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// Ordering products 
// Story: Roborganics 
// by The Psychopath 
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"-Earth is a desolate place. It's full of horrid humans destroying the environnement, causing wars, and creating pollution. Wouldn't it be funny if people were stupid enough to generalize like that? Studying history allows one to learn more about the past of humanity outside of the negativity portrayed by the media. Not everything is related to the four horsemen of the apocalypse. In fact, ever since Roborganics came out of nowhere, many battles and personal disputes have been centralized through Neurobots. These robotic bodies are designed with quite a variety of shapes, colors, sizes, and purposes. The first were made for public safety measures, such as those for fire-fighters and the police. Then they started to become public, but public in the sense of construction duty and more dangerous things, like going directly within the confines of a mine collapse. Afterwards, the Neurobots became fully public. 

Many events were created specifically for them. These events would include fighting, combat events, extreme sporting events, and so forth. They had even been adapted for the elderly to use, thus, allowing them to move about like in their youth. How these machines worked exactly is still unknown to many. The transfer-capsules in which a person enters creates a vacuum. The air is filtered and nothing else is left within, then the user puts a strange helmet on their head and gets transferred within the neurobot connected to this machine. It has already been established that these things possess a failsafe that prevents anyone from using them without one of the bodies connected directly to them. The prosperity of these creations is sure to continue as the company gains monthly profits from using them for bionic implants and other utilities. Despite the complexity of these machines, many of the younger generation have shown keen interest to be employed by Roborganics as they hope to contribute to the development of newer models and better medical uses for this technology.

And that concludes our documentary for the day. Thank you for watching and we hope to see you next week on the functions of drone asteroid mining."

The documentary was part of a batch of studies that a student was using to study, and it was quite informative. A man, by the name of Louis, sat at his desk, reading a frighteningly huge book about the programming of these machines. The documentary was part of his multi-tasked studying routine, as bizarre as that may seem. His room was something simple for these times. Everything had begun to get 'computerized' by the thirties, so his room had many tactical screens embedded in the white walls. His bed, while small, showed his obsession with Roborganics, mainly by the covers depicting a robot of questionable design throwing its arm up in strength, similar to an old poster from the second world war. Above his bed was a poster showing a group of engineers building a large robotic body. Its internal mechanics were clearly shown as a way to demonstrate the complexity of the machinery. There was one large window covered by thin, transparent drapes of an equally white color. This student was a bit of a neat freak when one put their mind to it, but the colors demonstrated nothing of his personality. As for his appearance, he was of a weaker-than-average build with blond hair and brown eyes.

Sitting behind him were his personal capsule and...destroyed neurobot. He tried to use it in a fighting tournament. He was eliminated in the first few seconds of combat. It was now just a heap of parts slumped onto a stretcher used for studying and analyzing. It would certainly have preferred to be repaired, but it was just a neurobot. They weren't technically alive.

"Yeesh. That's alot of stuff to study. I need a break." the man said.

Louis put a bookmark in his book then swiped it and everything aside onto the floor. Little robotic arms came from the wall and placed them on a wooden shelf right next to the desk that was only at arms reach. Louis slammed his fist onto the desk and a computer monitor flipped up, as did a keyboard. He was ready to check anything new about Roborganics.

"Let's see. There are still the default models in the stores. Nothing really new besides some updated versions. New parts, new updates, stock marketing, price adjustments, new models, company ano-NEW MODELS?!"

One the screen the man could see that these new models were, bizarrely, ponies, but non-usual ponies. These ones had a cartoony build to them, and there were three types: pegasi, unicorns, and basic. They were called 'Neuroponies' as a playful take on the original names.  Like all the other models, these could be bought with the default models or have a custom model built for the buyer. Of course, these were always more expensive and took a longer time to deliver due to various addings, coloring, and so forth.

