November 1, 2016

Face to Facetime
Mulan Yang

The Machine Stops

A short story by E.M. Forster
Originally published in The Oxford and Cambridge Review, Nov. 1909.

A room in the Machine, as imagined by a 1966

episode of the television show, Out of the Unknown.
Screenshot by Archive Television Musings.

The aerial view of a micro-apartment in Hong Kong.

Photo taken by the Society for Community Organization.

President Rutherford B. Hayes told Alexander Graham Bell that [the telephone is] an amazing
invention, but who would ever want to use one of them? He was completely unaware that now, almost
anywhere you go, you can spot multiple people absorbed in a phone screen. During any short break,
such as between classes or before an event starts, the majority of people are probably responding to texts
or browsing social media. Juxtaposing President Hayess belief, a 1912 article called The Future Home
Theater in The Independent predicted that the talking motion picture and the electric vision apparatus
with telephone would become commonplace in 1930. If you were in their place during the late 19th or
early 20th century, could you have accurately predicted the technological advances of the next century?
E.M. Forster, the author of The Machine Stops, did this task with alarming accuracy. In his
short story, he wrote about a society with televisions, airships, and devices for video calls and large
conference calls, approximately what we have now, over a century since he first published his work in
1909. Forster managed this even though he lived during a time when radios and telephones had just
become popularized, and televisions and personal computers were still decades away from being
everyday products. However, in his vision of the future, humans live nearly their entire lives ensconced
within one of the identical hexagonal rooms that make up the Machine, completely dependent on it for
food, music, healthcare, communication, and even euthanasia when they are old. When the Machine
breaks down, everyone dies because they were blindly faithful that it would eventually repair itself. I
initially thought of this story as a blatantly unrealistic prediction, but our society could be slowly
heading towards a similar future.
There are strong parallels between the small rooms of the Machine and the apartments in
particularly congested cities. The article, Hong Kongs Shocking 40-Square-Foot Apartments
Photographed by Chinese Human Rights Group, showcases a few images of life in an overcrowded
Professor Cecelia Musselman, ENGW1111H: P2D4, Review Article Format, Word Count: 1853

city. The picture on the top right highlights the living conditions of over 10,000 people in Hong Kong,
where rent prices are 35% more expensive than in New York City. Families are being crowded into tiny
apartments, fitting their entire lives into a space only slightly larger than a king-size mattress. In other
cities, due to the rising cost of rent, some young adults are choosing to live in urban dorms, rooming
with strangers so that they can afford to live in a nicer building or area. One such dorm in New York
City is detailed in the New York Times article, Out of College, but Now Living in Urban Dorms. Most
of its residents are young and transitioning from college, but some are kind of wondering: When does
this end? When do I get to be able to buy a place and settle down? On the other hand, some recent
college graduates are willing to pay higher rents just to live in dorm-like buildings. The WeLive
building in NYC boasts of its furnished bedrooms, communal spaces, and constant events. It sounds
exactly like an upscale version of the residence hall Im living in now. Its founders believe that people
living in this kind of community, rather than in separate apartments, will make meaningful connections
with their roommates and other neighbors. This situation differs from Forsters story because it
encourages people to interact with each other face-to-face, rather than isolating themselves within their
room. However, if spaces like these become more common, then a building like the Machine seems far
more likely.
Forsters predictions about our reliance on technology could
also be true. I tote my phone with me everywhere I go, as do most
people I know. Some of my friends obsessively check their
notifications, ensuring that they havent missed a text or call. Cell
phone and Internet addiction have become problematic enough for
dedicated rehabilitation centers to pop up and begin offering treatment
for the symptoms, which could include anxiety and academic problems.
In general, everyone assumes that kids are too absorbed in their
electronic devices to truly appreciate life anymore. If you were on
social media earlier this year, you might have seen the image on the
right and shaken your head at the audacity of kids these days, focusing
on their cell phones instead of classic works of art. If so, you werent
alone. This picture went viral, with people commenting on the sad state
of our society. However, it turned out that the kids were actually using
the museums app to learn more about the painting. The photo was
completely misconstrued because the full story wasnt shared.
In fact, adults are also succumbing to the temptation that is
near-constant cell phone usage. Forster not only included innovative
electronics in his story, but he also wrote about how this technology
would affect peoples interactions. In the story, Kuno cant convince
his mother, Vashti, to visit him face to face, even though it would
require only a two day trip in a comfortable airship. She claims that
because she can talk to him and see him well enough through the
Machine, it is unnecessary for them to talk in person. This scenario is a
surprisingly accurate prediction of changing family dynamics when
electronics are involved, as reported in Patti Neighmonds NPR article
entitled For The Children's Sake, Put Down That Smartphone. She
interviewed Dr. Jenny Radesky, a childrens development specialist,
about her observation of families at a fast food restaurant. According to

A group of schoolchildren
engrossed in their phones in
front of a Rembrandt painting.
Photo taken by Gijsbert van
der Wal.

