There Will Come Soft Rains Routine

It had been 7 months since the family had bought their new smart house. It had watched them and learned their daily routine. It became robotic, everything was done without question.

7:00 A.M. - The alarm echoes through the house, repeating its chant of "tick-tock seven o' clock, time to get up!" The children got up to get ready, and headed downstairs, as did their parents. By the time they got to the table at 7:10, breakfast was already on the table: eight pieces of toast, eight eggs sunnyside up, sixteen slices of bacon, two coffees, and two glasses of milk. As the family ate, the house repeated the date and the day's events three times.

8:00 A.M. - The house chanted the time -8:00- and hurried the children out the house to school and their parents out to work. Doors slammed, shoes squeaked to get on feet. The house was now empty.

9:15 A.M - It was time to clean. An aluminum wedge scraped the leftovers into the sink and flushed them away, it carried the plates over to be cleaned. Tiny robotic mice darted out of warrens in the walls, vacuuming and dusting the whole house, before vanishing back into the walls.

10:15 A.M. - The sprinklers had turned on outside, hitting the west side of the house and the flowers there.

2:35 P.M. - The house went into entertainment mode. Bridge tables sprouted from patio walls, and playing cards fluttered onto pads in a shower of pips. Music played while the house prepared martinis and egg-salad  sandwiches. It was too bad they would only be enjoyed on the weekends, which today was not,

4:00 P.M. - The tables fold back into the walls.

4:30 P.M. - It was the children's hour. The children's walls transformed. Animals manifested all over the walls in many shapes and sizes. The two children sat on the floor and looked around in wonder at the animals. There seemed to be different ones every time.

5:00 P.M. - The bath filled and emptied many times with hot, clear water for everyone in the house. Even the dog had jumped in for a turn.

6:00 - 8:00 P.M - The family sat around the dinner table as, once again, dinner magically appeared in front of them. A cigar had popped out in front of the fireplace for the father to sit and relax for a bit.

9:00 P.M. - The beds have been heated in preparation for the family to finish  the day.

9:15 P.M. - As the family lay in bed, the house asked Mrs.  Mcclennan what poem she would like to finish the day with. As usual, it was from her favorite poet, Sara Teasdale.

7:00 A.M. - The alarm echoes through the house, repeating its chant of "tick-tock seven o' clock, time to get up!" The children got up to get ready, and headed downstairs, as did their parents. By the time they got to the table at 7:10, breakfast was already on the table: eight pieces of toast, eight eggs sunnyside up, sixteen slices of bacon, two coffees, and two glasses of milk. As the family ate, the house repeated the date and the day's events three times.