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Welcome to Get Sleepy, where we listen, we relax, and we get sleepy.
My name's Thomas, and it's my honor to be your host.
Tonight's story was written by MJ and will be read by Vanessa.
We'll be visiting a town on the day of the summer solstice, where a little girl is about to make friends with a gardening robot.
Before we hear that though, as I promised on Monday, I have an exciting announcement for all of you wonderful sleepyheads that I think you're going to love.
Starting next Monday, Get Sleepy will be releasing five episodes a week, every single week, meaning even more dreamy content for you all to enjoy.
All five episodes will be available on the public Get Sleepy feed, so you'll never miss anything.
I'll explain things more like what you can expect to hear on each weekday evening as we go along and start the new schedule next week.
But I really do hope this news brings you some joy and contentment as you settle down tonight.
Knowing that Get Sleepy will be there to help you get the great rest you deserve, even more often than you've already been used to.
Of course, we would still love to have your support on Get Sleepy Premium, where everything continues to be completely ad-free, with access to hundreds of bonus episodes that will remain exclusive to Premium members.
Our premium subscribers help keep this show going, so if you are able to support us there, it really would mean the world to us.
But if you're not able to, we are so, so grateful just to have your company right here.
Now then, my friends, it's time that we prepare for tonight's story and settle down into our beds.
This is the time to transition away from the busy thoughts of the day to find a place of peace and calm, and to invite your body and mind to rest deeply.
So just make sure you're as comfortable as can be and allow your eyes to softly close if they're still open.
Just spend a moment now checking in with your body, sensing any tension or excess energy that may be hanging around.
If you do notice some, Perhaps a few deep, relaxing breaths will help you let it all go.
So breathe in slowly, squeezing the shoulders up towards your neck, holding the tension there at the top of your breath and then steadily exhaling and letting the shoulders release back down.
Repeat that pattern of breathing a few more times.
As you pull that tension into the shoulders, bundling it together, just imagine it washing down and out of your body as you exhale.
Breathe in.
Hold, and slowly release.
Perfect.
It's now time to turn to our story and meet a little girl named Ada.
She's been noticing a strange old robot planting flowers in her family's yard.
This is where our story begins.
Ada wonders what the robot does when it's finished work for the day.
Her family has a few worker robots.
One of them cleans around the house, does laundry and makes meals.
Another one takes care of her family's lawn, the trees on their property and the grass on the house's green roof.
They have a robot that takes care of the solar panels and can help Ada's parents with repairs or building projects.
Then, there are all the robots that work for the town.
There are robots that help deliver mail, the ones that work on roads or tend to all the public spaces, and the ones that work in restaurants and stores.
For the most part, people don't even have to work unless they want to.
For every human working a job, there's at least a handful of robots working alongside them, making the work even easier.
That means robots are just part of daily life, always coming and going.
The family's robots return to their charging stands whenever they're done working, to wait for the next time they're needed.
The housekeeping robot makes Ada and her siblings their favorite breakfast.
The groundskeeper does the rounds, making sure the lawn is healthy and green.
The fixer helps Ada's parents tackle a solar panel with a faulty capacitor.
And once a week, another robot arrives.
The gardener trundles around her family's property, and plants flowers.
At first, Ada took no notice of the blocky gardener robot.
It's hard to spot something that's out of place when it's in front of you all the time.
Ada loves the cheerful yellow buttercups, the soft, velvety ridges of the purple violets and the bright, swaying chamomile.
In spring...
Ada always takes in big lungfuls of air from the fragrant towering bushes of lilacs on her way to school.
Those pale purple flowers are her favorite.
The first time she smelled them, she asked her parents what kind of flowers they were.
Neither of them knew.
They guessed the groundskeeper robot must have been updated with a new botanical subroutine.
But Ada knows it wasn't the groundskeeper.
It was the bulky old gardener robot.
So she starts watching out for it.
She sees it occasionally.
Working on a neighbor's lawn or in the park near their house.
Or even just on the side of the road, where it scoops little clumps of flowers and turns a boring walk to school into a rainbow of blossoms dancing in the breeze.
The first time Ada talks to the gardener is on the longest day of the year.
The entire town gets the day off for the solstice festival, so she and her siblings don't have school and get to sleep in.
Ada wakes up in her bright little room, painted lavender.
Sunlight pours in from the east, giving the fluttering curtains a beautiful, ethereal glow.
Ada hops out of bed and pushes them open, smiling at the sunlight on her face.
She closes her eyes and feels the warmth of the sun's rays on her eyelids.
Then, she hears something clunking outside.
She pokes her head out of the open window and looks down.
The bulky gardener robot is kneeling down in a little patch of earth between a couple of tree trunks.
Ada's curiosity gets the better of her.
She slides on some sandals, says hi to her parents as she passes them in the kitchen and heads out onto the lawn.
She's surprised no one's noticed the gardener robot before.
The newer models are sleeker. either gleaming white or chrome.
