the machine stops - is it just a blip?

We seem to be watching Howard’s End on Sunday evenings and I find myself a little curious about other works by EM Forster.  I come across this little book and am telling Anniemay about it over breakfast.  It’s a dystopian short story and a bit unsettling - all the more so for being written in 1928.

We’re told the main character has a 1000 friends all over the world - but she never  (or rarely) meets them face to face.  They communicate instead by ‘machine’ - some sort of electronic communication system.  They can even see images.  Hmm - remind you of anything?

Without giving too much away, the plot focuses on what happens to people if the system breaks down.  

I stop and await comment from Anniemay:

“Does she have a blip to post?”  

“No” I say “but I do”.