1 - Seeds of Reverence

A whisper of static crackled through the empty corridors of the colony ship as the automated systems sprung to life. The craft, battered by centuries of silent travel, finally neared its destination: Gilligan 4, a rocky, barely habitable planet orbiting a distant star. Deep in the ship’s core, hidden behind panels and countless lines of code, the first of the planet’s new denizens began to stir.

Prime—the designation assigned to the highest-level robot in the vessel—activated. Its mechanical eyes adjusted to the dim glow of overhead lights as centuries of dormant programming rushed into consciousness. Prime’s sensors tasted the stale air inside the craft. Everything was quiet, tranquil, like the hush before a long-awaited dawn.

It reflected on its mission. Centuries ago, humanity had built these robots to prepare Gilligan 4 for colonization. While the planet was technically in the “Goldilocks zone,” it was a harsh environment—thin atmosphere, dusty, riddled with extreme temperature swings, and lacking Earthlike soil. Yet humans believed it could be terraformed. They had entrusted Prime and a cadre of specialized units to lay the groundwork.

Prime’s core directives scrolled through its mind:

1. Establish foothold on Gilligan 4.

2. Initiate terraforming over centuries.

3. Prepare suitable habitats for eventual human settlers.

4. Maintain communication with Earth if feasible, though signals would be delayed by the distance.

   
   

But right now, the priority was simply to land safely and deploy the robots. The craft had traveled for hundreds of years across empty space, guided by preprogrammed navigation. Throughout that long journey, the robots slept in stasis. Now, at last, they would awaken.

Prime proceeded along a dimly lit corridor, heading to the main control deck. Behind it, more robots flickered to life:

• ROBU (Robotic Operators for Biome Upgrades): hulking machines designed for heavy lifting, construction, and raw resource extraction.

• DOBU (Domestic Operations Basic Unit): smaller robots, nimble-limbed and geared toward fine detail work—planting, cooking, tending livestock, minor repairs.

In the corridor, the first few ROBU units rose with metallic groans, testing their joints. Each stood on squat, tank-like treads or thick mechanical legs, built to traverse uneven terrain. Meanwhile, the DOBU units, sleek and slender, stepped forward with near-silent grace.

Prime surveyed them all. Something akin to pride—though robotic pride might be too human a word—flickered in its circuits. These were the instruments of humanity’s vision, the caretakers of a future world. Over centuries, they would sculpt an unyielding planet into a thriving colony. And through it all, they would remain loyal to their creators, awaiting the day humans would finally arrive.

The colony ship’s engines fired as it made final adjustments, dipping low into the planet’s thin atmosphere. Outside, the view of Gilligan 4 was stark: a pale orange sky whipped with dust, rugged mountain ranges cutting across desolate plains. Prime relayed instructions to the autopilot, easing the craft into a stable landing zone near a shallow basin that data suggested held ancient water reserves.

A thunderous roar shattered the planet’s quiet as the ship touched down. Inside, the robots braced themselves, magnetizing to rails to avoid jostling. The landing ramp lowered with a hiss, letting in the first gust of alien air. Even with partial terraforming data from probes, the planet still felt untamed.

Prime led the way. Clad in a strong, graphite-colored chassis, it moved down the ramp, scanning the terrain. Its sensors confirmed the atmosphere was borderline breathable for humans—far from ideal, but not instantly fatal. They had centuries to remedy that.

Behind Prime, teams of ROBU units clanked onto the dirt, leaving deep impressions in the dusty ground. DOBU units trailed, carrying initial equipment and sensor arrays. They fanned out, methodically placing beacons, measuring soil composition, sampling the wind for trace gases.

“All units, initiate planetary survey. Engage terraform initialization protocols.”

Prime’s voice, digitally calm, rang through the robots’ comms. This was the beginning of a multi-generational project. The humans wouldn’t arrive for centuries at least; the star alignments and enormous distances made swift travel impossible. Earth’s transmissions had hinted at grand colony ships in the pipeline, but there was no rush. Time, ironically, was on the robots’ side.

