For a Breath I Tarry

“You might say he was a machine with a hobby. He had never been ordered not to have a hobby, so he had one. His hobby was Man.”

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Prior review, January 2nd 2022:

A post-apocalyptic story turned creation myth.

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Prior review, 31st of december 2020:

With it being New Year's Eve and all, I was reminded of this story, because it felt like I'd read this a few times before around this time. I just checked and apparently I first read it in March of 2017, re-read it January second of 2018, and didn't read it all in 2019 or 2020. So I figured it was time again to re-read this.

This really is a wonderful story. You have the robots carrying on after mankind has died out just like in There Will Come Soft Rains, where they almost revere the extinct race as some kind of gods, with a growing desperation to learn more about mankind. What is the nature of man? What does it mean to be conscious?

It's a wonderful story that still feels so resonant, all these decades later.

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ORIGINAL REVIEW, MARCH 2 2017:
This is one of the best short stories I've ever read. It has aged extremely well. It explores the definition of humanity, the limits of A.I. and the (re-)birth of humanity. I recommend it to all fans of the post-apocalyptic genre, fans of science fiction, fans of fantasy, fans of books, fans of breathing.