watson."
"On the contrary, you are extremely unmoved."
"Perhaps. In answer to your question, I believe this means that I shall be busy for quite some time."
Okay! To people who have not watched the new (2010) BBC series Sherlock, go and watch it. Right now. If anyone could pull the characters into the 21st century, this did.
Also, if you haven't watched the Jeremy Brett series based on the original books (almost perfectly translated into some scripts,) go and watch that too. Seriously.
Well, you can guess which incarnations of Holmes and Watson I'm using.
Also, a friend provided me with an explanation for time travel, but I'd love to hear theories and suggestions. At least until I get to the chapters where it's all explained.
Enjoy!