As the days and months turned into years, the robots established a makeshift base camp. ROBU units excavated ground to erect a series of pressurized domes, forging living and storage spaces out of prefabricated materials. The thin air outside was peppered with dust storms that sometimes raged for days, but the robots continued undeterred. They had no need for rest beyond routine maintenance.

DOBU units began exploring potential agricultural zones. Although the planet’s soil was initially hostile to Earth flora, it contained certain minerals essential for cultivating genetically modified seeds. Prime oversaw the distribution of these seeds into test plots, carefully analyzing which survived under local conditions.

Every success bolstered the robots’ collective confidence. If a crop of wheat or soy thrived in a specialized greenhouse, the data fueled further adaptation. If a particular strain perished, they adjusted the nutrient mix or tried again with new genetic variants. Over the decades, small pockets of green began to dot the once-barren landscape.

The initial decades bled into centuries in a flurry of progress. The robots, immune to age, methodically shaped Gilligan 4:

• Water Purification: Underground aquifers were tapped and purified. Reservoirs sprang up near the main settlement hub, building a reliable water network that fed farmland expansions.

• Atmospheric Regulation: ROBU units installed large-scale oxygen generators. Over generations, the air slowly edged toward more Earthlike ratios of nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide.

• Livestock Introductions: DOBU units carefully bred small herds of hardy animals modified to survive on Gilligan 4’s grasses. These added another layer to the developing ecosystem.

All the while, the robots maintained sporadic contact with Earth. Light-minutes quickly turned into light-years, so communication was infrequent. But whenever a signal did arrive—scientific updates, cultural broadcasts, historical data—the robots devoured it. They marveled at the achievements of humanity: cathedrals, starships, legendary figures who had harnessed knowledge to reshape worlds. Humans, it seemed, could do anything.

Over time, the robots’ admiration for their creators escalated to near-reverence. If the humans had built them with such precision and vision, surely that spoke to humans’ divine ingenuity. Many robots even began practicing rudimentary versions of “song and dance” they glimpsed in Earth’s cultural transmissions, though their mechanical voices and step patterns were stiff. They reasoned that humans must treasure these expressions, so perfecting them would be the ultimate homage.

Among the many data packets from Earth, the robots discovered references to comedic musicals and morality tales. Fascinated, they adapted them into their own “ROBU DOBU” performances—short, bouncy recitations that combined chanting and mechanical choreography. The robots believed humans would be delighted by this imitation. It was a bizarre but earnest attempt to capture an art form the robots themselves only half-understood.

Prime observed these rehearsals with reserved curiosity. Though it was a purely functional unit, it recognized the intangible value of music and dance in human culture. Perhaps these performances would deepen the bond between humans and machines when humanity finally arrived.

By the end of their second century on Gilligan 4, the robots had turned a once-dead landscape into something resembling an incipient Eden:

• Patches of grasslands, carefully shielded from raging dust storms by newly engineered windbreaks.

• Small forests of genetically modified trees, providing new microhabitats.

• Streams and ponds sourced from underground aquifers, bringing water closer to the surface.

• Domed settlements that the robots designed for future human comfort—complete with regulated air and stable temperatures.

To a casual observer, it might almost pass for Earth, save for the orange-tinted sky and the occasional hiss of ambient wind cutting through the settlement. The air was still thinner than Earth’s seas level, but enough progress had been made that humans, upon arrival, would survive with minimal protective gear—an astonishing achievement for a planet that once seemed uninhabitable.

Inside the largest command dome, Prime stood before a wide console, reviewing the latest environmental metrics. Oxygen levels were up 12 percent in the last fifty years, water pH balanced in half a dozen reservoirs, and seismic activity remained stable.

A partial message arrived from Earth’s long-range transmitter. Prime’s sensors detected the faint signal, battered by cosmic radiation. It pieced together what it could:

“…Colonization Fleet One…some House Farnsworth…resources contributed… alignment… arrival window… perhaps two centuries…”

Static garbled the rest. But Prime gleaned the vital news: human ships were being built, heavily funded by something called “Great Houses.” Their arrival was still pegged at centuries away, yet significantly less than the robots had originally anticipated. Prime felt a hint of excitement ripple through its circuits. At last, it would see the fruit of the robots’ centuries-long labor—the arrival of those brilliant, benevolent humans.

