Barney Hendrickson is a mediocre movie-maker with no prospects, and his employer, Climactic Studios, is about to go out of business, particularly as the owner, L. M. Greenspan, has systematically looted the corporation. In desperation, Hendrickson drags Greenspan to see Professor Hewitt, who claims to have a time machine. Hewitt's idea of a demonstration, sending a bottle seven microseconds into the past, doesn't impress Greenspan. Hendrickson takes over the machine, turns everything up to maximum, and sends Greenspan's Cuban cigar three seconds into the future, burning out the circuitry in the process.