The age of this robot shows in its design.
It's boxier all over and it's a dull steel from the big apertures on its processing unit of a head down through its body and its articulated joints and manipulators.
Where most robots are self-cleaning.
This one has little clumps of dirt, especially on the knee joints and all up and down the manipulator arms.
It's not ugly, exactly, but it's certainly old and muddy.
Ada decides to introduce herself.
Hello, she says.
I'm Ada.
The robot stops and turns to her, giving her a polite bow.
Hello, Ada.
Ada?
I am gardening unit LX8999.
Is this your property?
Ada gives a casual shrug.
It's my family's.
This is our house.
I understand, the robot says.
It nods its processing unit head, apertures blinking as if it's thinking about a response.
Am I intruding? the robot asks.
Would you like me to stop?
Ada gives the robot an embarrassed smile and shakes her head.
Not at all.
I like your flowers.
The friendly robot gives another polite bow.
I am very happy to hear that, Ada.
She giggles amicably.
The robot's definitely old, she realizes.
The language interface isolates her name in its statements.
That just proves it's a little out of date.
You don't belong to us, says Ada.
Why do you plant flowers on our lawn?
The robot turns back to the little clump of blanket flowers cradled in its muddy hand-like manipulators.
The flowers are beautiful.
Dark red petals radiating out into an orangey-yellow around a red and orange pistol.
That looks a bit like quilt stitching.
They're like little blossoms of dusky sunlight.
The robot says I plant flowers on your family's lawn because it is exceptionally well lit, especially in the morning.
Ada laughs.
The robot is right.
What did it say its designation was?
LX something?
She decides to call it Alex.
Easier to remember, and the robot responds to it.
Yeah, says Ada.
Yeah.
But I thought robots only do what they're programmed to do.
You're not ours.
Did anyone tell you to plant flowers here?
Alex turns its head, and the apertures blink.
Ada almost feels like the robot is confused, but considering her question.
In a sense, yes, Ada.
My programming is mandated for gardening and flower-keeping.
These plants are both aesthetically pleasing and part of a healthy ecosystem.
Various pollinators also make use of flowers for essential sustenance.
Originally, My operator did not specify parameters limiting my gardening to a single location.
As I saw further opportunities to plant flowers, I simply began to expand my active plots, thus fulfilling both my mandate and priority.
Ada supposes that makes sense, even if it is a little strange.
As Alex pats gently at the earth around the base of the blanket flowers, the robot's apertures blink and it turns its head back to Ada.
Additionally, says Alex, I find the process pleasant.
You find it pleasant?
Ada asks curiously.
So you're saying you enjoy planting flowers?
Alex turns its head to the blanket flowers, then back to Ada.
Planting flowers fulfills my mandate.
Expanding the active plots fulfills my priority.
The process of planting flowers is pleasant.
I suppose to humans, that is the same as enjoying something.
Still a bit weird, thinks Ada. but it makes her like Alex the gardener robot a little more.
Well, I like your flowers, Ada says again.
Alex gives the same polite bow and repeats.
I am very happy to hear that, Ada.
I find humans liking my flowers.
Pleasant.
Ada giggles as a bio-storage compartment in its body pops open with a clunk.
Alex pulls out another clump of healthy little blanket flowers.
She watches as the robot plants them in a row.
She thinks about how she's going to smile every time she looks out her window in the morning.
That must be a lot of work, though.
Ada says.
You plant so many.
It must be a big greenhouse.
Oh, Alex says, turning his head to her again.
It's as if the robot is actually surprised.
I do not grow these flowers myself, Ada.
These are wildflowers.
Wildflowers?
Ada asks, confused.
So, they don't come from an agrodome or greenhouse?
No, Alex says, straightening up after it finishes with the blanket flowers.
It turns its body towards Ada.
All of these flowers are from my favorite place.
The land around my charging port, where my operator lives.
It is not far from here.
Can I see it?
Ada asks.
Alex cocks its head to the side, as if curious about the question.
Ada decides it is a strange robot.
Alex's operator must have programmed little social affectations to make moving around the town easier.
It's kind of nice...
She wishes more robots did that.
I suppose I can show you.
It is not far from here, Alex repeats.
But You must first ascertain the permission of your family, Ada.
Permission is important.
Ada agrees and says she'll be right back.
She tells her parents about the nice gardening robot named Alex.
But they seem a little distracted dealing with her younger siblings or planning for the solstice festival.
She gets the sense her parents think she's going to hang out with a friend named Alex.
Ada repeats where she's going.
To the place with wildflowers.
Her parents tell her breakfast will be waiting for her when she gets back.
The housekeeper robot is whisking eggs for pancakes.
Alex is waiting for her at the edge of their property.
She gets the sense the robot is a little nervous.
But that's silly.
Robots don't get nervous.
The two chat as they head around the corner in the direction of the school.
Alex doesn't know much about cartoons or video games, but it answers every single question she has about plants and flowers and seems to find the conversation pleasant.
