Description

Before Orwell. Before Huxley. There was Forster. The Machine Stops, written in 1909 by E.M. Forster, is one of the earliest—and eerily prophetic—visions of a dystopian future. In this haunting short story, humanity has retreated underground. The surface of the Earth is toxic, contact between people is rare, and all of life’s needs are met by a vast, unknowable system known simply as the Machine. Over time, people stop asking questions. They stop understanding how anything works. They stop remembering how to live. This Thinking Aloud Edition, produced by the History Think blog, opens with a thoughtful exploration of how Forster’s vision compares to the more famous dystopias of Orwell’s 1984 and Huxley’s Brave New World. It closes with a sobering reflection on how close we may be to the future Forster warned about—not a future of violent takeover, but of quiet collapse. A future where systems grow so complex, so automated, and so fragile that no one remembers how to fix them. Or even why they mattered. Despite being more than a century old, The Machine Stops feels like it was anticipating an AI-driven, algorithmic age. Like much science fiction, this is a cautionary tale that offers a perspective worthy of consideration. Perfect for fans of speculative fiction, dystopias, or just a really good story that still hits home. Settle in and get comfortable. Not too comfortably. And listen closely. Comparable works include Brave New World, 1984, We, R.U.R., The Circle, Super Sad True Love Story, Feed, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, Ex Machina, Colossus: The Forbin Project, WALL·E, The Road, Black Mirror, The Matrix

Channels