A Trip into the Future

*A ghostly eagle fades out from within the walls of the first US Mint. Standing there is a boy who stares in awe more than fright*

Boy-Wow! I've never seen anything like that before...

*Surprisingly, the eagle can speak*

Eagle-Hello there, my name is Peter. I come from the future to take lucky people into the future for a sneak peak.

Boy-So I'll be taking a trip to the future? Will we be walking or going by horse-carriage?

Peter-Actually...we're gonna fly...

*After some time of ferocious spinning, they arrive in a place which is actually the second US Mint*

Peter-Here we are, this is the second US Mint, similar to the one you were just staring at.

Boy-But why is there a second one? What happened to the first one?

Peter-We'll...nothing actually happened to the first one, but since the Mint is in charge of making coins for the entire country, they needed more room, so they built a second one, the one you are looking at right now.

Boy-What year is it?

Peter-Why its actually 1834, this mint was first needed in the late 1820's and completed in 1833.
*Just then, a person headed for the mint walks through the boy.*

Boy-Whoa! I'm just like you! Does this mean I can walk through those walls and look inside to see what it looks like?

Peter-Perhaps later, but for now we need to continue our tour. Hold on tightly to my wing.

*This time instead of spinning, they soared through time*

*They emerge out of the time travel vortex and come to another building which is the third US Mint*

Boy-Is this the third US Mint?

Peter-Yes actually. As you can already assume, they needed even more space so they decided to build a third one. If you look at it, you will notice that the design is similar to one of a roman temple.

Boy-When was this built?

Peter- It was built in 1901, but after they built the fourth one, yes there's a fourth one, they will use this for the Philadelphia Community College.

Boy-Could I go in and see this one??(He was even more eager to see what was inside this one)

Peter-Sorry but we still have more places to go. Hold on to my wing again.

*As they flew threw time again, they go further into the future, now emerging in front of the fourth US Mint in Philadelphia*

Peter-Here we are, the fourth US Mint.

Boy-Did they run out of room again?(Boy sounds less interested now)

Peter-Yes, precisely. They needed more space, along with more security and better access to highways.

*Boy nods, seems bored*

Peter-As you can see, this one is more of a box shape and has barely any windows. Well that's enough speaking for now...

Boy-Are we going to go to the fifth one now?(He couldn't help emphasize the last three words in agitation.)

Peter-*chuckle* No, actually, we have enough time to take a tour of this one.

Boy-*His face lights up in amazement and enlightenment.* Ya!

*They float through the walls into the area where they have security checks*

Boy-What are those odd machines? They're moving by themselves...

Peter-That machine is what they use to check for things that are not allowed in the Mint, like cameras...Its a conveyor belt that moves the items through a x-ray and metal detector.

Boy-Cameras?

Peter-They're an invention that takes pic-...well its a long topic...would you rather me talk about cameras or take a tour?

*This took him a while to answer because he was interested in both...but he eventually chose the tour. As they float past the escalator, they emerge into a long hallway with see-through glass on one wall. The glass is a window that shows the process of actual coins being made. First, they see a furnace where the coins are heated, next they see many shiny coins slide out from coining presses into overflowing containers. Finally, they see a forklift carrying the heavy coins into nearby vaults.*

Peter-Well, that's the end of this tour. You can take a further look, I'll be leaving now, to get back to your time, simple clap your hands.

Boy-OK.

*Just as Peter is about to soar away, the boy asks a question*

Boy-Wait! Why is there a statue that looks exactly like you?

Peter-I was wondering how long it would take you to ask. I kind of adapted the Mint as my home in the early 19th century and was the mint's mascot basically. The reason I'm a ghost is because one day, I accidentally perched myself on a flywheel and it started moving. My wing got stuck and I later died because of that. They kept a statue of me mounted in the mint. To most, this is just a story.

Boy-Wow...But why do you keep coming back? Are you haunting us?

Peter-Actually, in a way, I am. Since I died here and was the mascot of the US Mint, its fun to go back into the past and show people the future of this building. Farewell.

*With those words, Peter disappeared*