Radesky, 40 of the 55 parents used a mobile device during the meal, and many were more absorbed
in the device than in the kids. This lack of interaction negatively affects childrens behavior, causing
them to act out for attention. It also doesnt teach them how to effectively converse or understand
emotions.
Vashti also creates excuses not to visit her son because she is very reluctant to leave her room
and travel above ground. This attitude is somewhat reflected in our communities; according to the
organization Playday, 40% of kids want to be outside more often, but the number of kids who play
outside every day has halved compared to their parents generation. Playday believes playing is vital in
childrens lives, so it conducted a study on why this trend was happening. Its 2013 media release
revealed that almost a third (32%) [of adults] believe allowing their children to play ball games or
make noise outdoors would cause problems with other residents. The issue isnt that most kids in this
generation suddenly want to stay inside using electronics all day, but instead the attitude about the
importance of playing outside has changed. It is now seen as disruptive to the community, rather than a
commonplace activity. If this trend towards staying indoors continues, more people will be like Vashti,
only interacting with the outside world through technology.
The trend will also lead to more miscommunication because expressing emotion or a clear tone
of voice is harder in texts and emails. Forster predicts this as well, as the Machine did not transmit
nuances of expression. It only gave a general idea of people - an idea that was good enough for all
practical purposes Something "good enough" had long since been accepted by our race. Many people
choose to text because its so convenient, even though they risk being misunderstood. Luckily, unlike
Forsters plates that essentially allow blurry video calls, modern cameras capture expressions quite
clearly. The issue with current video technology is its inability to express other nuances about the
environment of the person youre calling, such as any smells or quieter background sounds. Its
usefulness depends on whether, like Vashti, you believe this is good enough. The story reminds us
that interacting face to face is always better when possible. In fact, no matter how exaggerated the story
may seem at first glance, it still emphasizes the importance of directly experiencing the world, rather
than seeing everything through an electronic medium.
Just as Kuno differs from his mother and yearns to see the Earth and the stars, there are always
people who advocate using electronics less and exploring more. They parallel the Homeless in the story:
those who have been kicked out of the Machine for questioning its authority. This sentence is
tantamount to execution for those living in the Machine, who have been told that it is impossible to
survive on the surface of the Earth without a respirator. However, at the very end of the story when the
Machine is collapsing, Kuno explains to his mother that there are people living outside, hiding in the
mist and the ferns until our civilization stops. Although an overwhelming majority of people in the
story enjoyed living in the Machine, they were determined at birth to be satisfied with sitting all day. In
our society, in which there is a greater variety in peoples personalities, it is less likely that one day
nearly everyone will reject the outside world. Unless there is a global disaster and the surface of the
Earth is no longer habitable, there will probably always be enough dissenters to form their own society,
just like the Homeless did. Even now, plenty of people refuse to get smartphones, believing that they
prevent social interaction and add unnecessary stress to their lives.
If you would prefer a similar story with a nicer ending, the idea of escaping a collapsing society
is present in more than The Machine Stops. The City of Ember, a particularly popular book when I
was in middle school, describes an underground city running on a dilapidated generator. The occasional
blackouts signal that the generator is malfunctioning and may soon shut down. Two children manage to

escape from the city into the outside world, and they are amazed by all the natural wonders, just like
Kuno when he finally visits the Earths surface.
If we as a society dont want to end up like Forster predicts, with everyone so detached from
other people that they cringe from any touch, we should reconsider some of our technology usage. We
dont need to get rid of all our gadgets, but both of these works warn against becoming dependent on
them. Dont stay stuck inside the virtual world; explore nature and our surroundings. Interact with others
in person. Who knows, maybe one day the Earths surface will become inhabitable, and well all be
stuck living in tiny micro-apartments underground. If so, well wish we had seized our chances to go
outside, unless we accept that the version we get through technology is good enough anyway.

Acknowledgements
Thank you to Andrew Freeman, Arjun Sharma, and Joycelyn Wang for peer editing my work. In
addition, thank you to Cecelia Musselman for your comments.