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Summary: Part 1, Section 1

From the beginning to Josie’s introduction

Klara is an AF—an Artificial Friend—who is currently on display in a store that sells different models of AFs. These are technologically advanced, highly intelligent, solar-powered robots designed to act as friends and caretakers for the children they are sold to. Parents enter the store with their children to pick out and purchase an AF, which then goes home to live with them until the child is grown or the family no longer has a use for the AF. Klara spends her days at the store watching the path of the Sun in the sky alongside Rosa—another girl AF—and a boy AF named Rex. She remembers that when she and Rosa were new in the store, they used to think they would grow weak without sunlight. When Klara goes to touch a patch of sunlight on the floor, and the room grows dark soon after, Boy AF Rex accuses of being greedy, of stealing the sunlight for herself. Klara can’t tell if he is joking.

Later, a child comes into the store wanting to buy Boy AF Rex, who has been placed in the store window—an enviable position, as it allows the AFs to advertise themselves for sale, and places them in direct sunlight. Manager, the manager of the store, tells the mother that Rex is a B2, third series, and the mother declines buying him, citing the rumors that AFs of Rex’s series have solar absorption problems. Klara worries that Rex’s feelings will be hurt, but he shows no sign of caring. The Sun is an object of near-worship for Klara and the other AFs, as it nourishes them and gives them energy; Klara views the Sun as a kind of benevolent god, who bestows his life-giving light upon people and AFs. 

Klara and Rosa finally get their turn in the window, and Klara confesses that on top of wanting to be in the window for its sunlight, she enjoys watching the humans that pass in front of the store. Klara is uniquely observant and empathetic for an AF; she is curious about the outside world in a way that most AFs are not. She notices that Rosa is uninterested in the people passing by, and instead spends her time staring at a Tow-Away Zone sign. Whenever a person stops to observe them, Klara and Rosa fix their eyes on a distant point and smile pleasantly, having been instructed by Manager to do so. Over time, Klara notices that some children approach the window looking sad or angry. When she asks Manager why this is, Manager tells her that some children wish for an AF but cannot have one. She tells Klara that Klara and Rosa were wonderful for their first day in the window, and to keep up the good work. 

On Klara’s fourth morning in the window, a fourteen-year-old girl with a strange walk approaches the store. The girl’s name is Josie, and she speaks to Klara through the glass. Klara, allowed to interact with passersby once they directly address her, responds with encouraging nods. Josie tells Klara that she wants Klara to be her AF, and promises that she will come back for Klara later. Josie’s mother—a tired-looking woman—gets out of the taxi she was waiting in and comes to usher Josie away.

Next section Part 1, Section 2

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