At the very end of E.M. Forster’s short work “The Machine Stops” he writes, “For a moment they saw nations of the dead, and, before they joined with them, scraps of the untainted sky.”  This line stands out in many ways.  Initially, we notice the contrast between “nations of the dead” and “the untainted sky”.  Death and chaos paired with  serene imagery.  However, the line also provokes  another thought. That is, that life, the world, the universe will go on despite the folly of man.

In a similar vein, Michael Crichton’s work Jurassic Park tackles similar thoughts.   Throughout the novel, one of the main characters, Dr. Ian Malcolm, muses on the fact that should the human race wipe itself off the earth by way of dinosaurs (or the catastrophic failure of a globe spanning machine as the case may be) the world will keep on spinning.  Though underneath the earth’s surface there is death and destruction, above, the sky still remains.

In addition, once “civilized” life has fallen, life, to quote Malcolm, “finds a way”.   As the single sex dinosaurs in Jurassic park were able to adapt and breed, those homeless refugees on the surface of Forester’s world will grow and repopulate the earth, continuing humanity.

Perhaps the most thought provoking passage from “The Machine Stops” is when Kuno is essentially shun by his own mother. In her head, she claims that “she was ashamed at having borne such a son”. I personally felt that this highlighted an ironic generational dispute where the older individual is fighting for what is new and the younger is fighting for what is old. Kuno’s mother worships the Machine as if it is a deity. Despite having abolished religion in this fantasy world, the Machine and its followers have established their own worldwide cult. Kuno wants no part in this and feels that there is much more to be loved in the simpler side of life. Although we already receive hints that the mother is a rejecter of the old ways (like when she abhors the use of air travel which she deems archaic), it is her rejection of her own son that really alienates Vashti from the audience.