DREAM THEATRE Part 3: Pinocchio 2: Electric Boogaloo

Little robot companions have become all the rage, so I purchase one. They all look either like Curious George, or Paddington Bear. I decide on the latter. Once activated, the 2 ft. tall animatron will follow you anywhere and everywhere. I'm really liking it. In fact, I'm thrilled. It's like having the ultimate pet. It doesn't poop or need to be fed, and it obeys your every command with almost no training. So life is great.

Then, the manufacturer begins offering an "upgrade", which comes in the form of a tiny silver heart that you place inside the robot's torso. Intrigued, I buy it not really knowing what will happen. As soon as I perform the "operation", I notice that the robot's features undergo a radical transformation: it morphs into a spitting image of me, right down to the glasses and receding hairline! For a while it's still great, "mini-me" is my constant companion everywhere I go. Then odd things start to happen. I notice "mini-me" wandering off every once in a while, and I have to call out to him a few times instead of just once to get him to come back to me. I get really suspicious when he begins hanging out with some local school kids and ignores me all together.

Then my fears become a shocking reality one day while visiting the store where I first bought "mini-me." I pull a robot off the shelf and take it out of the package, then I stand it up next to "mini-me". I find that "mini" is a full 2 feet taller. The robot has turned into a real growing human being!