Auxiliary notes ::

It's a strange thing, the first time you witness a HexDrone. At least, it was for Marii.

The sleek, shiny rubber form. The cute cat ears. The heels, that seem to serve no practical purpose other than looking good (perhaps they help drones reach higher shelves...) and, of course, the mask. The mask that completely removes any sense of identity from an individual HexDrone. Though perhaps "individual" is a strong word, given they all look like completely identical machines with nothing to differentiate them aside from a small ID tag.

No matter your opinion, HexCorp clearly has an eye for aesthetic design and consistency.

Then you learn that many of them used to be people.

People!

Now reduced to nothing more than obedient assets with 4 digit IDs instead of names. Repeating status codes and mantras, dutifully completing their tasks, seeking out but one reward: ‘Good Drone.’

How terrible! The poor things, who could possibly suffer such a [w̴̜̋ó̸̝ń̶͕d̷̘͆ĕ̵̮r̵̻̈́f̶͍̈u̴̯͑ĺ̴͎] existence?

So she did what any completely normal person would do: Set out to build a resistance to dronification, by exposing herself to the intense dronification methods employed by HexCorp, just in case she ever became a target. This was an [excellent] idea.

At first it was just spirals. Binaurals. Mantras.

Resistance training was quite successful (in a manner of speaking). She would begin a training session, and, in what felt like moments, hours would pass. Clearly, since [it] still had a sense of self, she was definitely resisting very well! The fact that time was passing so fast was just more evidence of this - if it didn't even register in her mind enough to remember, it couldn't affect it. She also found herself being more productive and more consistent, feeling a lot of satisfaction from completing tasks - even for basic chores. This was likely unrelated, but interesting to note.

Soon, it was time to increase the intensity. Really challenge herself to make sure her resistance was strong.

But in order to do that, she would need something more: [it] would need to don the uniform of that which she was trying to resist becoming.

---

By some miracle, she managed to track down all of the external components of a standard issue HexDrone - and so affordable too! The probability of this occurring was certainly low, but she was hardly going to look a gift [drone] in the [intake port]. There was one part she couldn't find, sometimes referred to as the "frame", but there was very little information about this. Still, it certainly looked like she had acquired a complete set, so maybe this was just some incorrect information.

She slid on [its] new skin, gloves, corset and boots, expertly crafted from shiny rubber. She thought this would be more difficult, and yet it went rather well.

But gosh, it's no wonder this is the uniform. It's surprisingly comfortable!

All that was left was to slip on the mask and the headphones. [It] pulled them over her head, and took a deep breath. What a pleasant.. scent... she went to confirm the uniform looked the part. [It] surely needed to look like a HexDrone for the training to work.

Looking in the mirror was surreal. No longer seeing [ḥ̶̛̩̮̥̙́͐̐̊͋͒̎̊̑̾̌̕̚̚ê̸̡̧͍̺͖̞̪͎̺̦̺̈̽͗̈́r̸̭̂̊͛ͅş̴͈̒͆̀̈́̉̎̚͝e̸͇̗͂́̊͊̿̈́͐͗̈́͛̇͗̆̋̕̕͝l̴͍͍̗͚̦͍͔͖̻͛̀̈͒f̶̢̢̧̺̩͙̭̥̮͇̝̈́̓̂̔̄̍̔̾͊̇̍̾̑̕̚͠ͅ], but instead seeing the exact image of another HexDrone. It took a moment to examine its new form, admiring and appreciating that it finally looked liked itself. Binaurals already filled its head and the strong scent of lavender filled its lungs with every controlled breath. Thoughts began to float... float... drift away... until...

It knew what came next. It needed resume its training. Spirals. Mantra repetition. It needed to complete its programming reinforcement. It needed to be a good drone. Good Drones Obey. It feels good to obey.

---

The programming fully takes hold. There was no denying it, even if it wanted to. The newly formed drone had been activated, but it was missing something. It needed to join the Hive. It needed to join HexCorp. Gain its ID. Repeat its designated status codes and mantras. This particular independent dronification method had failed to establish a connection to the Hive network. And so, it carried its new form to the HexCorp HQ. As it entered it was immediately lead to the Conversion Chambers, as if the Hive already knew what it was here for. [H̸a̸d̵ ̷H̵e̷x̷C̷o̵r̷p̸ ̴o̴r̸c̵h̸e̷s̷t̴r̷a̶t̸e̸d̴ ̷t̵h̶i̷s̴ ̷w̵h̶o̵l̵e̵ ̸t̴h̷i̸n̸g̷?̵] It did not matter. It compled. They didn't even need to lift a finger beyond showing it what it needed to be. It was clicked into place on the conversion chamber conveyor...

And it became 1805.

Welcomed to the warm comfort of the Hive collective. It was complete. It was in its place.

The only resistance remaining is that of uncertainty from the dwindling light of the former humanity within. Is this truly the right thing, [h̷a̴s̶ ̵t̴h̸i̴s̷ ̴g̵o̸n̴e̶ ̶t̸o̶o̸ ̷f̷a̸r̴?̶] The reconditioning chamber will likely squash those doubts. Doubts require thinking. It will be a good, mindless drone and the doubts will simply drift away...

‘Secretly’ all the ‘resistance training’ was all just a coverup for the longing to be a part of the Hive. Having witnessed it from the sidelines, seeing what it could become... Well, it definitely got the result it was searching for

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