Places to Go: The Machine Stops by E.M Forster

This week, Chris Lynn reads from E.M Forster’s classic sci-fi short story ‘The Machine Stops’ - the full text can be found here.

We enter into a futuristic society in which humans live comfortably in their cells underground in a state of hyper-connectivity. We follow Vashti whose busy routine day is punctured by a call from her estranged son who asks her to visit him, in person. Will a mother’s love find expression in this mechanically ordered world where technology can fulfil our every need and desire?  An eerily prescient story where all areas of human life are mediated through a machine. What can we learn from this resonant story which illuminates our own reliance on the internet and technology in a blinding light…