5The Machine Stops, The Celestial Omnibus, and Other Stories is a collection of short stories from E. M. Forster, who is perhaps best known for his novels Howards End and A Room with a View. Included in the collection is The Machine Stops, a science fiction story that predicted the internet, video conferencing, and instant messaging. Forster, who deplored science fiction, wrote the story in response to an optimistic depiction of the future by H. G. Wells. The story is one of the earliest examples of dystopian science fiction. Also included is The Story of a Panic, the first story Forster ever wrote.