Future Man
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If improving man proves impossible, then the logical recourse is to improve his machines. Why bother making the human body faster and stronger or the human mind more clever when it is easier and less time consuming to improve all of the communications and labour saving devices that serve man until there is literally no reason for improvement–or to do anything at all. That was the idea behind E. M. Forster's 1909 short story The Machine Stops, which describes a time in the distant future when technology fulfills every need and whim of the human race and everyone lives in identical cells about the size of a small hotel room that are stuffed to the rafters with every conceivable device to make life easier and more pleasant. Communication and data retrieval systems bring any person or any piece of information from anywhere on the globe instantly. Food, clothing, entertainment and anything else that one might desire is obtainable at the mere press of a button. If one even drops a glove there's no need bend over to pick it up because the floor section will rise to return it to one's hand. The whole of humanity does nothing all day except sit or lie about as the Machine tends their every need. That is, until, as you might have guessed from the title, the Machine stops. Then everyone looks pretty silly. |
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But I wouldn't laugh too much yourself until you tally up how many hours a day you spend staring at this thing and decide to go out and get a bit of exercise. |
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