'The unicorn model is capable of lifting any object at least five hundred times the size of the model thanks to magnetization.' "Magnetization? What about wood and other isolating materials?"
'This stretches to any and all materials thanks to an ejection system contained within the horn. Millions of metal flakes coat the desired object, allowing pseudo-magnetization.'

There was a picture of one of the models lifting an enormous metallic sphere in the air in some testing grounds. The object most definitely was at least one-hundred times larger than the small pony. The metallic sphere was floating a few meters above the ground. To some, that wouldn't be impressive, but looking at the model's size was more than convincing enough for aspiring Roborganics engineer.

'The pegasi model. Using micro-propulsion engines functioning through use of super-compressed air particles, this bone-hollow model gives off the impression of flight with its flapping wings. Height limit is forty-thousand feet. Internal heating system will cease to function above thirty-five thousand.' 

Just like the unicorn, a picture showed the various pegasi models performing acrobatic feats worthy of several modern jet engine fighters. Nothing too impressive, but the thought of being able to fly and perform so many things envigored Louis adventurous mind.

'The earth pony model. Whilst the most simplistic, these models are built with heavy-lifting in mind. Their joints have been reinforced and shock resistant materials have been implemented as well. Extremely powerful and with enhanced endurance, these models are the tanks of Neuroponies.'

This one was the least impressive to Louis. The man pondered long on which of his two chosen models he would get. On one hand, he could control things with his 'mind'. On the other, he could live in a three-dimensional environnement and perform a wide variety of actions. After yet more thinking, he was decided. He would order a custom pegasi model. It would have a royal purple body with the film comprising the mane and tail being of a bright, lilac yellow. Obviously, it would have a male physique, and the two colors chosen had always been his favorites. He got off his chair and ran to his room door with the paper in hand and yelled:

"Hey, mom!"

"Yeah?"

"I won't be able to order my new robotic model tomorrow on account of me going to university. Could you go to the Roborganics shop and give them this list?"

"Again? You keep destroying them all, and they don't come cheap."

"I have a good income in stock marketing."

"That doesn't excuse anything."

"Could you just do it, please? I'll put on this little table here with the flower pot."

"Fine. You do what you want with your money."

"Thank you. I'm going back to studying."

The site had stated that the models would be out in one month, so Louis would have to wait. Impatiently. Eagerly. Painfully. Waiting ever so uncomfortably at his university, day-dreaming in class. As he thought of this the next morning, his mother took his note and read it aloud to herself:

"Let's see. 'A pegasi neuropony of average build. A body of royal purple with a lilac yellow mane and tail. The eyes are also to be royal purple, but of a deeper shade than the body. The gender must be...' Must be...what did he write? I should have put him in those writing classes when he was younger. Female?" 

The mother rubbed her eyes in annoyance and fatigue as she read that.

"Whatever. If he wants to explore new 'features', it's his choice, but I'm starting to question these choices of his AND his tastes."

Following her son's somewhat bizarre order, the mother went to the nearest Roborganics store which was actually at the center of the city. They only ever took the name of the city they were in. This one was called 'Merripol Roborganics'. Like every store brandishing that name, this one had a black exterior with a carved in entrance at the bottom. It was a floor with giant glass panes made to show all the things inside, and the building itself was several floors high. They chose height over width. With a shrug, the mother went to order the new model from the store, slightly skeptical about the gender choice.

After some time, the new, default versions of the pony models came out and were met with harsh skepticism. While the neuroponies were the height in technological marvels, nobody wanted a cartoon pony body. There was also something strange about the distribution of the models. Only a select few cities around the world had been chosen to hold these models, and these cities never had anything special attributed to them. Things weren't looking too well for the company, and this showed on the news as Louis lay slumped on the blue couch in his home. His tv would be considered gigantic by the standards of the past, but nowadays, a twenty-five inch flat screen embedded into the wall was nothing special.

