“The tamed masses conducted themselves peaceably in the zones; were allowed to shout: 'Down with new inventions!' Their hostility made it easier for the new rulers to reintroduce quotas for incoming technologists and scientists, and to secure their own position. 

“A circle of cities and regional zones emerged. 

“Over preceding centuries the devices had changed utterly. Machines scattered individually had come together as machine-blocks, machine-houses; colossi-organised pyramids had become machine-organisms. The energy economy had led to the networking of all power plants. The effective radius of the energy generated and transformed had grown to gigantic proportions. The energy was stored at certain points. Alongside power generation plants stood banks of colossi specialised devices, each dedicated to a particular zone; no longer were there unconnected machines.

“Now–towards the end of the 25th century–the functional specialisation of the townzone regions had became unstoppable: glass cities light cities food cities clothing cities. In research towns away from the specialised cities, discoveries began to pile up. Then, within a few decades, blocks and pyramids of machinery rapidly coalesced. New forces of Nature, gasiform radiant, sniffed out already a century before, were captured by contemporaries of Meki, yoked into devices. Shambling colossi were put to shame by Lilliput-sized devices. Decades centuries of power became defenceless, paralysed by this moment’s glance. Huge machine-cities fell derelict. Inconspicuous in protective casings were delicate devices in which natural forces were imprisoned like ghosts in a jar. Few hands were needed to service them. When you first saw the devices, your heart stood still. You grew used to them, lived under their protection, in comfort and with little gratitude: spoiled offspring of a wealthy family.”

Alfred Döblin, 1924