"Do you ever wonder about some of the things we sell?" asked Phila.

"Not really. If they pay, we sell. It's not up to us to police what our customers do afterwards. Day one of training," replied Jennah.

Both were human women employed at Branch #747 to work the storefront. It was still early, with the sun having risen about two hours ago, but there were none of the usual customers so far.

Phila stepped out from behind one of the counters and walked to the large window at the front.

"Well, the army of droids we sold two weeks ago is working hard."

Jennah came over as well to see what Phila was talking about. Outside, hundreds of robotic soldiers were terrorizing the city. Their weapons exceeded that of the human guards by several centuries worth of technology, leaving no defenders truly standing in the way. They saw a mage who was having some moderate success with lightning spells collapse in a hail of bullets.

"I'll turn on the defenses just in case," Jennah sighed.

As Jennah went back to the counter to do that, Phila continued to watch in silent shock at the devastation being wrought. Several portions of the city were now on fire, with no apparent moves to stop the growing blazes from engulfing more. A stream of bullets cut down a family that was fleeing the destruction just in front of the store.

“I have detected elevated stress levels,” beeped the watch on Phila’s wrist, “Arranging psychiatric appointment.”

All counter staff wore these smart watches that monitored their respective health and were capable of creating appointments with the Clinic to address issues.

Phila could not watch anymore and turned away from the destruction outside, rushing off to the bathroom to vomit from the nausea. Jennah continued to silently stare outside, uninterested after raising the defenses.

----------------------------------------

A few days later, Jennah was setting out some fresh products on the floor when the chime of the front door opening alerted her to the presence of a customer.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Welcome to the Portal Trading Company!” she called out, finishing placing what was in her hands before going to assist.

As she rounded the corner of the aisle, she saw a familiar young man, dressed in a mage's robe. He had been in a few weeks ago to purchase an army of war robots. Two now stood flanking him.

“Ah, hello Mr. Olkar. How can we help you today?”

“You can start by handing over everything in here,” he replied smugly.

“You would like to purchase everything?” Jennah feigned ignorance as to his meaning.

Frustration grew visible on his face.

“No you moronic peasant! I rule this world! I get what I want. And I want this store, its goods, and my money. And you will give it to me. Take her.”

The two robots moved around their master, approaching Jennah menacingly.

“Authority Code 531764. Deactivate,” Jennah said with a sigh.

Immediately, both bots shut down on the spot.

“What? What did you just do?”

“Authority Codes. They prevent buyers from turning our products against us.”

The man looked puzzled, then a sneer crossed his face.

“Authority Code 531764. Reactivate!” he shouted triumphantly.

The robots remained motionless.

“They are permanently deactivated until one of our engineers reboot them. Now, how can I assist you, Mr. Olkar?”

The man ran from the storefront, unwilling to continue the current exchange. Jennah shrugged.

----------------------------------------

Phila was staring out the front window again several days later. A procession was walking by with a man in chains. People outside were verbally berating him.

“Did you have something to do with this?” she asked Jennah.

Jennah strode over, sipping from a mug of coffee. She glanced out the window.

“It seems like Mr. Olkar is on the way to be executed. Why would I have anything to do with that?”

“You did shut down his droid army.”

“Robot army, details matter. He did threaten Mr. Portal's store. I simply followed the training for such situations.”

Phila thought for a moment.

“Kind of scary that there is a protocol for such a situation.”

“You clearly didn't read the training manual then,” Jennah replied, “You really should.”

Branch #747 would report decreased profits from luxury goods for some time, but did see increased profits from raw materials and foodstuffs.