A bot develops emotions and a profound understanding of what it means to be human in the tear-jerking, romantic Set My Heart to Five by Simon Stephenson, author of the memoir Let Not the Waves of the Sea.
One morning in 2054 Detroit, a bot named Jared, programmed to be a dentist, comes out of rest mode with the number 1956864 displayed on his internal computer. The next day that number is reduced by 416, the exact number of teeth Jared views during a workday. Neither an attempt to reboot himself nor a trip to his local robotics lab can explain the problem. Befuddled, Jared shares his problem with human dentist/failed filmmaker Dr. Glundenstein.
Gludenstein theorizes Jared is suffering from depression over the realization his days are literally counting down to his impending demise. Jared registers the diagnosis as illogical, since being depressed would require feelings, something bots lack. Framing it as an experiment, Gludenstein sends Jared to see an old Hollywood love story movie to verify whether or not Jared has feelings. When the film ends, Jared discovers his face and shirt front are wet, and can no longer deny he has human emotions. He sets off on a very un-bot-like journey to discover and fulfill one true passion before the manufacturer can capture and destroy him.
Jared takes an epic trek from Michigan to Hollywood, to love and, ultimately, self-actualization. By making his protagonist view people objectively, Stephenson provides readers with a comically insightful reminder of what it means to be human. --Paul Dinh-McCrillis, freelance reviewer