“The Machine Stops,” by E. M. Forster. Published 1909.
Short story, doesn’t take too long to read, and it’s copied all over on the web. Mankind has moved below the surface, etc. The title gives a big hint of the subject matter.
What happens when… Well, just read the news. Gasoline delivery on the east coast is cut off to deal with a ransomware attack. Before that there’s been some recent devastating blizzards. Before that, floods. When I was growing up, for a year our family lived on the fringe of the wilds, because that’s where my dad bought land. First, we were sleeping in a tent while he finished the “house.” Then we moved in, and had candles. Then kerosene lanterns. Finally, before winter set in, he got in a temporary electric pole, and we had one electric light. Just before my brother and I started school, we got a telephone on the party line. Wood stove the whole time, and no outhouse because the ground was clay. He nailed two two-by-fours across a couple of trees, put a toilet seat on the boards and a box underneath, and a piece of roofing overhead to keep off the rain. Yep, crapping with three open sides.
What do we do when the electricity goes out? What do we do when the gasoline isn’t delivered? Let alone what does civilization do when the big machine that nobody can fix stops.
i had no idea what you were referring to till i read the other comment. i thought you were using this as an opportunity to rant for a sec. haha, feel free though.
Sandrine sounds like me. I’m a very “shut up and drink. Or just shut up while I drink” kinda friend. Fun fact: Every time I type her name it autocorrects to either “sardine” or “da drone.”
i think it’s a good way to be when someone jabbers on about real life while you’re trying to get your drink on.
and yeah, names are weird like that, esspecially less common ones. but i came across that name, and thought it was the perfect amount of fancy for her character.
Jason, I can’t get 490 to load. Darn it.
Thanks for fixing it!
Rant?
“The Machine Stops,” by E. M. Forster. Published 1909.
Short story, doesn’t take too long to read, and it’s copied all over on the web. Mankind has moved below the surface, etc. The title gives a big hint of the subject matter.
What happens when… Well, just read the news. Gasoline delivery on the east coast is cut off to deal with a ransomware attack. Before that there’s been some recent devastating blizzards. Before that, floods. When I was growing up, for a year our family lived on the fringe of the wilds, because that’s where my dad bought land. First, we were sleeping in a tent while he finished the “house.” Then we moved in, and had candles. Then kerosene lanterns. Finally, before winter set in, he got in a temporary electric pole, and we had one electric light. Just before my brother and I started school, we got a telephone on the party line. Wood stove the whole time, and no outhouse because the ground was clay. He nailed two two-by-fours across a couple of trees, put a toilet seat on the boards and a box underneath, and a piece of roofing overhead to keep off the rain. Yep, crapping with three open sides.
What do we do when the electricity goes out? What do we do when the gasoline isn’t delivered? Let alone what does civilization do when the big machine that nobody can fix stops.
so, sci fi to you in indoor plumbing? hahah. kidding, but that kind of perspective teaches people to appreciate the little things, if nothing else.
fuck auto correct
i had no idea what you were referring to till i read the other comment. i thought you were using this as an opportunity to rant for a sec. haha, feel free though.
Sandrine sounds like me. I’m a very “shut up and drink. Or just shut up while I drink” kinda friend. Fun fact: Every time I type her name it autocorrects to either “sardine” or “da drone.”
i think it’s a good way to be when someone jabbers on about real life while you’re trying to get your drink on.
and yeah, names are weird like that, esspecially less common ones. but i came across that name, and thought it was the perfect amount of fancy for her character.