Both Ray Bradbury in his short stories "There will come soft rains" and "The Pedestrian" and the Wachowski brothers in "The Matrix" (1999), use the prevailing fears and anxieties of their composing contexts to speculate about humankind's future. While Bradbury uses death motifs, allusions and vivid, disturbing imagery, the Wachowskis use a variety of filmic techniques to suggest that humankind's future will ultimately be dominated by their inventions leading to a meaningless and lifeless existence. Similarly, both composers envision a future characterised by an anxiety about cybernation where machines are the dominant force creating a problematic relationship between human beings and technology. Both composers also affirm the value of rebellion against a trend towards a lifestyle dominated by technology at the expense of human connection, free will and choice. However, while the Wachowskis are more optimistic about humankind's triumph over the tyranny of technology, Bradbury's view is more pessimistic...