Hall of Mirrors

"Hall of Mirrors" by Fredric Brown is a thought-provoking science fiction story set in the early 1950s, grappling with the intricate concept of time travel and its moral dilemmas. The story centers on Norman Hastings, a young math professor who inadvertently journeys into the future year of 2004. He suddenly finds himself faced with an impossible choice: control or destroy the time machine to prevent chaos and its misuse. As he adapts to this new reality, Norman must deal with the emotional trauma of a lost life, plus the death of his fiancée, while understanding the profound burden of guarding humanity from the possible dangers of time travel.