Jal stood in its sleeping room. It was tired of studying. It picked up a charm for perseverance, then set it down. “I need a break.” It looked at the dust on the shelf. “I haven’t been very responsible about some things.” Minutes later, it was cleaning vigorously. As it went along, it sorted things out. Jal made a new configuration of drawers, cubbyholes and shelves. It knew Ridali Tower liked this. Maybe one night it should draw a picture on a wall section.

It wasn’t long before Jal stood in front of the storage space. “Jan’s comments about my boots are annoying. My uniforms don’t fit right again. I hate shopping, especially with someone else!”

It emptied the backpack and its belt, put back the seed and plant gathering materials that it always carried, and picked up the small canister that Grandma Eaglestje had given it. It could hear her words, “The small seeds will grow into plants that produce a fruit above soil, and tubers below. When the yellow flowers fall, chew them quickly. They allow a person to see what is coming. The more flowers you eat, the more of the future will be revealed.”

“I wonder if this plant will grow in the solarium upstairs,” it thought. “I should try to see what’s ahead. Then I can do a better job of preparing.” When Jal finished cleaning, it sent the laundry down the chute, then went up to the solarium.

The hundreds of plants that had been lush and green were dead. The leaves from the hanging plants had fallen in circular patterns. “What happened in here?” Jal said aloud. It walked in the aisle between the raised beds. “Ridali Tower, when was the last time someone was in here?”

“Three months and 12 days ago.”

“Was that the day before Taryn died?”

“Yes.”

“Please confirm that neither Scuti or Niki have been in here.”

“Calendar confirmed.”

Jal found a small, new-looking container, took a shovelful of dark, well-composted soil, and planted two seeds. It carried the container down to its room, watered it, and set it in the south window.

During the evening meal, Jal glanced at Niki and looked at Jan. “We have a problem. Most of the plants in the solarium are either dead or close to it. The bughouse is dried up and is full of bug carcasses. Ridali Tower has confirmed that no one has been in there since Taryn died.”

“Niki? Why aren’t you tending the plants and bugs in the solarium?”

“Solarium,” she repeated. “That duty is scheduled after the cleanup for the noon meal. I am recharging at that time.”

“You’re recharging in the middle of the day?” Jan demanded. “What level is your battery at when you go to recharge?”

“Level one.”

“Why don’t you go to the solarium in the evenings? There are lights up there.”

“I can’t. I must recharge after the evening meal is cleaned up.”

“Are you working at night after you recharge?”

“No. I am programmed to turn off when Ridali Tower enters night mode.”

“That’s preposterous!” Jan was livid. “You’re supposed to have a special long-lasting battery. You’re programmed to run from early morning until we go to bed. I’ll call the shop and demand a new battery in the morning.”

“Maybe she needs her schedule tweaked,” Jal suggested. “I’ could look at it tonight.”

“You went to the solarium to tend to things?”

“I planted some seeds my grandmother gave me a long time ago.”

“No greens for several weeks,” Jan groaned.

“No dessert either.”

“How can we fix this, Jal?”

“We need to replace all but two or three plants.”

They looked at one another thoughtfully as they ate. “We need those greens,” Jan said slowly. “I don’t want to deal with this.”

“I’m angry too,” Jal admitted. “I never thought about all the things Taryn did when she was here. And Scuti’s personality was frustrating. I didn’t want to be around her. If I make sure Niki’s programs are brought up to date all at once, and we replaced everything, we could restart things on the right foot. I could set things up and teach her what to do so this doesn’t happen again.”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“It’s going to have to be done, Jal. And frankly, I wouldn’t know where to begin. This is not my area of expertise.”

“I would do it, if I had the week free from all my responsibilities.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“That means I would have to fit it in between everything else. It will take weeks to restore everything if I can only work an hour or two at a time.”

“Let me think for a bit.” The two finished the meal in a companionable silence. “All right, one week.”

“If I finish early, I need to spend time on personal care.”

“Oh?”

“A haircut, shopping for clothes and boots, that sort of thing. I can do it on my own.”

“Get some new uniforms,” Jan said. “I have a card that I’ll give you.”

“I don’t need your card. I’ll do this.”

The two argued for nearly an hour. Jan was adamant that it should provide for Jal’s needs. Jal insisted that it could afford to pay for its clothes and that it had budgeted for them. They both went to bed frustrated.

Jan went to Jal several times the next morning as it worked in the crafting room, insisting that it knew what was best. At noon, they sat at the meal table. Jal spoke first. “I’m sorry for being so bull-headed. I have a proposition to make. I had planned to sell some charms. I’ll do that and use the proceeds for the clothes. That way I won’t touch what’s in my bank account.”

