The Flying Machine (short story)

For other uses, see Flying Machine (disambiguation).

"The Flying Machine" is a short story written by Ray Bradbury in 1953. Bradbury also adapted the tale into a short play that same year.

Plot summary

This story is set in China many centuries ago, where a servant to the emperor notices a man that has created a contraption for flying. The emperor is not at all happy when he asks the inventor his purpose in creating such a device and is told that the inventor's motivation was merely the desire for innovation. Thus the emperor orders that the inventor shall be executed because, while his flying machine may be a beautiful creation, the emperor sees the devastating potential for those who "have evil in their eyes" and will seek to use it for purposes other than the enjoyment of flight, namely flying over the Great Wall of China. For this reason, the inventor is executed, the flying machine burned, and all who saw it are silenced. But in the last line the Emperor suddenly sees the futility of his actions, when he realizes birds were the spark of the innovation and will be again.

External links

• Golden Apples of the Sun, a short story collection by Ray Bradbury
• The Flying Machine: A One-Act Play for Three Men by Ray Bradbury