Codependence with Ray Bradbury

“The Veldt” brings attention to technological dependency with a whimsical and exaggerated tone. The majority of the story is a near prefect mirror of reality, but seems naïve in the emphasis of how advanced the technology of the nursery is. The truth is that convenience and comfort have always been invasive to the human experience. Privilege without gratitude is nearly indistinguishable from necessity. Where “The Veldt” makes it’s true statement is in it’s unbelievable ending, where the simulation of the room is implied to have lethal capabilities. This seems to be a direct way of claiming that the convergence of reality with technological dependency is where we can find a very direct and corporeal danger.

On the other hand, “There Will Come Soft Rains” has a more ambiguous and nihilistic tone. Where “The Veldt” is about our relationship with technology, this story is about technology’s relationship with us. The house ultimately exists without purpose. The annihilation of the human inhabitants shows that the technology, like the other denizens of the world, does not need people. The house continues to serve, even without anyone or anything to serve. The machines eventually meet their end, just as their creators.

Both of these stories seem to intersect on the more broad question of: Between people and technology, which one actually needs the other?