There Will Come Soft Rains

There Will Come Soft Rains is a science fiction short story by Ray Bradbury. It was first published in the May 6, 1950 issue of Collier's magazine and later included as the title piece in his collection The Martian Chronicles (1950). Set in 2026, after an atomic war has devastated Earth, it focuses on a suburban home that continues to run itself despite being empty of human life.


The story is considered one of Bradbury's most notable works and has been widely anthologized since its publication. It explores themes such as technology, artificial intelligence, futurism, nature versus civilization, mortality, and automation taking over mankind's role within society. Through its vivid imagery and stark contrast between humans' achievements before their destruction and what remains afterwards—a single automated house still functioning long after all humanity has disappeared—the story paints a powerful picture of human insignificance when faced with the power of natural forces like time or entropy, which will eventually cause all traces of our existence to be wiped away from this world.