I didn't enjoy this piece, although I did like Resnick's earlier EP outing "The Big Guy." The girl's pain seemed too easy -- just throw a lot of maladies at her. And I did not believe or follow the bot's developing emotions. For what was supposed to be a tear-jerker, it moved along like stereo instructions.
I had expected the tear ducts to be inserted and the bot to cry...and cry...and cry...and make it useless for any resale value, but eventually find someone new to care for as a nursemad since that is the human condition: We lose people we love, but most move on and overcome. As for the main character, he I had hoped he would decide not to sell the machine (i.e., slavery), but to let it free to follow its own wants.
Alternatively, tell this story from the alien's POV -- that would really have been interesting. All in all, there were no original idea (except for salvaging abandoned world for "antiques", which I think was a great idea) and no emotion resonance for me.
But can I suggest to Mr. Eley putting a moratorium on Mr. Resnick's work? He has appeared 11 times (one of those, "The Sweet, Sad Love Song of Fred and Wilma", being co-authored with Nick Dichario) on Escape Pod, which is two more than Jeffrey R. DeRego with nine appearances, many of those the Union Dues stories. There are two other writers who have appeared five times (Paul E. Martens and Robert Silverberg) and five writers who have had four stories published (Janni Lee Simner, Jonathon Sullivan, Nancy Kress, Tim Pratt and Christmas Story favorite Mur Lafferty).
I enjoy Escape Pod as an anthology, getting to sample different writers and discovering some I never would have run across, but the repeats bog me down. I do not mind a Kristine Kathryn Rusch or Robert J. Sawyer story now and then, but there are some great up and coming SF writers who deserve the exposure they might not otherwise get. In Metacast #3, Steve said Escape Pod is "a major force in the science fiction genre," but how can it be that when we are getting stories we can find elsewhere from writers who are finding their own success? That is, Escape Pod strikes me more like echoing major forces in sci-fi rather than being its own force. I realize as an editor Steve has his own preferences, which are reflected in the stories selected for Escape Pod, but how about some new voices rather than "SF's most award winning author" ad infinitum?
Granted, Steve can only publish that which is submitted to him. So, to all you writers out there, send Steve your stuff!!!