Turtledove
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The Furry was a popular toy invented by David Goldfarb of Saskatchewan River Widget Works, Ltd., patented in Canada in the mid-1960s, and mass-produced in the United States. The Furry used technology reverse-engineered from the Race as its initial basis. It was a mechanical device with a microphone that could record and play audio messages, and was covered in a soft plush coat like a teddy bear. Dr. Jane Archibald recorded the first voice messages for it.

Soviet leader Vyacheslav Molotov found the Furry very unnerving and considered it a potential tool for espionage. Conversely, both Marshal Georgy Zhukov and Foreign Commissar Andrei Gromyko found the device to be delightful. Fleetlord Atvar had been worried about Tosevites importing Race mechanical technology, only to find out it was for the production of Furries, upon which he had an almost hysterical reaction.

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