The Reincarnation Machine — Jonathan Gray

What is it like to be trapped in another century - inside another body? 'The Reincarnation Machine' is a time travel historical suspense story set in London, England in 1754 with a subplot set in modern times. Two young men are experimenting with a past life regression machine, and one, James, is transported back in time to occupy the body of a previous life, while Chris operates the machine in his Baltimore lab. James is surprised to discover that his 18th century counterpart is a retarded boy called Luke, and in his new role, he has to cope with a personality and a time he knows nothing about. Desperate to prove reincarnation is fact, he obtains a jeweled dagger to bury in 1754, planning to dig it up in the twenty first century. However, some highwaymen have already killed for the dagger and are pursuing James to get it back. Back in the lab some loan sharks kidnap Chris's girlfriend who is looking after the machine. They tamper with the timer and James is stuck in the past. Now he has no means of returning to the 21st century, and has to find his own way to deal with the perils of Georgian London. Circumstances worsen when the Bow Street Runners, who think James did the highway robbery for the dagger, eventually incarcerate him in Newgate Prison where he mingles with cell rats, is beaten by brutal wardens and converses with the strange inmates. In a short time he appears at the Old Bailey and is sentenced to be hanged at the dreaded Tyburn Gallows. All the time he prays to get back to his own time, but it seems his past life is to end at the end of a rope. What will happen to him in the twenty first century has him on the brink of insanity. He has images of his step sister, whom he loved dearly, and who was drowned as a witch in front of him. Her phantom always faded into the night leaving him alone and scared.