History BecomeARealBoy / Literature

* Averted in a [[{{Mythopoeia}} fictional myth]] from ''Literature/TheCrocodileGod'': The prince of the sambar deer wanted to marry a young human datu (Filipino chief)... so he [[ImAHumanitarian killed and ate a little boy]] to take human form, which is emphatically ''not'' the right way to do it. The gods are angered, but give him three chances to repent and tell the truth so he can become real. First chance: He arrives to find the datu's whole village in deep mourning, then finds out that the boy he ate was [[OhCrap her nephew]]. Second chance: He can't eat meat -- as in, he literally can't, since he gets nauseous at the ''smell'' of cooking meat -- and realizes that while his body is human, [[OurSoulsAreDifferent his soul is still a deer's]] because the gods refuse to change it. The sambar-prince [[IgnoredEpiphany sweeps both events under the rug]], and after he marries the datu, he asks for tattoos. They start normal, but while they heal, the gods change the designs [[RedRightHand to scenes of him killing and eating the datu's nephew]]. He tries to hide it with heavy clothes, but [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome tropical summer arrives and he can't bear the heat]], so he takes off his shirt. When his new wife spots them and finds out the AwfulTruth, she pushes him off into a reef to drown. When the sambar deer find out what their prince did, [[DrivenToSuicide half of them try to drown themselves]] but are [[JustSoStory turned into the first stonefish]] by the sea-god Haik. The other half [[JustSoStory shrinks into the small deer of current-day Philippines]].

* Averted in a [[{{Mythopoeia}} fictional myth]] from ''Literature/TheCrocodileGod'': The prince of the sambar deer wanted to marry a young human datu (Filipino chief)... so he [[ImAHumanitarian killed and ate a little boy]] to take human form, which is emphatically ''not'' the right way to do it. The gods are angered, but give him three chances to repent and tell the truth so he can become real. First chance: He arrives to find the datu's whole village in deep mourning, then finds out that the boy he ate was [[OhCrap her nephew]]. Second chance: He can't eat meat -- as in, he literally can't, since he gets nauseous at the ''smell'' of cooking meat -- and realizes that while his body is human, [[OurSoulsAreDifferent his soul is still a deer's]] because the gods refuse to change it. The sambar-prince [[IgnoredEpiphany sweeps both events under the rug]], and after he marries the datu, he asks for tattoos. They start normal, but while they heal, the gods change the designs [[RedRightHand to scenes of him killing and eating the datu's nephew]]. He tries to hide it with heavy clothes, but [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome tropical summer arrives and he can't bear the heat]], so he takes off his shirt. When his new wife spots them and finds out the AwfulTruth, [[BerserkButton she pushes him off into a reef to drown]]. When the sambar deer find out what their prince did, [[DrivenToSuicide half of them try to drown themselves]] but are [[JustSoStory turned into the first stonefish]] by the sea-god Haik. The other half [[JustSoStory shrinks into the small deer of current-day Philippines]].

* OlderThanRadio: This originates in Carlo Collodi's ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfPinocchio''. In [[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Pinocchio/Chapter_25 Chapter 25]], Pinocchio wants to grow up, but the Fairy tells him that he can't grow without first becoming a real boy.

* ''Literature/TheLittleMermaid'': Though not an artificial life form, the mermaid is excessively different from us; Andersen's [[OurMermaidsAreDifferent mermaid]] would live for five hundred years and then dissolve into sea foam, having no afterlife of any kind. Her ongoing wish, even before her falling in love with the prince, is to become a human and acquire an [[OurSoulsAreDifferent immortal soul]].

* In ''LightNovel/ThePetGirlOfSakurasou'', Ryuunosuke's long-term goal for his ArtificialIntelligence "maid" is to turn her into a {{Ridiculously Human Robot|s}}.

