It means something, M.U.L.E. Multiple Use Labour Element.

Everyone expected him to be perfect for planet pioneering. Mining, farming, and general hauling capabilities — he could do it all.

It was the unexpected stuff, however, that made a M.U.L.E. a M.U.L.E.

He was born — if you can call it that — in an underground lab in the Pacific Northwest. A major defence contractor had gone out of its way to get the job and they were stoked.

Stoked, that is, until the detailing robots went out on strike. Costs ran over. Senators screamed. And when the dust cleared, the job was finished by a restaurant supply firm, a maker of pre-school furniture, and the manufacturers of a popular electric toaster.

It shows.

No one quite knows how it is that a M.U.L.E. is able to record intergalactic phone messages. Or why he can be used to cook simple dinners. Or how he pulls in any ballgame broadcast, anywhere in the universe.

Above all, no one ever dreamed that he would go berserk and run away if treated carelessly.

No one expected any of that, to be sure.

But you've got a planet to settle. And for now, he's all you've got.

Good luck, you'll need it.