History Main / EmergentHuman

* In Creator/StephenKing's story "Umney's Last Case" (included in his collection ''Literature/NightmaresAndDreamscapes''), the eponymous HardboiledDetective meets Landry, the author who wrote him. After explaining that Umney is a fictional character, the author swaps places with him. Umney is transported to TheNineties (when King wrote the story) from ChandlerAmericanTime, and initially finds himself quite out of his element. For example, when he first has to use the bathroom, he assumes that he's fallen deathly ill; because NobodyPoops where he came from, Umney has never experienced that sensation before.

* In Creator/StephenKing's story "Umney's Last Case" (included in his collection ''Literature/NightmaresAndDreamscapes''), the eponymous HardboiledDetective meets the author who wrote him. After explaining that Umney is a fictional character, the author swaps places with him. Umney is transported to TheNineties (when King wrote the story) from ChandlerAmericanTime, and initially finds himself quite out of his element. For example, when he first has to use the bathroom, he assumes that he's fallen deathly ill; because NobodyPoops where he came from, Umney has never experienced that sensation before.

* ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'': Fairies and other creatures of Gillitie Wood can undergo a test to become human children; they then have to take classes to help them navigate human society. One fairy in particular, Red, finds the concept of friendship weird and has to resort to BuffySpeak to describe rooms and chairs.

* The Beyonder in Creator/MarvelComics' ''ComicBook/SecretWarsII''

** Marvel's first android hero, the android Human Torch, pretty much avoided this trope and quickly acclimated to being human.

* The title character of ''Raphael'' by Creator/RAMacAvoy.

* Cameron from ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'', and terminators in general.
* Kyle [[spoiler:and later Jessi]] from ''Series/KyleXY'', which seems to be an entire series built around this trope.
* Luke, from ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'', who is remarkably similar in some respects to the lead from ''Series/KyleXY''.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Eberron}}''[='s=] Warforged. Constructs created with sentience and sapience and designed to be soldiers. They run into this particularly after war when they are no longer all needed for the purpose they were created for.
** There are two [[PrestigeClass prestige classes]] that allow warforged to choose diametrically opposite answers to the questions of this trope -- the Warforged Juggernaut rejects being like living, breathing people and embraces their construct nature entirely, while the Reforged embraces life and emotion wholeheartedly.

* This happens with [[RobotGirl Aigis]] in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' and its related media, where it's shown she has some trouble understanding some basic social concepts. It's more developed in ''[[UpdatedRerelease FES]]'', though, where she develops a crush on the main character and later has to [[spoiler:cope with his death, which culminates on her becoming more human]].

* This is the case in ''WesternAnimaton/CodeLyoko'' with Aelita during season 2: a sentient artificial being turned human and learning to express the full range of human emotions, how to handle them, and developing an interest in music mixing. [[spoiler: This ends up subverted as Aelita was always human, but has lost her memories due to being stuck in the super computer for around a decade. As of Season 3 and 4 she's perfectly human in mind]].

* In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}, Curie is hit with this after [[spoiler: uploading herself into a synth body. She gets the ability to feel creativity and inspiration, but finds herself totally unprepared to deal with all the biological and mental functions that come with being human, and initially even has to remind herself to breathe. With the Sole Survivor's help, she ends up growing out of this, though she never quite loses her naivete. [[RomanceSidequest This can also lead to romance, should the player decide to pursue it.]]]]

* Creator/JeffBridges played this role in ''Film/{{Starman}}''.
* Sonny, from the film version of ''Film/IRobot''.
* Film/EdwardScissorhands from the film of the same name, arguably.

** ''Series/StarTrek/Picard'':

** ''StarTrek/Picard'':

*** Hugh and Seven return and both help other xBs (former Borg) reclaim their humanity and fight against Fantastic Racism against them.

* Data from ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' is probably the best known character of this type. His daughter Lal qualifies, too, though his brother Lore moved into RidiculouslyHumanRobot territory. Q also gets this treatment in one episode.
* The Doctor from ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' was a sapient hologram, treated similarly.
* Seven Of Nine, also from ''Voyager'', proves that ''Franchise/StarTrek'' is in love with this trope. In her case, she was assimilated by the Borg as a child, then liberated as an adult. In one episode, she becomes "mother" to a newborn drone who, like Lal, is even more earnestly innocent and curious than his parent. [[spoiler:Also like Lal, he doesn't survive the episode.]]
* Odo from ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' although this is mostly his {{backstory}}. He goes through another round of it when he's forced to actually be a flesh and blood humanoid (as opposed to being a liquid being that appears humanoid most of the time.)

* ''Film/BicentennialMan'': The android spends decades of his life becoming progressively more human first in mind then in body, up to and including self imposed mortality.

