reikanra 's review for:

The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster

5.0

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Very impressive and progressive for the time this short novel was published. I can imagine this could lead to some discussions about a possible future in which humans rely solely on technology to keep them alive, fed, clean and breathing. It‘s especially uncanny when read during the COVID-19 pandemic in which most our lives turned into a mostly digital one. The protagonist here was brought into a „world“ / into outer space, where life on earth is no longer possible due to pollution and nature‘s death. Humanity lives inside a kind of spaceship, The Machine, and this Machine provides everyone with food, clothing, clean air, etc. Communication and work is done through the Machine. You video call each other, face to face contact is unusual. You rarely leave your cell/room. Why would you when you have everything you need? Thanks to the Machine, which gains religious status. But is this life the only possibility? Is this man-made Machine the answer to everything? Can humans really rely on it?