The Flying Machine

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The Flying Machine is a short story by Ray Bradbury from the collection The Golden Apples of the Sun.

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

This story is set in China many centuries ago, where a servant to the emperor notices a man that has created a contraption for flying. The emperor is not at all excited when he asks the inventor the purpose for creating such a device he has no response other than for the desire for innovation. He orders that the inventor be executed because while his flying machine may be a beautiful creation, the emperor sees the devastating potential for those who "have evil in their eyes" and seek to use it for purposes other than the enjoyment of flight. For this reason, the man is killed and the flying machine burned and all that saw it silenced.