The living room was actually quite small as was the house. It just houses a single couch, a coffee table, and a few pots and plants here and there. The couch itself was leaning against the ledge of the stairs, giving anyone taller than the couch a place to put their head against. Louis' house had a rather large appreciation for the color white as even the walls elsewhere in this home were white. These thoughts put aside, the student was shocked at what he was hearing on the news.

"I recent news, Roborganics has become a laughable company with its recently released 'neuroponies'. While the models are of the newest generation and have been presented with amazing abilities, the thought of having a cartoonish robot pony as a neurobot body is considered a mockery of the consumers by many people. Unlike past unveilings which had millions of defaults bought and thousands of customs ordered, these ones have only had a handful of defaults bought and even smaller custom variants ordered. It has been--"

Louis' concentration was interrupted by a doorbell ringing. He quickly stormed to the door as complete disbelief at people's choices horrified him.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I have your neurobot model here. Please sign here and here." the delivered asked. "Okay. Thank you. I'll bring this in and continue on with my deliveries."

The delivery man pushed in a rather large wooden box into the entry hallway, saluted Luis, then left soon after.

"Hm. That went smoother than usual. I can't wait to see this new model up close. Now I just need to break this open... I'll just go get my crowbar first."

Equipped with his crowbar after a quick trip to his room, the man slammed the end into the box lid and tore it open, stumbling after the sudden opening. Getting his thoughts back to normal, Louis was overfilled with joy. It was a brand new robotic model from his favorite company in the world. It was shiny, colorful, and it only seemed to reach his waist. Being one-meter-eighty certainly had its perks when doing a comparison in size. He pulled the heavy thing out of its resting spot and took a good look at it. The man and tail seemed to be made in a rather thin and transparent yellow film, although this was extremely white and the yellow itself was extremely pale. Although disappointed by this, Louis was expecting it. Early custom models always had difficult problems in developpment. Its body was of a strange construct. Unlike earlier models that always had metal plating on them, this one's 'muscles' were clearly visible. These artificial muscles were tightly clumped together so as to look exactly like those found in living creatures. The joints, such as the kneecaps, ankles, and the hooves were covered by a metal plating that seemed screwed in from the sides. Unfortunately, the 'muscles' were black and only the plating was colored royal purple. 

Checking inside the box for an explanation, Louis found a booklet placed in a plastic hold glued to the planks. He read it carefully and learned about the obvious development, functions, and so forth, but also learned that the reason these models hadn't been painted properly was due to a paint shortage. As a due, the prices of the custom models were lowered and the buyers were reimbursed a small percentage of their initial purchase. This was a satisfying explanation...until the student saw:

'-so please enjoy your new, female gendered pegasus neuropony.'

"Female? FEMALE?! MOM!"

"What?" she replied from her own room upstairs.

"Why is my neuropony a female model?"

"That's what you ordered. I saw it on the list."

"I wanted a male gendered, not a female gendered!"

"Oh! I knew there was something wrong with that choice...In my defense, you write very poorly."

"What? Why would I want a female model?"

"...For personal discovery?"

"With an equine robot?!"

"I don't know what kind of envies kids your age have nowadays. You transfer your minds into machines! How would this be any different?"

Louis sighed in irritation and scratched his head.

"Why don't you send it back and get the right version? You can do it yourself this time."

"That only works for default models! My throat hurts from all this yelling. Fine. I'll somehow drag it upstairs, but I'm not using it."

"Fine by me."

After this throat tearing ordeal, Louis brought his new, static neuropony upstairs, letting its legs and head slam and bounce off various surfaces of the stairs and beyond. When he finally got it upstairs, he sat on his bed and exhaled in exhaustion. Those things were always heavy. Looking at the empty shell of a body, he asked it:

"What am I supposed to do with a female neuropony? I refuse to use it, but Roborganics' stocks are plummeting. The only way to keep them for filing for bankruptcy is to show everyone how cool these new models are. I'll think about it and take action tomorrow. This is a lot to take in."