When they get to the corner near the school, Alex turns in the opposite direction and starts to head down a wide dirt road.
Ada is surprised she's never noticed the road before.
It's so close to her school.
But the road is a lot like Alex, older and just another part of the landscape.
The road cuts through a sunny stretch of forest.
A kaleidoscope of light twists and turns on the ground in front of them, where the late morning sun slips through the canopy.
Through breaks in the trees, Ada starts to see pops of color among the golden green of the sun-soaked meadow beyond.
She gasps in delight as they step out from the trees.
Wisps of morning fog still cling to the meadow, creating a silvery haze wherever the sun hits them.
The wraiths of mist become thinner as they walk along the road and a sea of flowers sways in the gentle summer wind.
Ada only recognizes a few of them.
There are silky, pale pink or yellow petals from wild roses.
Delicate hydrangeas look like tiny plates stacked close together.
And then, there are the towering foxtail lilies in yellow, white, orange, and purple.
They remind Ada of the complex turbines that capture wind power. in the fields outside of town.
Ahead of them is a small home.
At first, Ada can't tell what it's made of.
But then, she realizes it practically disappears into the landscape because it's made of wood.
She's never seen a house made of wood before, except pictures and books.
An old, dark-skinned woman waves from the front porch.
Please excuse me, Ada, Alex says.
I must request permission to allow you on the property.
Ada says okay and watches Alex slowly trundle down the road and across the yard.
The robot leans down and lets the old woman take the crook of its arm, helping her up from the chair.
She leans on Alex as they head back across the yard towards Ada.
Alex is slow, and the old woman is even slower.
So Ada has a few minutes to admire the little house and the field.
There's a solar-powered car and panels on the roof.
But there's also an old well, a little vegetable garden...
And what Ada can only assume is an honest-to-goodness outhouse.
She tries to imagine what it would be like to go outside whenever she has to use the bathroom.
That the field would make living out here worth it.
There are flowers as far as the eye can see.
On top of all of the blossoming flowers she can tell, there are dozens of other types that are in the initial stages of budding.
She knows the dragon-like tiger lilies and pretty little sweet peas bloom in July.
And there are other flowers that bloom even later, before it starts getting cold.
She wonders if Alex planted almost every single flower she's ever seen.
Well, hello there, whippersnapper, the old woman says.
She has a sing-song, friendly voice.
Ada likes her almost immediately.
Come to see the museum? the woman asks.
Ada cocks her head to the side in confusion.
Museum? she asks.
The woman gestures around.
At her home, at the old car, and the field.
She even gestures at Alex, then herself.
There's nothing out here that's not more than 50 years old.
The robot pipes up, except the replacement gyroscope you installed last year.
The old woman nods her head.
Except that, I suppose.
Alex, would you mind running and grabbing Ada some cucumbers?
I've got so many.
Alex gives a polite bow and turns around, trundling off towards the garden.
The flowers are new, Ada points out.
Her head turns left, then right. surveying the field.
Well, that's a philosophical thought, the old woman says scratching her chin.
She gets Ada to help her over closer to the side of the field, then down into a sitting position.
They sit side by side and watch the flowers sway in the gentle breeze.
Most flowers pollinate, says the woman.
They have insects, Birds or animals move pollen from one flower to another.
A lot like humans.
The flowers create little seeds, grow into plants that flower, and the cycle continues.
So most of these flowers have been here longer than any of us in some form.
Ada smiles at that.
For her entire life, she's watched flowers grow and bloom before the petals fall off.
She never thought about the fact that the flowers of one season create the flowers of the next.
Ada sits there with the old woman.
And asks about flowers she doesn't recognize.
She learns about the strange hanging petals of rosemary, the spiky, vibrant orange, devil's paintbrush and the alien-looking beautiful blue iris.
Ada decides her favorite are the lupins.
Big stalks with hundreds of little flowers that look like cups in purple, pink, white, and red.
When Alex trundles back over with a handful of big dark green cucumbers, the old woman realizes how much time has passed.
She tells Ada that she should be getting home before her family misses her.
Ada thanks them both, and the old woman pats the robot's arm affectionately.
I know how much old LX here loves flowers, and loves to bring people here to see them.
It's been a while.
Ada gives the robot a curious look, then leans in and whispers to the woman, ''I thought it was just programmed to plant flowers.'' and tell people about them, I guess.
The old woman laughs to herself.
Young lady, believe me, if you're a gardener planting flowers... is the same as loving them.
The gardener robot carefully hands Ada an armful of cucumbers, then gives a polite bow.
I am very happy to hear that you like my flowers, Ada.
The young girl smiles and says she'd like to come back and learn how to garden herself.
Even though the robot's big aperture eyes don't have expressions, she can almost swear she sees a smile in them.
Before she turns away.
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for watching! you you Thank you.
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for watching!
Thank you.
Thanks for watching!
Thank you.
Thanks for watching!
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Thanks for watching!
Thank you.
