E. M. Forster 
The Machine Stops 

Considered one of the best early examples of science fiction, E. M. Forster’s short story, “The Machine Stops, ” first published in 1909, is notable for predicting several modern technologies decades before they became practical, including the Internet and instant messaging.



‘The Machine Stops’ describes a world in which almost all humans have lost the ability to live on the surface of the Earth. Each individual lives in isolation in a ‘cell’, with all bodily and spiritual needs met by the omnipotent, global Machine. Most humans welcome this development, as they are sceptical and fearful of first-hand experience. People forget that humans created the Machine, and treat it as a mystical entity whose needs supersede their own. Those who do not accept the deity of the Machine are viewed as ‘unmechanical’ and are threatened with ‘Homelessness’…