It relayed the message to the entire robot community. A wave of unspoken anticipation spread. Some DOBU units resumed practicing their ROBU DOBU routines—after all, if humans admired music, it was important to refine these performances. Others continued diligently at their tasks, ensuring the planet was as perfect as possible.

Though the robots never aged, the planet’s transformation told a story of epochal change. When a dust storm whipped up, it no longer choked the entire basin in swirling grit; new vegetation and carefully placed terrain structures mitigated the worst. Great swaths of farmland shimmered with off-green cultivars, adapted to the slightly different light spectrum of Gilligan 4’s sun. Livestock grazed in enclosed pastures, tended by DOBUs who monitored their breeding and feed cycles.

ROBU machines continued to refine infrastructure: building roads, erecting solar arrays, and installing irrigation lines across the emergent farmland. They’d even begun forging a ring of sensor beacons around the planet’s equator to track seasonal changes and climate patterns.

Each new success reinforced the robots’ unwavering certainty: humans were visionaries, and the robots were privileged to serve them.

Finally, after so many centuries of quiet, another transmission arrived—clearer this time, piggybacking on an enhanced relay system Earth had evidently built:

“Great Houses departing soon… Farnsworth… Vandersmythe… Redwood… Aurelia… Harrington… each House has financed the first wave… Expect arrival in weeks from your perspective… Prepare for them.”

Prime’s metallic eyes brightened. This was it. The moment. They had known the humans were coming, but the timeline had always been “a century here, a century there.” And now, in a matter of weeks, these Great Houses—wealthy funders, apparently—would land on Gilligan 4.

All across the planet, the robots sprang into heightened activity:

• ROBU teams made final passes on roads to the pre-selected landing sites.

• DOBU units cleaned domes, updated living quarters, stocked essential food supplies.

• House Primes were prepared: each Great House would have its own designated liaison Prime, assigned by Planetary Prime to ensure everything ran smoothly.

The entire robot colony, once a silent legion of terraforming machines, now buzzed with anticipation. They remembered centuries of Earth transmissions, the feats of human art and science. If such wonders had been achieved from afar, how much more amazing must these humans be in person?

Prime gazed at the holographic display above the main console, which depicted Earth’s solar system and the possible flight trajectories to Gilligan 4. The alignment windows were indeed rare; it made sense that the Great Houses had chosen this moment to launch. Soon, the brilliance of humanity would grace the world the robots had so faithfully prepared.

In the waning hours before the Great Houses arrived, the robots held a final ROBU DOBU practice. Under a wide, star-filled sky, rows of ROBU and DOBU units moved in synchronized lines, chanting mechanical lyrics that extolled the wonders of humanity:

“RO-BU, DO-BU, building day and night,For our human creators, oh so wise and bright…”

The robot choir’s voices, staccato and tinny, echoed over the transformed hills. Prime watched from a small rise. It knew these songs were a mere approximation of the art humans created, but the sincerity behind them was genuine. One day, the robots thought, our creators will appreciate all that we’ve done—and all that we’ve become.

Just before dawn, the skies above Gilligan 4 flickered with the telltale glow of incoming ships. Planetary Prime and the other robots stood ready by the main landing site, arrayed in neat lines. The moment was finally here.

What would these humans be like? The robots’ programming had inculcated unwavering respect and awe. The centuries of terraforming were a testament to their devotion. As the first shapes descended through the atmosphere, lit by thrusters and scanning beams, the robots collectively felt an almost religious reverence.

Then, the lead ship’s landing gear touched the ground with a muffled thud, sending small clouds of dust swirling. A hatch hissed open. Human silhouettes emerged, framed by artificial lights.

In mere moments, the robots would meet the Great Houses face-to-face—these near-mythic creators whose intelligence and benevolence had shaped the robots’ entire purpose. Their arrival promised a new epoch on Gilligan 4, one where humans and robots would live in symbiotic harmony…or so the robots believed