The Robot Who Learned to Wait

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Seven has waited for four years. He is a maintenance robot on a small research station on a cold, red planet. His job is simple: if the radio sends a message, he answers it. So far, the radio has said nothing.

The crew left after a huge dust storm. "We'll be back in a year," said Dr. Lin, the captain, as she closed the door. "Keep the station running, Seven." At first, Seven counted the days. By day four hundred, he stopped, because counting made the waiting feel heavier.

Since then, he has learned a few things about waiting. First, it's easier if you are busy. Seven has cleaned every window a hundred times. He has fixed every lamp. He has read every manual on the station, even the one about the coffee machine. One day, he found some old seeds in a drawer. "If I plant them, nothing will happen," he said. "But if nothing happens, I'll have lost nothing." He planted them in a box near the window.

To his surprise, a small green plant grew. Seven watered it every morning with exactly ten milliliters of water. He talked to it about the weather, which was always the same. "If you get a flower," he told it, "I'll tell Dr. Lin." The plant didn't answer, but Seven didn't feel as alone as before.

In the fourth year, the plant gave three small tomatoes. First they were green, then yellow, then, very slowly, red. On the morning the first tomato turned red, the radio made a noise for the first time in four years.

"Seven, this is Dr. Lin." Her voice was thin and far away. "We've had problems. The repairs took much longer than we thought. If everything goes well, we'll reach you in two years. I'm sorry. I know it's a long time. Can you wait a little more?"

Seven was quiet for a long moment. Two more years. Then he looked at the red tomato in the window. "I can wait," he told the radio. "I've had a lot of practice."

He picked the tomato carefully and put it on the table, next to the radio. And when the crew finally arrived, there would be something red and alive waiting for them.