Distant, happy screams of children punctuated a concluding Cosmic Crew show. A show where the animatronic mascots sang and danced, told jokes, entertained the kids. Soon the animatronics would depart the backstage, the track taking them to photo opportunities or party appearances. Occasionally they would roam the restaurant as well to be sighted by other children going about their day of fun at Gerbert Gerbil's.
Attention. Audience. The awe of young minds. All devoted to the four main flagship mascots.
And while Gerbert, Hippo Don, Moolia and Fuchsia were lavished with this attention, there was another. A semi-forgotten animatronic. Hamster Louie.
Hamster Louie was left in the dark most times. A shabby looking hamster animatronic, his fur decrepit as it wasn't of quality material, his spacesuit archaic and old fashioned. His mechanical parts were more crude.
When it came down to brass tacks, as far as household pets were concerned there weren't that many differences between gerbils and hamsters. Both were small rodents with many varieties, the domesticated ones easy to take care of as an early pet. As far as demographics go hamsters were quick breeders with a population lead over gerbils. At least that's part of the reasoning when the idea of a space themed animatronic restaurant was first pitched, as the concept needed a recognizable character to draw the children's attention. Something cute from earth, like a little fuzzy pet, made into an astronaut.
Hamster Louie was that proof of concept. A posable, talking, expression making puppet powered by robotic parts. A little herky-jerky in his motion but that was to be expected as a prototype build. Something to entice investors, to display at the starting restaurant while the second model was being built.
Yet there was a change during the design process. The how and why has been lost to time, only that when the restaurant opened it wasn't Hamster Louie headlining the show. There was a new mascot. A sleek, well-furred astronaut in a shiny spacesuit. Gerbert Gerbil.
The rest of the mascots, other animatronic characters, were built around their roles at Gerbert's and how they factored into the show's story. Gerbert's story. Leaving Hamster Louie, the first, the original, to be nigh-abandoned.
Whoever didn't think something like an animatronic could experience jealousy was going to be in for a rude surprise.
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