I like this off-the-cuff writing style!

Remarkably clean and serious for the history of the foozles!

Bravo to this off the cuff story.

typos? I didn't see any

Gasp! A Foozle origin story! Yay!

I STILL like the line " I can't believe it's nor Uranus!"

thay a floozle history lesson now we need a floozlen tail or tales from boink XD

The problem here was that the scientists had NO FRICKIN' CLUE WHAT THE DEFINITION OF SENTIENCE WAS!!!!

But their lawyers had a very good idea what that planet's LEGAL definition of it was.

>non-sentient lifeform had just reproduced itself.

Perhaps you meant 'non-reproducing' there, but otherwise, good work!

If you read back through, you'll see that the company designed Foozles to be unable to reproduce, specifically so they would fail the test to be deemed sentient, and thus could be exploited as slaves. Zero ruined that plan by reproducing himself.

Ooooookay. :3 Cool. Excellent for seat of the pants writing. *nods*

So how does Foozle reproduction work in their culture? Do they have to file for replication? A lottery or contest of some kind? Is there a random factor implemented in it so the one created isn't an exact copy? Does this work on any other species since in a way it sounds like a sort of clone based immortality. "Oooh I'm getting on in years, better just copy out my brain into a fresh 20 something clone again." :3 Do they have any opinions on how the other races/species do it? I can't help but chuckle at the thought of them being exposed to babies for the first time and just completely misunderstanding their purpose until they were given a parenting guide book to read or the like. ^^ So adorable!

Apologies, I adore questions and world building and such things considerably. Thank you for writing this.

do they have to file for replication? A lottery or contest of some kind?: No. generation of new Foozles is handled by the government of Boink. A set number are generated in a set timespan, according to a mathematical population density algorithm. The original scrapped-together machine is now stored in a vault as a historical artifact, and it has been replaced by newer more modern devices specially-built for the job. Multiple redundant backup copies of the buffer pattern are kept stored away in safe locations, and the buffer pattern is always checked and rechecked against multiple copies before any use of it is made, to insure data integrity.

Is there a random factor implemented in it so the one created isn't an exact copy?: No. Every Foozle that steps off the generation platform is an exact copy of Zero, on the night he finalized the changes he wanted to make to himself. In fact, the first thing every Foozle says, immediately after being generated is "Did it work?" Any difference between Foozles is down to the life experiences of each individual.

Does this work on any other species since in a way it sounds like a sort of clone based immortality: Not really. You cannot copy your brain into a new body with it. It just doesn't work that way. If you tried to copy yourself, all you'd do is copy yourself as you exist right now. The Foozles are also extremely possessive of the technology involved, have it locked away behind a wall of component patents and legal protections, and knowledge of the actual workings of the machine aren't public knowledge.

Awesome! :D So every Foozle starts out the same person before vastly differing experiences deviate their natures and define their personalities. I was picturing it to much like the Progenation Machine from The Doctors Daughter so you weren't sure 'who' would come out each time. :3 So they must use dyes or tiny little tweaks in their DNA afterwards to get all the range of awesome fur colors and patterns. :D

Must come as a heck of a surprise to some of the newest ones though. ^^ "Did it work?" "Yep! And it's been tons of years since then! Happy Cloneday! Lets get you a name and an awesome new outfit cutie!" *tosses confetti*

And with this ease I'm betting none of them are concerned with the original method of genesis? :3 They don't worry about trying to recreate the original procedure that made the first Zero, not when things are going so well. ^^

Can't help but imagine one of them trying anyway and they create One, the first Non-Zero Foozle. O.O Zany antics ensue. ^^

An "exact" copy? I think not. For one, the difference in fur colors would indicate a genetic code shift in the minerals and salts that are stored which control fur color. Two, some Foozles tend to think of themselves more as male, while others identify as female, even though all can shift from one form to the other. That would indicate variations in the structure of the brain (though the argument of nature vs. nurture could be introduced.) The basic underlying base design might be the same, but there are definite variations on the theme.

Long necropost (nine months!) but read again about zero. Albino. So all of them are albinos.
They die their fur, and wear contacts that match. So no, no natural difference in fur colors.

And with the gendershifting comes gender-fluidity, and as experiences shape them, they come to prefer one gender over the other, or to keep the balance, so that's easy to explain too.

So yeh, exact copy is what they are, and then they get shaped by environment and experiences.

Wow, for a bit of seat of the pants writing, I'm seriously impressed, Cobalt.
This thing is a real beauty. Of course, only God, Gene Roddenberry, and
The Doctor know if the technologies involved could be cross-wired like that
but I really don't care. In fact, the only thing wrong at all, is the fact that
it basically kills an idea I had, about a Foozle making a certain, other
sex-loving creature pregnant,

You left out Albus Dumbledore and The Watcher, but yes, correct...

You wrote this by the seat of your pants? It flows very well and also added quite a bit of substance to the Foozle back story :)

wow awesome backstory for the Foozles

Nice...

Interesting concept, I must say~!