Flight From Tomorrow

A deposed dictator escapes a crushing uprising by activating an experimental time machine, intending to land in a later century where he can exploit backward civilizations to rebuild an empire and return for vengeance. The machine skips far earlier than planned, depositing him in the dawn of atomic civilization; sabotage destroys his instrument and most of his records, leaving him stranded with only fragments of future knowledge. The narrative follows his practical attempts to manipulate less advanced societies, the moral and strategic consequences of imposing technological dominance, and the hazards of political hubris when time travel enables but does not guarantee control.