You talk as if a god had made the Machine, cried the other. I believe that you pray to it when you are unhappy. Men made it, do not forget that. E.M. Forster is best known for his exquisite novels, but these two affecting short stories brilliantly combine the fantastical with the allegorical. In The Machine Stops, humanity has isolated itself beneath the ground, enmeshed in automated comforts, and in The Celestial Omnibus a young boy takes a trip his parents believe impossible. This book contains The Machine Stops and A Celestial Omnibus.