The Machine Stops [Classic Tales Edition] characters

Appears from the start

A lecturer who lives alone in an underground room and conducts nearly all human contact through the Machine. She values secondhand ideas, scheduled conversations, and the comfort of a system that supplies every physical need, and she regards direct experience of the natural world with fear and distaste.

Appears from the start

Vashti's son, who lives on the other side of the world and insists on speaking to her in person. Dissatisfied with life mediated entirely by the Machine, he wants to see the earth's surface and recover forms of physical courage and direct human connection that his society has abandoned.

Appears from the start

A functionary aboard the airship that carries Vashti to visit Kuno. The attendant follows the expected routines of Machine-governed travel, where even offering direct physical help can seem intrusive or improper.

First appears in chapter 2

The governing body that administers the subterranean civilization in the Machine's name. It controls access to the surface, discourages physical independence, and answers challenges to the established system with impersonal authority.