SYNOPSIS: The setting is the distant future. Humankind lives
underground in hexagon shaped units, each person to his own hexagon. Humans are
cared for by “the Machine,” a vast intricate artificial intelligence entity
which connects to all the hexagons and is able to meet all human needs,
including communication between humans, and their entertainment, food, and
medical needs. First we meet Vashti, a “lecturer” who prepares lectures for
others to enjoy via the Machine. She is interrupted in her preparations by her
son Kuno, who appears on her screen. Kuno lives on the other side of the world,
and he asks her to come visit him because he has something important to say to
her. Vashti is surprised by this because the Machine allows them to communicate
perfectly well, and people have no need to meet in person. But Kuno counters by saying that she values the Machine too much. Kuno explains that he wants to explore the surface of the
earth, even though it is forbidden by the committee of the Machine. Kuno also relates his wish to see the stars in person--they suggest human figures to his mind. Vashti continues to brush aside his ideas, and Kuno abruptly discontinues the conversation. Vashti then communicates with the Committee
of the Machine, who values her role as lecturer. She requests that Kuno be
matched with a new friend to take his mind off these incorrect thoughts (in
their parlance, he is being “unmechanical”). Vashti also learns that Kuno has
unsuccessfully applied for fatherhood, a role that is regulated by the Machine. Vashti's conversation is interrupted by one of her fan's, named Xansah, who wants to be friends with Vashti, and also wants to let her know about a lecture she has written.
When Kuno meets this new friend, Em,---they are matched by
the Machine-- she extols the values of the Machine, while he questions how people have lost the sense of space, being confined to their hexagons. Em is attracted to Kuno
despite his "unmechanical" comments. Their conversation is interrupted by two of
Em’s friends Blim and Plun, who see that she is communicating with a young man.
Em’s friends immediately want to
know what is going on. Act One ends with an ensemble in which we hear a lecture
about the dangers of first hand information, and the ensuing enthusiastic
responses. This lecture is given by one of Vashti’s acolytes, a newly minted
lecturer named Xansah.
In Act Two, Kuno relates to Em that he is going to visit
the surface of the earth. He has found gaps in the surface of the tunnels which
connect pods of hexagons. Behind these gaps he can see air-shafts that were
made when humans were actually still building their underground world. Em is
more and more taken by his boldness, and the fact that he is developing his
muscles in order to make the arduous journey to the surface. She will join
him in this adventure. When they get to the surface of the earth, we learn that
their activities are being monitored by the Machine. When Vashti hears about
this, she becomes maternally concerned—which is itself an unmechanical response. Meanwhile, Kuno and Em realize that there are outsiders living apart from
their underground world on the surface of the earth. But the Machine (through
its “Mending Apparatus” which has giant tentacles reaching to the surface of
the earth), grabs hold of Em and Kuno. Em is destroyed by the Machine’s Mending Apparatus, but Kuno makes it back to his hexagon. Finally Kuno visits his Mother and explains
that the Machine Stops—it is disintegrating and breaking down. Vashti comprehends, and tells Kuno to go back to the surface because these wild
surface dwellers are the only chance for humankind to survive.
