Robot #2, all the way from Voicemail from Neptune via the Jupitarian moon of Europa, and David Breslin
Ariel III swam endlessly, her propellors churning, her sensors vainly scanning the darkness for life. A voice reached her down the cable that ran through twenty kilometres of ice to where Susan waited above, in her airtight cabin on the surface of the Jovian moon Europa. “It’s Christmas, Ariel! Do you want to do the song?”
“I’d like that,” Ariel said. “I’m so bored down here.”
They sang “While Shepherds Watched” together, mellow human contralto and buzzing robot soprano in unison. On a whim, Ariel broadcast it through her external speakers.
They were most surprised when the Europans joined in.
The Twelve Robots of Christmas: 12 days, 12 tiny stories, 12 probably not tiny writers. To read the rest, see https://anroinnultra.com/2021/12/21/the-twelve-robots/
©Copyright David Breslin 2021
An Roinn Ultra - Irish Science Fiction 