The room full of practical ideas (metaphor)
This metaphor represents a huge importance of Einstein’s work. It highlights that his intelligence is not just theoretically framed but also has a practical realization (dozens of patents are a great proofs of that). The atmosphere of the room is so unique because it is the atmosphere of genius discoveries which were made by hard work, persistence and even some kind of obsession. Well, yes, it may be concluded that Albert Einstein was obsessed with his work, and maybe that is why he became who is.
Stream of time (Metaphor)
This is a quite widespread metaphor, but in this story it has a little bit different meaning and role. In a world where time is a stream, everything goes back in time, since it is like a vicious circle – you don’t know what to do because you are afraid that in a moment you may be transported back in time like the river turns away from its mainstream. Stream of time here means something inevitable, like destiny, something people cannot change because they are too weak.
The body is a machine (Metaphor)
In a world where there is a mechanical time, people don’t believe that their bodies exist. They know that the body is not “a thing of wild magic” it is “a collections of chemicals, tissues and nerve impulses”. In other words, when time is mechanical, then the human body is also a mechanism, a subject to the same laws of electricity and mechanics as an electron of clock. This metaphor shows the mechanical attitude to time and its consequences.
Time is like a flow of water (Simile)
The simile represents one of the Einstein’s theories of time when it is like a flow of water, “a passing breeze”. But, there is a high possibility that some “cosmic disturbance” will cause a rivulet of time to turn away from the mainstream and make connection back stream. Then everything will be carried to the past. People, who are back in time“ wear dark, indistinct clothing and walk on their toes trying not to make a single sound, trying not to bend a single blade of grass”. Those people are afraid to be transported back in time again because it makes their life senseless.