* ''Literature/TheLittleMermaid''. Though not an artificial life form, the mermaid is excessively different from us; Andersen's [[OurMermaidsAreDifferent mermaid]] would live for five hundred years and then dissolve into sea foam, having no afterlife of any kind. Her ongoing wish, even before her falling in love with the prince, is to become a human and acquire an [[OurSoulsAreDifferent immortal soul]].
* ''Literature/TheBicentennialMan'': Andrew Martin was originally an [[RobotNames NDR model robot]], but he wanted to become human for many years. The line that finally convinces the [[OneWorldOrder World Congress]] to grant him recognition as a human is when he replaces his [[{{Unobtainium}} platinum-iridium positronic brain]] with a new brain that would quickly deteriorate and kill him.
* OlderThanRadio: This originates in Carlo Collodi's ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfPinocchio''. In [[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Pinocchio/Chapter_25 Chapter 25]] Pinocchio wants to grow up, but the Fairy tells him he can't grow without first becoming a real boy.
* Creator/RobertAHeinlein's titular ''Literature/StrangerInAStrangeLand'' suffered ParentalAbandonment on Mars as the infant survivor of the first human exploratory mission. Having been RaisedByNatives (who are StarfishAliens), he has to learn everything from scratch to relate to humans when the next mission comes along, after he's already a grown man.
* Minerva, the AI who runs Secundus, in ''Literature/TimeEnoughForLove'', desperately wants to gain a human form. Her motivation is that she's fallen in love with Ira and wants to be a real woman to be with him.
* Data actually becomes a real boy in one of the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' tie-in novels, Jean Lorrah's ''Metamorphosis'', in which mysterious aliens turn him into a living breathing being; he feels some emotions, mourns Tasha, falls in love, and gains weight from eating too many chocolate sundaes before a ResetButton makes it all go away.

