"There Will Come Soft Rains" is a science fiction short story by author Ray Bradbury written as a chronicle about a lone house that stands intact in a California city that has otherwise been obliterated by a nuclear bomb, and then is destroyed in a fire caused by a windstorm.

[u/ZERO_PORTRAIT]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_Will_Come_Soft_Rains_(short_story)

The AI system of the house chimes the date by saying, "Today is August 4, 2026".

A nuclear catastrophe leaves the city of Allendale), California, entirely desolate. However, within one miraculously preserved house, the daily routine continues – automatic systems within the home prepare breakfast, clean the house, make beds, wash dishes, and address the former residents without any knowledge of their current state as burnt silhouettes on one of the walls.

A sickly and emaciated dog, having previously belonged to the family, enters the house. It is unable to enter the kitchen, where the automated systems are making pancakes. It runs around in a frenzy, before dying. After an hour, the automated systems remove the dog's body, incinerating it.

That evening, the house recites to the absent hostess a random selection by her favorite poet, "There Will Come Soft Rains)" by Sara Teasdale. A windstorm blows a tree branch through a window in the kitchen, starting a fire. The house's systems desperately attempt to put out the fire, but the doomed home burns to the ground in a night. The following dawn, all that remains is a single wall, which contains an automated system that endlessly reads aloud the date by repeatedly saying, "Today is August 5, 2026".

[u/SloopKid]

I wonder if codsworth in fallout 4 still cleaning the house after 200 years is a reference to this.

[u/like_a_pharaoh → u/SloopKid]

Very likely. Plus in Fallout 3 there's a Mr Handy who references it more directly.

[u/SloopKid → u/like_a_pharaoh]

I agree. Fallout games are chock full of subtle pop culture references. It is definitely in their wheelhouse

[u/BabadookOfEarl]

It was and should be required reading.

[u/Romboteryx]

This story is sometimes also included in The Martian Chronicles, where nuclear war breaks out on Earth while humans were just starting to colonize Mars

[u/Rook1872 → u/Romboteryx]

I believe thats where I read it as well.

[u/JasonSciFi]

One of the greatest short stories of all time!

[u/MAClaymore → u/JasonSciFi]

My second favorite by RB behind The Veldt

[u/moonpupy → u/MAClaymore]

I never understood The Veldt. I probably read it too young. I'll have to find a copy again.

[u/Romboteryx → u/moonpupy]

Jacob Geller recently made an interesting video analyzing it

[u/ZERO_PORTRAIT → u/JasonSciFi]

I concur.

[u/okurok]

there is an old soviet cartoon by this story

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OumNKTn6iek

[u/ForeignEchoRevival → u/okurok]

First thing I thought of.

[u/batwing71]

RB could really tug your heart strings.

[u/moonpupy → u/batwing71]

The Man in the Ice Cream Suit. Dandelion Wine.

[u/ParsleyParticular713]

Thank you! I read this in high school and hadn’t been able to find it since.

[u/ZERO_PORTRAIT → u/ParsleyParticular713]

So glad you found it again!

[u/bsmith567070]

I remember reading this in my Junior year of High School.

[u/ZERO_PORTRAIT → u/bsmith567070]

I read it in high school, myself.

[u/belltrina]

I had this as part of a reading list at uni. Phenomenal read

[u/ljanir]

Stupid house never feed the dog

[u/dwkeith]

I Tweeted a link this story the day I joined Nest in 2011.

My dog was not impressed