The Air-Ship

This was a story that actually resembles what earth might hold in the future. I have a feeling that humans will either go underground (as in The Air-Ship), go into outer space and inhabit other worlds, or both. The planet earth in this story is a destroyed ball of dust that essentially spins while baking in the sun's rays. The planet also seems to be run by no political order other than the Party of The Machine. Additionally, people have become so isolated that they no longer see one another face to face, and communicate solely through electronic/digital medium. Everyone seems so weak that they cannot bend over to pick something up, because they have not had to in many months. Their muscles are so atrophied, that they can hardly walk even. With the path that American culture is taking today, I can see this level of laziness developing over time, but I would expect it within the next 100 to 150 years. I would not, however, expect humans to begin living underground in The Machine-like environments within that time. I suppose if a nuclear Holocaust were to occur, or some major natural disaster were to strike, then Americans could and probably should begin to live underground. When a device like "The Machine" will be developed for underground use and human occupation, though, is uncertain, however I expect it wouldn't come for at least 200-250 years. We are in the prime of our technological whir of advancement, and for how much longer it will continue will ultimately be the determining factor for The Machine.