After rereading this first chapter, the final one feels like a much more fitting end than when I originally read it. Despite the odds, ponko not only outlived her expiry date as well as the town and anyone with any desire to scrap her all because she found the right owner.
ponko got to live a happy long life, something (that’s implied) most robots don’t get to do, nor do most electronics in the real world. by meeting her master’s descendent, Ponko effectively becomes a hand-me-down which is the best fate for any retired item in the real world but becomes increasingly uncommon for modern Electronics due to a myriad of factors.
TLDR: Ponko lived a long happy life, contrary to her purpose.