* Subverted in ''Literature/{{Twig}}'', where the protagonist, Sylvester, is the project of regular chemical injections which alter his mind. At one point, he runs away from his creator, only to return just in time for his next injection, horrified at the idea of being a "real boy."
* Averted in a [[{{Mythopoeia}} fictional myth]] from ''Literature/TheCrocodileGod'': The prince of the sambar deer wanted to marry a young human datu (Filipino chief)... so he [[ImAHumanitarian killed and ate a little boy]] to take human form, which is emphatically NOT the right way to do it. The gods are angered, but give him three chances to repent and tell the truth so he can become real. First chance: He arrives to find the datu's whole village in deep mourning, then finds out that the boy he ate was [[OhCrap her NEPHEW.]] Second chance: He can't eat meat--as in, he literally can't, since he gets nauseous at the SMELL of cooking meat--and realizes that while his body is human, [[OurSoulsAreDifferent his soul is still a deer's]] because the gods refuse to change it. The sambar-prince [[IgnoredEpiphany sweeps both events under the rug,]] and after he marries the datu, he asks for tattoos. They start normal, but while they heal, the gods change the designs [[RedRightHand to scenes of him killing and eating the datu's nephew.]] He tries to hide it with heavy clothes, but [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome tropical summer arrives and he can't bear the heat,]] so he takes off his shirt. When his new wife spots them and finds out the AwfulTruth, [[BerserkButton she pushes him off into a reef to drown.]] When the sambar deer find out what their prince did, [[DrivenToSuicide half of them try to drown themselves]] but are [[JustSoStory turned into the first stonefish]] by the sea-god Haik. The other half [[JustSoStory shrinks into the small deer of current-day Philippines.]]
* ''Literature/TheDiabolic'': A running plot point is that Nemesis, as an ArtificialHuman, is legally and religiously not a person. Her master Sidonia tried to get a priest to bless her, but he flat-out refused. The same happens in the second book, except now it's a bigger deal because [[spoiler:the new Emperor has declared his intent to wed her]]. The fact that she is not a person causes huge problems as the more religious nobles consider her mere existence an abomination, and openly plot against her and her allies. Tyrus decides to go over the heads of all other religious authorities and seek out the Interdict, the head of the faith. [[spoiler:The Interdict initially politely but firmly refuses, saying that if Tyrus returns in twenty years still wishing for Nemesis to be named a person, he will grant it, as Tyrus will have proven his wisdom and devotion. Tyrus can't wait that long, but the resultant fight reveals to the Interdict that the galaxy is in a ''much'' worse state than he thought. He charges Tyrus with a holy mission and names Nemesis as an instrument of divine will for bringing the problem to his attention--meaning that yes, she is a person now]].
* Averted and discussed in ''Literature/TheMurderbotDiaries'', in which the titular Murderbot emphatically does ''not'' want to be human — and discusses its annoyance with human beings who assume constructs and other artificial beings like itself must all long to Become a Real Boy. A somewhat rare example where an AI that is a sympathetic, positive protagonist still has no desire to become human. Notably, Murderbot consumes a lot of [[ShowWithinAShow in-universe fiction]], and this trope is one of the ones that annoy it most. Also, at one point it straight up tells a human character some non-flattering things it thinks about humans, and is pleased by how nonplussed the human is at the realisation that Murderbot does ''not'' envy him. Murderbot is frequently annoyed by how slow, cruel, or inefficient humans can be, especially in areas, like security, where Murderbot excels thanks to its artificial nature. Murderbot also notes that it has no interest in human pursuits like, say, romance and sexuality. Deep down, however, Murderbot still ''likes'' humans — at least, ''some'' humans. Though [[KnightInSourArmor it would never say so...]] It just has no interest whatsoever in ''becoming'' one.
* ''Literature/BruceCovillesBookOf Magic'': Henry, the teddy bear in ''Bear at the Gate'', earned a soul through his love and care for his original owner, allowing him to go to Heaven.
* In the ''[[Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya]]'', as part of [[spoiler:the world becoming "normal"]], Yuki goes from TheStoic RobotGirl to [[spoiler:a regular ShrinkingViolet human girl]]. This was, in fact, a result of Yuki's [[TinMan spontaneous development of emotions]], since she [[spoiler:was responsible for altering reality in the first place.]]
* Leroi, the WolfMan from ''Literature/TheBookOfLostThings'' is trying to become human in appearance, not realizing that it means he will eventually become too human. By the end of the book, he can't even howl.
* ''Literature/HIVESeries'': After [=H.I.V.E.mind=] and Otto start SharingABody, he thanks Otto for letting him see what it is like to be human. He even starts participating in conversation about girls, thanks to witnessing Otto's interactions with [[spoiler:Lucy]] firsthand.
* ''The Cat Who Wished To Be a Man'' by Creator/LloydAlexander is about a cat that wants to be a man.
* Zora Zombie from ''Literature/{{Xanth}}'' would've been happier to be alive or all-the-way dead, but was content to muddle through until she got to become human.
* The short story "Literature/{{Feathertop}}" deals with a scarecrow who is given the illusionary appearance of a human. He knows he's not a human, but it isn't on his mind when the townsfolk respond with such awe at the sight of him. When, inevitably, he is confronted with his own appearance by a mirror that pierces right through the illusion, he is horrified and ends his life.
* In ''[[Literature/EddieLaCrosse The Sword-Edged Blonde]]'', a goddess made three attempts to live like a human. The first and second attempts went wrong. The third attempt was to incarnate as an amnesiac so that she could live free of any memory of being a goddess. However, the fact that ''she'' can't remember doesn't mean that she can't be found by someone who hates her from her first disastrous attempt.

* Over the course of the ''Literature/FullMetalPanic'' books, the Arbelest and later Leviathan's Artificial Intelligence, Al, slowly starts to acquire consciousness as a byproduct of regularly reading the direct mental states of its pilot, Sousuke. Starting with jokes, it then progresses to having irrational preferences and complex emotional experiences such as guilt before finally acquiring the ability to [[spoiler:activate the [[PsychoactivePowers Lambda driver]] without Sousuke's involvement - just in time to save itself and Sousuke from an impending nuclear impact]].