This was a such beautiful story. All the layers of being human and feeling love. Gorgeous. ( )

Eros, Philia, Agape by Rachel Swirsky is a short story (about 35 pages according to my kindle edition) that can be read for free at http://www.tor.com/2009/03/03/eros-philia-agape/ . It is the story of a young woman who is looking to change her life after her abusive father dies. She decides to purchase a robot for companionship. Eventually she falls in love with the robot and they marry and have a daughter. However, eventually the robot begins to question their love and if he could truly love his family or is it all programing. To find out who he is, he must leave his family. This is a beautifully written story that chronicles the end of a marriage and the meaning of love. Like real life, you can feel sorry for the characters and the situation...wish they chose different, but understand that they couldn't do it differently. The story is more about their relationship and the meaning of love than the often explored story of artificial intelligence developing sentience. It is also an example of a short story that is the perfect length. Although I want to know what the future holds for the characters, I did not feel like I was reading only part of a larger story. ( )

Wow. A really great story about the different ways that people (and other species) love. ( )

This was a such beautiful story. All the layers of being human and feeling love. Gorgeous. ( )

A rather good short story. This was a unique take on an otherwise typical plot about AI/is-it-human/etc. It'd be a mistake to call this a love story. It's more a story of one sentient being deciding to strike out on its own and discover itself, and the effect this has on the woman that fell in love with him and the child he leaves behind. ( )