“But those are your assets!”

“Jan, I know where I can get more. We can go to the mountains, find the obsidian, and take a few slabs.”

“And get ourselves killed!” Jan raised its voice.

“I have a lot of obsidian. I have a lot more energy and strength now. I can do this. I’m almost seven.”

Jan sighed. “You are. Very well. You’ll use my card to get what you need for the solarium, and you can purchase your own clothes and boots. I’ll give you one week. No matter what you get done, you’ll stop at that point. If you run out of time, we can go shopping together the next day."

“Ugh,” Jal thought. “I hate shopping with another person. In that case, I’m going to be done early!”

“We also need to order your shield for your weaponry class.”

Jal’s eyes became a brilliant blue. “I’ll put a circle of obsidian pieces on it. And bornite to ensure that justice is done.”

“You’ll want iris agates for dexterity, grey stones for extra defense, and carnelian for courage.”

“In the center, an ‘R.’”

“Why an ‘R?’”

“For ‘Ridali.’”

“Jal, if you make your own design, the armorer won’t have to spend time on it. It won’t take as long to make.” Jan suggested. “You can look in the armory for ideas.”

After Niki had cleaned up, Jal asked her if she had a few minutes to help with something. She sat down as Jal asked whether she would access the instructions for tending the plants in the solarium. Jal waited for several minutes. “Niki, end search. Go recharge.”

Jal went in to Jan and waited until it stopped writing. “I’m going up to my room. I’m going to look through Niki’s programs. There are some files that she’s not finding. I’ll work with the Ridali computer to reconstruct what’s missing. If there are new tasks that need to be added to her programming, let me know."

When it was finished, Jal looked over the list of plants that had filled the solarium, then went up and walked through it. The next morning Jal started early, emptying dead plants and soil from the filled pots into the composting bin. It scrubbed the pots, put them into storage, and scrubbed the floor. Jal scrubbed out the bug terrarium and brought the one from the eating room to the solarium and cleaned that out too.

The next morning, Jal went to Minnie Blok’s greenhouse in Pencadick Rill. Jal bought dozens of plants and packets of seeds. The big transporter was packed full. Once home, Jal used the small service elevator to move plants to the top floor. The following day Jal went to Kauflen. After it sold some charms at the magician’s shop, Jal went to the furniture store.

“Niki, is Jan home?” Jal spoke into the communicator.

“No, it went to Nik for the day.”

“I’m having some things transported to the tower. Would you transport them to the center of the solarium? That’s the top level of the tower. I’ll be home soon and will organize everything.”

“Sure, Jal. We need to talk.”

“Tell me what that will be about.”

“Maintaining the solarium, the garden, and the chickens.”

“Yes, we do. Would you add the bug house to the list?”

At the greenhouse in Kauflen, Jal filled the transport to the brim again. It purchased a variety of bugs and their eggs for the bughouse in the solarium and the terrarium that belonged in the kitchen.

Over the next few days, Jal placed chairs and small tables in several places along a pathway that wound through the huge space. It hung plants from the overhead hooks and placed the many flowerpots in groupings. As it worked, Jal spent time teaching Niki how to start plants using cuttings. Each pot was clearly labeled, so that Niki could access each plant’s habits and watering schedule from her memory chip.

“This is so different,” Jan said as it wandered when it was finished. “I love this pathway! Tell me what some of these are.” Jal explained a few of them as they went along, but for the most part, Jal was quiet. “This is wonderful, Jal! Very calming. There are still open spots where more plants can go, if you like. The expenses for restoring this seem very low.”

“Minnie gave me a discount.” Jan raised its eyebrows. “She was one of my customers at one point, and I was one of her students.” Jal changed the subject, “The bughouses have both been restored. We planted seeds in the long containers, so we’ll have greens in just a few weeks. I’ll finish going over the instructions for the plants with Niki in the next few days. We’ve talked about the garden and discussed the care for the chickens. I’ll clean the shed out in the morning.” Jal looked up at the ceiling. The sun was past its apex and it was early winter, but Jal said, “Ridali Tower, open.”

Jan was shocked. “I remember my grandfather opening the roof. I thought I made that up.”

“This tower is amazing. Piter Ridali was brilliant! He thought of everything. How to transport the dirt and plants up, the sprinkling system, the special planters. Watch this, Jan. Ridali Tower, close. Color shades two and four, level six.” The top closed and the two panels became darker than the rest. “It can all be put on timers. It’s incredible. Thank you for letting me experience this.”

Jal smiled to itself as it closed the roof, and followed Jan down the tower. It thought of the little white container tucked in a spot in the sun. “Grandma Eaglestje, I wonder what’s ahead?”