The Machine Stops by EM. Forster, 1909. The story takes place in an underground world. The Earth has become unlivable. People are isolated, each in their own cells, like in a honeycomb. They only communicate with each other via 'the Machine', a device with a global reach. They stare at a glowing round plate all day.

“You're talking like a god created the Machine,” the other shouted. I believe you pray to him when you are unhappy. Men made it, don't forget that. “ETC. Forster is best known for his outstanding novels, but these two moving short stories brilliantly combine the fantastic with the allegorical. In

'The Machine Stops', humanity has isolated itself underground, entangled in automated comfort, and in 'The Celestial Omnibus', a young boy takes a journey that his parents say is impossible. This book includes The Machine Stops and A Celestial Omnibus.

The Machine Stops by EM. Forster, 1909. The story takes place in an underground world. The Earth has become unlivable. People are isolated, each in their own cells, like in a honeycomb. They only communicate with each other via 'the Machine', a device with a global reach. They stare at a glowing round plate all day.

“A son asks his mother to visit him. At first she doesn't want to leave her cell. The son begs her: “You talk as if a god had made the Machine. I believe that you pray to it when you are unhappy. The Machine is much, but it is not everything.” “Unbelievable, right? A text over a century old! It doesn't take much imagination to think that this is about today. Forster wrote his story at a time when there were high expectations about the development of the air bike. As a verb, this now means something like “fantasize”. In 1903, the word air bike first appeared in a Dutch newspaper . In 1912, French industrialist Robert Peugeot launched a design competition for aviettes: muscle-powered devices. Moving images of this, which are on YouTube stand, are very funny. The best participant came three and a half meters apart from the ground.

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