Here’s a semi-creepy dramatic reading of E.M. Forster’s The Machine Stops. It is a classic science fiction short story where everyone on Earth is sustained by...you guessed it...machines! We follow a woman who lives underground in beehive-like quarters with no human contact besides talking to her fellow hive-mates through telephone-like devices. The machine feeds her, creates artificial lighting for day and dims them for the evening in order to sleep. The machine controls everything while she gets to leisurely pass the time with music, teaching the hive children, and reading. Please keep in mind that this was published in 1909 so she won’t be doing all the cool modern stuff that we can today. Despite that fact, it is still an interesting and entertaining story. Give it a listen!
We find out that she has a son who lives on an airship (like the Hindenburg) which is run by...you guessed it...machines! Everyone must obey the machine and keep everything running smoothly for fear of it stopping one day. Do not speak ill of the machine or you will be banished to the surface of the Earth to live a horrible unpampered life. Oh, the humanity! If only her son believed this was the case. Keep listening, it gets more interesting!
Hold on, if they all live in machines then who is maintaining them? That’s a good question. All the pampered beehive and airship machine dwelling people have not kept track of such things. Oh, the insanity! What will happen to them all? Listen to the final installment of E.M. Forster’s The Machine Stops!
Here is the short story text for free:Â http://archive.ncsa.illinois.edu/prajlich/forster.html
Follow the link for more information about E.M. Forster:Â http://www.britannica.com/biography/E-M-Forster
