Ballad of Lamar Ho

Listen closely and you will know
Of the greatest engineer, Lamar Ho
To the planet of ice he wanted to go
A barren wasteland covered in snow

His only possession along for the ride
Was his long-time buddy C-55
Not just a robot, but not fully alive
On this barren planet, where nothing could thrive

C-55 was his only friend
With human company he could not blend
Always breaking and on the mend
He knew his time was near the end

Their friendship wasn’t meant to last
The bot got older and problems amassed
He fixed him once, he fixed him twice
Third time’s the charm and luck of the dice

Sell him for parts his coworkers did say
But he could not part with him any day
Continued to fix him until he was okay
Wish his coworkers would just go away

Then one day, can’t find him anywhere
He looked over here and looked over there
Saw him outside looking beyond repair
Thoughts of losing his friend, he couldn’t bare

The warnings flashed, stay inside
The other colonist went to hide
A solar flare’s coming, he smiled and sighed
Ran to the airlock, warnings defied

Across the ice Lamar did run
Aware of the dangers from the afternoon sun
All the good times and all the fun
As for regrets I knew he had none

Made just in time to say “goodbye”
Then whiteness filled the afternoon sky
The flash came quick, the sky was bright
And both were taken into the light

From safely inside I watched it all unfold
And knew this story just had to be told
Of a man and his friend that could not be sold
One a heart of steel and the other of gold

Listen closely and you will know
Of the greatest engineer, Lamar Ho
Sometimes I think I see him out in the snow
Just him and his buddy in the afternoon glow