In the 70's, I remember reading a short story about a man making his way to the roof of a building. The man was describing how machines had started to take over: cars were hitting people, he describes a scene where a phone cord is strangling a man. It ends where he hopes to make a deal with them. I think it was written by Ray. Anyone know if I'm correct? Can you tell me the title?

I'd say 77% not Bradbury.

A school friend told me she thought it was "rise of the machines." I can't find the text online, but I do find it referenced in a 2013 article about a documentary called "rise of the machines" which was loosely based on the 1950 Bradbury short story. So it must be out there. Anyone have the text?

Closest I can find is "A Thing About Machines" by Rod Serling, which was published in an anthology of stories written for The Twilight Zone TV series.

A few authors explored this theme. In Ray's story 'The Murderer' a man gets fed up with ubiquitous technology and 'murders' various gadgets. But I'm pretty sure this Steven Vincent Benet piece is the one you're looking for: http://www.poemhunter.com/best...htmare-number-three/ This poem reads like a short story. I remember it from an X Minus One radio play adaptation.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: skmckee,

YES!!! That is it! I can't believe you found it. Thank you so so much.

No problem. I think it was the bit about the telephone cord that triggered my memory.... By the way, X Minus One also adapted a few of Ray's stories. They can be downloaded off the Internet Archive.

As dandelion said, "A Thing About Machines" has a similar theme, if you're interested. If you have Netflix, the original Twilight Zone episode is available for streaming, and Rod Serling Books has recently republished all of Serling's "novelizations" of episodes that were in anthologies. It's not the greatest episode of TZ, but it's a fun watch.

Also, "Trucks" by Stephen King, from his collection "Night Shift" is in the same vein.