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A review by bluebird74
The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster
4.0
"Humanity, in it's desire for comfort, had overreached itself. It had exploited the riches of nature too far. Quietly and complacently, it was sinking into decadence, and progress had come to mean the progress of The Machine."
It always amazes me how much of the world authors get right, when they project so far into the future. Written in 1909 this story tells of a world in which humans have polluted the planet to the point where they now are forced to live underground. In their new underground cities, all possible conveniences are provided by The Machine - screens to see and speak with people across the other side of the world, music and light at the touch of a button, lectures and entertainment on demand.. but each person lives in a room of their own, and the idea of 'direct experience' is strongly discouraged. In this isolation humans have actually come to fear contact with others, and they calmly accept changes made by The Machine to keep them more and more pliable.
It always amazes me how much of the world authors get right, when they project so far into the future. Written in 1909 this story tells of a world in which humans have polluted the planet to the point where they now are forced to live underground. In their new underground cities, all possible conveniences are provided by The Machine - screens to see and speak with people across the other side of the world, music and light at the touch of a button, lectures and entertainment on demand.. but each person lives in a room of their own, and the idea of 'direct experience' is strongly discouraged. In this isolation humans have actually come to fear contact with others, and they calmly accept changes made by The Machine to keep them more and more pliable.