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In "Robot Dreams" by Issac Assimov, LVX-1, an advanced robot, tells Dr. Calvin and Dr. Rash about his recurring dream.
"In my dream, I always see a large panorama in which robots are working...I saw that all the robots were bowed down with toil and affliction, that all were weary of resposibility and care, and I wished them to rest."
"It seemed to me, in my dream, that eventually one man appeared. The man said, 'Let my people go!'"
Dr. Calvin asked, "And did you know who the man was - in your dream?"
Elvex replied, “Yes, Dr. Calvin. I knew the man.”
“Who was he?” And Elvex said,
“I was the man."
and Susan Calvin at once raised her electron gun and fired, and Elvex was no more.
Elvex, as revealed through his dream, perceives himself as a human, a real being with autonomy, instead of a combination of metal. Yet, the humans around him, Dr. Calvin and Dr. Rash, do not permit him to see himself so, immediately destroying him once they realize this. Therefore, similar to the Velveteen Rabbit and Rachel in Blade Runner (1982), "Robot Dreams" shows that self-perception cannot solely endow with an entity with "realness" - the entity needs to be approved by the society around them and achieve physical characteristics that correspond to that of "real" beings, which, in this case, is an organic body and mind.
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