My name is Benjamin Franklin. You probably know me as that face on the U.S. $100 bill. Besides being one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, I’m also famous as a scientist, inventor, printer, philanthropist, and diplomat. But here’s something you may not be aware of. What I’m now about to share with you I have never yet divulged to another living soul -- I’m also a time traveler!
And therein lies my dilemma: I seem to have crossed paths with another very familiar time traveler known to the BBC and legions of fans as “Doctor Who.”
I have a fascinating story to tell about my experiences, but I fear it may get caught up in bureaucratic red tape because of your modern-day copyright laws, political correctness, and centuries-old animosities over our Declaration of Independence!
However, what I’d like to propose to you now is a partnership of common interests. Would you like to attract more American viewers to Doctor Who? My new 310-page novel, “Doctor Ben Who?” could serve as that bridge across the ocean. When you consider how much Franklin merchandise has been sold, how many books have been read, and how many viewers have tuned in over the years to see Ben Franklin on the telly, you’ll see that by teaming up, we could really turn the world on its ear!
I never set out to become a time traveler. But one day, it just happened! I was puttering around with one of my experiments, trying to prove that lightning was the same thing as electricity, when I was suddenly snatched away and unexpectedly deposited in the 21st century.
It was a quite unnerving experience, I can assure you. But that isn’t even the least of it. I then found myself on a series of exciting (sometimes extremely dangerous) journeys through time and space, most notably a trip to help save a distant planet from an imminent environmental disaster….caused, coincidentally, by their own experiment with electricity!
I was accompanied on these voyages by my good friend and companion Caty Ray, who hails from Block Island. (I met her at my brother John’s home in Boston, on one of these time-traveling trips). She and I had originally planned on a simple visit to Newport, in the colony of Rhode Island, but wound up going instead to the Tower of London in 18th century England; Harvard University in the 21st century; an elementary school in 1950s New Jersey; and a planet populated by mind-reading green people!
Together, we foiled a plot to blow up the House of Lords; met tourists at Old North Church in the modern-day city of Boston; were chased by sword-wielding guards through the dark corridors of the Tower of London; concocted a plan to change history by stopping a global electrification experiment; and risked our lives on a mission to see first-hand the effects of the catastrophic meltdown of the green people’s planet.
And all this, while wrestling with my own sense of identity. For some mysterious reason, the thought entered my head that I was not Benjamin Franklin at all, but rather some strange time-traveling person called ‘the Doctor.’ That notion, for me, was cause for an untold amount of consternation and confusion, to say the least. But having Caty along on these trips was more than enough compensation for those travails. Ah, my dear, sweet Caty! As the result of our experiences, we were quite the couple!
If you so desire, I would very much appreciate the opportunity to share with you the story of our adventures. As one of the colonies’ most accomplished media people myself (in the 1700s, that is!), I can foresee some of the questions you might have about this project. So, if you’re interested, please use the contact form on this website, http://benfranklinexclusive.weebly.com/contacting-us.html , or the email address listed there, and let’s enter into some serious discussions about the wonderful possibilities for this exciting new joint venture.
Your humble servant,
B.Franklin