A few mathematical ideas are tossed around casually in this light and entertaining science fiction story about a lab assistant who realizes before his boss that the device they are working on can be used as a time machine. In his adventures, he travels farther and farther into the future. In fact, one slightly mathematical aspect of the story is the fact that the times by which the machine travels into the future form a geometric series -- increasing each time by a factor of 12. But, the main reason I am listing this SF novel here is the occasional vague reference to abstract algebra and topology and the discovery of a ``mathematical Rosetta Stone''. |