Hey, kaerpediem.

I enjoyed reading this. What I got out of it was, somewhere in the future it looks a lot like the past because we tend to make the same mistakes we make now.

Henry found himself in a dead end job and what became an untenable relationship with his wife because he couldn't look past the mundane of the day to day. He was hoping for something more, but without really changing or putting forth the effort required.

So, when he ended up in the future, he found himself repeating pretty much what had happened in his present.

In other words, if we try to escape into the future as we are, we're bound to repeat the same mistakes there. We need to change first, not our circumstances. When we change, then our circumstances will follow.

I know this was a steampunk contest entry, but that's the moral of the story I got. Well done, and congratulations on the curie. Let me know if I was right. :)