* Andrew Martin in ''Literature/TheBicentennialMan''. The film version, too.

* In ''Discworld/ReaperMan'', [[TheGrimReaper Death]] undergoes this process after being demoted [[HumanityEnsues to mortality]] by the PowersThatBe. Arguably, this was the continuation of a process that began in ''Discworld/{{Mort}}''.

* Token [[Administrivia/ThereIsNoSuchThingAsNotability ridiculously obscure example]]: 80s Canadian children's show ''Series/TodaysSpecial'' included a newly-living department store mannequin, and used his cluelessness about life as an excuse to discuss preschool-friendly topics.

* Not an actual human per se, but close enough, is WesternAnimation/FrostyTheSnowman in the classic Christmas special. His wife is much the same in the follow up, Frosty's Winter Wonderland.

Expect this character type to have difficulty with figuring out how to handle everything from [[ExtremeOmnivore basic bodily functions]] to [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove common emotions]] to [[NavelGazing complex philosophical or spiritual questions that no one will answer to their satisfaction]]. Their stunning naivety is frequently matched with an insatiable curiosity and lack of inhibitions that puts their lack of experience on full display; however, they are rarely dumb. In fact, the EmergentHuman is quite frequently possessed of genius-level or superhuman intelligence, though this rarely helps their predicament as much as you'd think. In some cases ''everything'' seems to come easily to them except for those things that come intuitively to most of us, in which case the message is that ''humanity is hard'', and by extension, HumansAreSpecial. Alternately, this character type's tendency to be [[TheSpock logical]], LiteralMinded, and ostensibly objective makes them great mouthpieces for the author's opinions on the shortcomings of humanity, or deliverers of punchlines regarding the absurdities of the same.

* {{Deconstructed}} in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. Bender, already a RidiculouslyHumanRobot to begin with, is turned into a human male by the Professor. His personality remains unchanged, however, and all he learns is to take even ''more'' pleasure in the over-the-top, hedonistic lifestyle he's already accustomed to living. Turns out, he was better off as a robot: [[spoiler:all that unrestrained chain-smoking, binge drinking, unhealthy eating, and nonstop partying--everything his robot body takes for granted--gets him killed within a week]].

* {{Deconstructed}} in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. Bender, already a RidiculouslyHumanRobot to begin with, is turned into a human male by the Professor. His personality remains unchanged, however, and all he learns is to take even ''more'' pleasure in the over-the-top, hedonistic lifestyle he's already accustomed to living. Turns out, he was better off as a robot: [[spoiler:all that unrestrained whore-mongering, chain-smoking, binge drinking, unhealthy eating, and nonstop partying--everything his robot body takes for granted--gets him killed within a week]].

%%* Cat from ''Series/RedDwarf''.

* JeffBridges played this role in ''Film/{{Starman}}''.

* Played with in ''Paperinik'': the android Lyla Lay is given regular psychiatric sessions by her Time Police masters to deal with this potential problem, but doesn't really worry about the big existential questions. She ''does'' have problems with such things as "what, exactly, is meant by 'enough salt'?" or "why are certain smells supposed to be good and others nasty?". The doctor's education hasn't prepared him for such simple practicalities, and he finally kicks her out of therapy for stumping him.

It is common for an Emergent Human to start off with NoSocialSkills. Usually adult in form to contrast with their psychological immaturity and lack of self-understanding, their character arc may mirror that of a child growing into maturity. Then again, if this is a comedy, or the character's usual way of seeing things makes them popular, or if their [[{{Moe}} innocence]] or [[TheWoobie helplessness]] is sufficiently {{fetish|Fuel}}ized, their progress as individuals is likely to be hampered by the fact that StatusQuoIsGod.

* [[RobotGirl Vivienne]] from ''PhantasyStarPortable'' is this. During her introduction, she even mentions that she was manufactured less than three months ago.

* TheVision is all about this trope. Sadly, every time he starts making significant progress toward becoming a real boy, ExecutiveMeddling comes along and destroys it for him, often in the cruelest and most preposterous ways possible.
* [[MarvelComics Marvel's]] ''other'' android hero, [[JackKirby Aaron Stack the Machine Man,]] also went through this trope and has had a pretty rough time as well. He's become very [[DeadpanSnarker bitter and cynical]] about it in recent years (though in his case it comes off as amusing instead of tragic). He and the Vision should form a [[TheWoobie support group.]] They could invite Marvel's version of Comicbook/TheFrankensteinMonster, too.

* White Wolf's ''TabletopGames/PrometheanTheCreated'' is all about artificial human characters looking to become human one way or another. Several refinements, particularly the Refinement of Gold, emphasize roleplaying this kind of character.