Robot Love

In the San Francisco BART stations, the regular arrival and departure of the southbound trains are announced in the prerecorded, carefully inflected glint of a machine's voice pitched to that of a human woman. The north- and eastbound trains are hailed by the equally smooth tones of an electronic man.

From 4:00 am to about 1:00 am the two voices take turns reading the following haiku to each other.

Now approaching
nine-car Fremont
train platform
one.

Eight-car Daly City
train
arriving in
twelve
minutes.

Ten car Dublin-
Pleasanton train arriving
in
three
minutes.

I used to wonder if the same conversation continued during the four-hour mid-night gap when the lines go dark.

Eight-car Millbrae
train
arriving in
three hours twenty-
two minutes.

Or if they used the time to discuss other things.

Did you see that fallen-
faced man down
that Miller light
like it was sun-
light?

Two pigeons trapped
at Montgomery flapped
the dust
right off
the floor
'til it shone.

Or perhaps I'm the only one who imagines companionship means talking all night and they are happy to let a bit of silence course down those still tunnels.