After the loss of her daughter Christina, who was killed in a robbery while vacationing with cousins in Paris, Helena became obsessed with finding a way to turn back time and save her. This led to the invention of " H. G. Wells ' Time Machine". Helena's time machine in Warehouse 13, unlike the machine described in the novel The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, is not a vehicle. Instead, it transports consciousness to a directed target across time.