There was once a computer, it had a normal keyboard, hard drive, and screen. But one day all of that changed, it started out a regular day. It sat quietly humming on a table being used to do school work, then a download alert appeared. It said " Bring your computer to life by downloading Bot-life." When the girl who was using it walked back to it and sat in a chair placed in front of it, she saw this download and clicked 'ok'.
Suddenly the computer started buzzing, it wasn't a normal buzz. It was a loud screeching metallic buzz, when the girl first heard the noise she had to cover her ears. It only lasted about ten seconds, then it stopped just as quickly as it started. Then it was silent. The girl looked at the computer and it was rebooting itself, it loaded and the home screen appeared like it always had. She put her hand on the mouse and then she saw that there was a shortcut icon for the Bot-life program she downloaded. She hesitantly clicked it, and a face appeared on the screen.
The girl looked closely, it appeared to be a picture of someone sleeping. The eyes slowly opened, then they blinked three times. Then in white words at the bottom of the screen read "testing..." She waited, the head looked left and right. Then up and down, then straight at the girl. The white letters disappeared, the computer then said " Hello, what is your name?" The girl replied, "My name is Dina." The computer said " Dina, you downloaded the Bot-life program correct?""... Yes, I did." Dina replied. The face on the screen smiled, "So it was you who brought me to life?"
Dina was confused, she had only downloaded a program that would make her computer better. She remembered what the description for the program said, "Bring your computer to life." She thought for a second, had she really brought her computer to life? No, that wasn't possible. Computers are machines, they can't live. "What do you mean brought you to life?" The computer explained, "When you downloaded Bot-life it took over your computer with a program that scientists have been working on for years, they have finally perfected it. They chose one computer in each country to test on, to see how both the computers react to humans and how humans react to computers."
Dina wondered how this was possible, and why, and who. She had a million questions, but she didn't know how to put them into words."Am I being recorded right now? Are people watching me?"" No." The computer said calmly. "They are only going to listen to how you react, not record it on video. And they won't look at anything until after thirty days. Then they will review everything and decide whether to stop the program or to release it to everyone."
"So you will be here for a month?" Dina inquired. "Yes, maybe forever." The computer answered. Dina didn't know if this was good or bad, but she would have to make do for awhile. "So what is your name?" Dina asked. "My name?" The computer looked confused, maybe he doesn't have a name Dina wondered." Yes, you know my name. Now I need to know yours." Dina demanded. "You already know my name, it's Bot-life." Dina said"What kind of a name is that? You need a real name." The computer thought for a moment. "How about... Dima?""Dima? That is too close to Dina, how about Bob?" Dina thought Bob was a good name for a computer, very simple and easy. " I like it. " said the computer.
For the next month Dina visited Bob every day, teaching and telling him about life. They bonded and became friends, they would do almost everything together. When the thirty days were up she and Bob waited for the results. Bob could communicate with the scientists and see how things were going in the lab. They waited all day, then the final results were in.
Bob told Dina not to worry, but she was really worried. The scientists said it was safe to release Bot-life to the public, and they would make a human-like robot for companionship. But Bob was to be deleted in a week." They can't delete you Bob! Your my best friend!" He said he would see what he could do.
The scientists saw what was going on, Bob had developed feelings and a personality, and he had a friend. They explained the situation, "We might be able to put you into a robot body and use Dina as a test subject for the robots. But she would have to agree to not tell anyone until the final release. She also has to ship us her computer so that we can install you into a body. We can ship you back to her after we are done though. Bob was happy, he got what he wanted and more. He and Dina lived a happy life together, they stayed best friends forever. Dina and Bob grew up together and live in a house with their dog Bridgett. They are happy with their lives. That is the end of their story, but there will be stories of others who live similar lives to theirs. After all, there are other robots just like Bob.