The Life That I Waited For

A novella, 1966 (For a Breath I Tarry; translation variants: «Миг бытия так краток…»; «Пока дыхание, которое я затаил…»; «Пока я жив…»; «Я живу ради мига»)

In Earth’s orbit, a human-made Solkom revolves—created to improve life on the planet. Deep underground lies Divkom, also created for the same purpose. But there’s a problem: their views on what humans need differ, and there’s an even more important issue—humans no longer exist. Who can settle their dispute? Perhaps Frost is the machine with an unknown way of thinking, created by an amnesia brought on by heightened solar activity while—unknown to anyone—this Frost now shows interest in humans…