The Closet Time Machine is an upcoming science fiction novel that stands as the first technical piece of media considered to be part of the CxB mythos to been worked on. The narrative follows a human protagonist, Antonio Rivera, who, in 2017, discovers a unique time machine hidden within his newly purchased home. Unlike typical depictions of time machines, this device possesses the ability to facilitate Multiversal travel, allowing Rivera to navigate across different time periods and parallel universes.
The concept for The Closet Time Machine can be traced back to the early creative efforts of Cora, dating as far back as 2009-2010. During this period, Cora, then still quite young, embarked on the initial stages of developing a book that would eventually evolve into the novel known today. Although the core story and themes remained relatively consistent, the project experienced significant periods of inactivity. Over the next nine years, it was repeatedly shelved and revisited, struggling to find a concrete form.
In 2018, Cora briefly resumed work on the novel with the intention of publishing it on Wattpad. However, despite initial progress, the project once again entered a phase of dormancy and was never completed, falling into sheer development hell.
In 2019, the concept of the Closet Time Machine found new life when it was repurposed as the central element in a planned video game titled Detective Moore & The Closet Time Machine. Despite the promise of a fresh medium, this project too faced setbacks and issues, and was ultimately cancelled before reaching completion.
As of now, the novel remains in an incomplete state, with Cora planning to resume production sometime between 2025 and 2027. The anticipated version is expected to stay true to the original synopsis, though it has grown in scope and ambition over the years. Cora has described the planned narrative as a "dark, gritty saga" that will span multiple chapters and explore complex themes.
If production resumes as expected, the novel will have been in development for approximately 16 long years, making it the longest development period for any CxB-related project to date.
Plot Synopsis
Trivia
- The Closet Time Machine holds the record for the longest amount of time a CxB project has been in development.
- Originally, the novel was to be written in a journal in hand-writing, a feat that be proven to be hard to accomplishment due to sheer amount of time that would take.
- Originally, the main character was a nameless hero and would be left to interpretation who or what they were.
- Original drafts for the novel contained elements that Cora now considered to be too outlandish to include in the final product, such as The Team appearing in Chapter 1 trying to stop the protagonist since he was "causing problems across the entire Multiverse". This idea was scrapped because it felt generic and uninteresting, and the plot of the book is to be solely it's own thing with only references to other things in the mythos.
- The idea for the novel came from a game Cora and his friend used to play in his old home where they would go into the closet and pretend to go to different time periods and do various things together. He later adapted it into a book.
- The 2019 video game is actually a sequel to the book, which would reveal the identity and home universe to which Detective Moore belonged to and the fate of Antonio after the novel. Both of these plot points are scrapped and are retconned entirely.
- Despite the plans of the video game to be a horror game, the 2018 novel's drafts were described more of a action science fiction novel with brief touches of psychological thriller/horror without actually leaning towards either of the two as a whole. Now the novel is officially a science fiction action thriller with horror elements.