Truth And Fiction

Please consider the following propositions before responding to them.

First, The Time Machine is a true account because its author was one of the Time Traveller's dinner guests. The account was mistaken for fiction maybe because the Time Traveller failed to return to confirm his story. This sufficiently explains the existence of the text of The Time Machine.

Secondly, The Time Machine is a work of fiction based on the time travel idea which a mutant time traveller gave to an English writer. Another mutant time traveller confided in Dr. Robert Anderson who passed on some ideas to Poul Anderson. This second Anderson wrote a series of stories about a future civilization which he called the Maurai Federation and later wrote There Will Be Time about mutant time travellers. This sufficiently explains the existence of the texts of The Time Machine, the Maurai future history series and There Will Be Time.

Thirdly, the Sherlock Holmes stories are true accounts because their author, Dr. John Watson, was Holmes' confidante. This was confirmed when two Time Patrolmen met a private investigator and his amanuensis while investigating the singular contents of an ancient British barrow. This sufficiently explains the existence of the texts of the Sherlock Holmes stories although the existence of the Time Patrol remains secret to most people born before 19352 A.D. 

These are elaborate rationalizations of fictional narratives although, unfortunately, mutant time travellers and the Time Patrol are mutually incompatible! But, of course, we can assign them to different (kinds of) timelines.

I suggested the first proposition above to an acquaintance, emphasising that I put it forward as a fictional premise, but he soon got confused and thought that I thought that The Time Machine was a true account.