The Machine Stops

Though E.M. Forster wrote the “The Machine Stops” in 1909, a century before our current computer-dependent society, the story nevertheless predicts much of the technology that is ubiquitous today. The imagined communication system that replaces face-to-face relationships echoes today’s prevalent use of social media. The story also demonstrates that anxieties about technological advancements are not new.

The first decade of the 20th century was an important moment for technical innovations. Forster wrote the story soon after the invention of air conditioning in 1902, the Wright brothers’ first flight in 1903, the advent of radio broadcasting in 1906, and the creation of the washing machine in 1907. These inventions made it easier to automate work, travel long distances, and stay inside the house; the story shows the dark side of these advancements. Automation makes it unnecessary to learn certain skills, thereby risking that humanity will lose those skills. While traveling might broaden horizons, radio and air conditioning make traveling less necessary, as they bring ideas, entertainment, and comfort into one’s own home.

In the story, technology begins as a convenience but becomes a framework that replaces practical innovation. Therefore, it produces a society that cannot sustain itself. People like Vashti are content to have everything they want at the push of a button. The outside world is unpredictable and dangerous, so the people who live in the cells stop interacting with it. Of course, considering the end result, one wonders why humanity would choose this existence. One innovation after another has led to a society of people who allow a (supposedly benevolent) automated dictator control every aspect of their lives. The process by which the Central Committee takes away the ability to visit the surface shows that the people of this dystopian world are willing to give up free will and agency, bit by bit, for the sake of comfort and leisure. (This gradual evolution is concretely evident in the presence of the ventilation shafts, leftovers from the workmen who during construction still breathed the exterior air.)

The people do not need to do anything for themselves, so they do not learn how to do anything—even something as simple as picking up a dropped book. However, the role of the Central Committee suggests that this existence is only for the masses. Those who built the Machine and govern society are able to manipulate the general public into docility. Both Kuno and Vashti reference the hum of the Machine as a constant presence, one that even controls their minds. The lecturer who explains to the people that they are better off not visiting the surface likely works for the Committee and sees the whole picture. Those in power will remain in power if the populace is weakened, unable to rise up and fight. The fact that the Machine ultimately breaks down raises the question as to what happened to those who maintained it.

From a 21st century perspective, the story appears to have an environmentalist message, but it is unclear whether the outside air is deadly because of pollution or because man has grown unaccustomed to it. The landscape is barren, covered in the ruins of civilization, but the lighthouses still send out beams. The existence of people on the surface suggests that the environment is not entirely inhospitable. Although Kuno finds the air painful and impossible to breathe at first, he slowly grows accustomed to it by breathing the mix of outside and inside air. When he sees his mother again at the end of the story, he tells her that he has spent time with the people on the surface, implying that he returned to the surface and was able to survive.

The lack of practical innovation in the story does not only center human thinking on ideas rather than invention but also precludes artistic and scientific experimentation or discovery. The arts appear to be a safe indoor activity, but fostering creative expression would promote individuality, which might lead practitioners to question or attempt to undermine the social order. Instead, their ideas focus on studying obscure moments in arts and history. In a functioning society, the study of history and art—even in eras and geographies that seem too minute to matter—allows us to see patterns over time and understand more about the nature of humanity. But in “The Machine Stops,” these ideas exist in a vacuum. Vashti specializes in music from the Brisbane school with no real understanding of what Brisbane was within its original context. Thus, when the lecturer suggests that they do not need to understand the French Revolution as it happened but as it might have happened in the era of the Machine, it shows that the study of art and history is only a diversion.

The society in the story forfeits basic elements of human connection. They no longer touch or see each other’s faces clearly, but the airship hostess’ behavior suggests that this may not be entirely true across humanity. When Vashti stumbles, the hostess reaches out to catch her. There appears to be a class distinction between Vashti, who lives a life of leisure, and the hostess, who either must work or chooses to work for some unknown reason. The hostess not only touches Vashti but is surprised when touching offends her, implying that this idea of “advanced” society is focused on an elite. Theoretically, there is an invisible underclass that keeps the Machine functioning on a mechanical level, although the ending of the story shows that these workers do not have the specialized knowledge required for innovation. Therefore, society has “advanced” to this point, but remains stagnant until it falls. The story warns readers in 1909 to be wary of new technology and to remember that advancement should not mean giving up agency.