# Help me find two short stories from back in high school **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 25, 2008, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-two-short-stories-from-back-in-high-school/474413 "2008-11-25T10:57:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-two-short-stories-from-back-in-high-school/474413/1 "2008-11-25T10:57:21Z")
I don’t believe they were part of the same collection, but both are sci-fi. In the first story mankind has been destroyed somehow and there’s a vast army of robots that keep things maintained should humans come back. One robot puts himself into a human form that he created through genetic manipulation from cells found in some frozen human in a glacier or somesuch. The second story is about an automated house… Everything is automatic, the breakfast is made, the pets are fed, the garage door opens and shuts at the automatic time, etc… etc… etc… But apparently the people are gone… something goes wrong and the house burns to the ground. Any help would be appreciated… I can’t remember the author of either or what sort of collections they were part of. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-two-short-stories-from-back-in-high-school/474413/2 "2008-11-25T12:07:23Z")
Sorry, I don’t know about the first one, but the second is Ray Bradbury’s [There Will Come Soft Rains](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_Will_Come_Soft_Rains_(short_story)). ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-two-short-stories-from-back-in-high-school/474413/3 "2008-11-25T17:16:56Z")
> [@Mud\_e](#): > > The second story is about an automated house.. Everything is automatic, the breakfast is made, the pets are fed, the garage door opens and shuts at the automatic time, etc.. etc.. etc… But apparently the people are gone.. something goes wrong and the house burns to the ground. This one was also made into a [short film.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTw4BhZa6Dg) Just don’t ever push the wed one. ---
**Author:** ![Bren\_Cameron\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@Bren\_Cameron\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bren_Cameron_1)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-two-short-stories-from-back-in-high-school/474413/4 "2008-11-25T20:42:28Z")
Your first one is Zelazny’s “For a Breath I Tarry.” Which seems to be available here-- [Roger Zelazny. For a Breath I Tarry](http://www.kulichki.com/moshkow/ZELQZNY/forbreat.txt) ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-two-short-stories-from-back-in-high-school/474413/5 "2008-11-25T22:43:05Z")
Wow! I thank you guys so much! I’ve had those two stories pop into my head here and there but could never ever think of enough details to make a good google search… And the people at the library thought I was nuts. “Well the robot… he well… turns into a human… and then the other robots serve _him_!” Thanks again, this thread can be closed.