Home | Glossary | Timeline | New

City by Clifford Simak:
Science Fiction Inventions, Technology and Ideas

"A City is a place where men gather together for mutual protection, and to help each other with the work of living. But there's a point at which the city ceases to serve -"

From the story:

The city... this city, any city... already is dead.
"The city is an anachronism. It has outlived its usefulness. Hydroponics and the helicopter spelled its downfall. In the first instance the city was a tribal place, an area where the tribe banded together for mutual protection. In later years a wall was thrown around it for additional protection. Then the wall finally disappeared but the city lived on because of the conveniences which it offered trade and commerce. It continued into modern times because people were compelled to live close to their jobs and the jobs were in the city.
"But today that is no longer true. With the family plane, one hundred miles today is a shorter distance than five miles back in 1930. Men can fly several hundred miles to work and fly home when the day is done. There is no longer any need for them to live cooped up in a city.

('City' by Clifford Simak)

Linked stories describe the breakdown of urban society. His description of what has happened to inner city residential areas is still prescient.

Select an invention:

Technovelgy.com is devoted to the creative inventions of science fiction authors and movie makers. Look for the Science Fiction Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary of Science Fiction Inventions, the Timeline of Science Fiction Inventions, or see what's New.
Find new authors and technologies - Shop for yourself, your library and your lab.

Science Fiction
in the News

More SF in the News