Drone
Do you want to do this the serious way, or the fun way?
Drones, originally known as Autonomous Transhuman Connectors (ATCs), are the final result of the tricky combination of magic and technology. With nearly indestructible bodies that can remain self-sufficient for thousands of years and minds supported by a vast network, these ex-humans became powerful enough to break free from their original purpose and completely restructure society.
Drones were conceived as a sort of anti-magic weapon in the late stages of the Theta Project. The scientists theorized that by creating "technology with the raw power of magic," they would be able to combat magic's "Extra-Conceptual Threat" against humanity. With the help of Witches and Alchemists, a particular division of the Project succeeded beyond their wildest expectations.
ATCs in their inert state are actually a slurry of synthetic cells (superficially resembling human red blood cells) that have been layered with a series of complex enchantments. Since magic can exist directly on top of physical reality, these enchantments allow the cells to carry far more raw information than something like DNA would be able to without any extra mass. When exposed to a low level of ambient magic, such as the open air outside of a magic-isolated container, these cells activate and begin following the complex instructions inside their enchantments. If any of these instructions change on the cellular level, the changes "update" across all nearby cells. By changing the state of the cells and their instructed activities, ATCs could become living constructs and materials with unique properties.
However, in a case of invention by sheer accident, ATCs were close enough to human red blood cells that ATCs considered them to be other, weaker ATCs that hadn't received instructions yet. The enchantments would then spread like wildfire throughout the person's circulatory system, eventually reaching the brain.
In concise terms; the human brain is complicated, hard to predict, and capable of influencing magic through force of will. ATCs that approached the brain, like with human blood cells, recognized it as something similar to themselves. The signals of the brain, however, were strong enough to disrupt the very delicate and complex enchantments of the ATCs. And so, with a bit of luck, the last ATCs became the first Drones; human subjects that had been completely converted into ATC cells that could command their own magically-infused cells just by focusing their thoughts.
The following months were an unmitigated disaster. The nature of the project leaked to Theta Project higher-ups, and the lab was shut down as quickly as possible. But many of the scientists, collaborating Witches, and test subjects had become Drones by that point. Theta Project troops detained and quarantined them, requesting approval to designate Drones as a Blood Moon level threat; the speed of bureaucracy gave the captured Drones plenty of time and space to experiment with their new powers, however. The Witches in the group instructed the others on how to control their magic efficiently, and the scientists began to use their own bodies as testing grounds for technological improvements that they could spread to the others. And so, by the time Drones were designated as a threat, the collection of twenty or so superhumans with space-age weapons technology embedded deep in their bodies had already escaped from containment.
Theta Project was dissolved by the United Nations shortly thereafter. And two years later, Drones had already taken over the world.
Drones share several striking parallels with Vampires; their spontaneous creation under strange circumstances, connection to blood, medley of abilities, and quick spread among the population all come to mind. It is not entirely impossible that Drones and Vampires represent the same form of magic from two vastly different eras of technology.
Drones at first glance appear to operate under a sort of hive-mind. They do, after all, share information with each other faster than humans are capable of thinking. However, most Drones argue that they can't actually share their minds with each other, making the hive-mind comparison moot. The actual interaction resembles the way computers communicate over the internet, albeit without the presence of central "servers."
It is widely accepted among Drones that only some members of the human population can and should be converted. After several years in power, the ratio of Drones to humans remains approximately 1:3. It is not entirely understood how they differentiate between regular humans and future Drones, but it is clear enough to be decided within moments of a Drone making contact with the soon-to-be-Drone. The human in question is then converted as soon as possible. (This bizarre behavior is remarkably similar to how forest spirits choose which humans to give boons to.)
Less than 0.1% of Drones would prefer to go back to being human, and those who do are given human-like chassis types and allowed to live peacefully in the human side of society.
Background
Drones were conceived as a sort of anti-magic weapon in the late stages of the Theta Project. The scientists theorized that by creating "technology with the raw power of magic," they would be able to combat magic's "Extra-Conceptual Threat" against humanity. With the help of Witches and Alchemists, a particular division of the Project succeeded beyond their wildest expectations.
ATCs in their inert state are actually a slurry of synthetic cells (superficially resembling human red blood cells) that have been layered with a series of complex enchantments. Since magic can exist directly on top of physical reality, these enchantments allow the cells to carry far more raw information than something like DNA would be able to without any extra mass. When exposed to a low level of ambient magic, such as the open air outside of a magic-isolated container, these cells activate and begin following the complex instructions inside their enchantments. If any of these instructions change on the cellular level, the changes "update" across all nearby cells. By changing the state of the cells and their instructed activities, ATCs could become living constructs and materials with unique properties.
However, in a case of invention by sheer accident, ATCs were close enough to human red blood cells that ATCs considered them to be other, weaker ATCs that hadn't received instructions yet. The enchantments would then spread like wildfire throughout the person's circulatory system, eventually reaching the brain.
In concise terms; the human brain is complicated, hard to predict, and capable of influencing magic through force of will. ATCs that approached the brain, like with human blood cells, recognized it as something similar to themselves. The signals of the brain, however, were strong enough to disrupt the very delicate and complex enchantments of the ATCs. And so, with a bit of luck, the last ATCs became the first Drones; human subjects that had been completely converted into ATC cells that could command their own magically-infused cells just by focusing their thoughts.
The following months were an unmitigated disaster. The nature of the project leaked to Theta Project higher-ups, and the lab was shut down as quickly as possible. But many of the scientists, collaborating Witches, and test subjects had become Drones by that point. Theta Project troops detained and quarantined them, requesting approval to designate Drones as a Blood Moon level threat; the speed of bureaucracy gave the captured Drones plenty of time and space to experiment with their new powers, however. The Witches in the group instructed the others on how to control their magic efficiently, and the scientists began to use their own bodies as testing grounds for technological improvements that they could spread to the others. And so, by the time Drones were designated as a threat, the collection of twenty or so superhumans with space-age weapons technology embedded deep in their bodies had already escaped from containment.
Theta Project was dissolved by the United Nations shortly thereafter. And two years later, Drones had already taken over the world.
Trivia
Drones share several striking parallels with Vampires; their spontaneous creation under strange circumstances, connection to blood, medley of abilities, and quick spread among the population all come to mind. It is not entirely impossible that Drones and Vampires represent the same form of magic from two vastly different eras of technology.
Drones at first glance appear to operate under a sort of hive-mind. They do, after all, share information with each other faster than humans are capable of thinking. However, most Drones argue that they can't actually share their minds with each other, making the hive-mind comparison moot. The actual interaction resembles the way computers communicate over the internet, albeit without the presence of central "servers."
It is widely accepted among Drones that only some members of the human population can and should be converted. After several years in power, the ratio of Drones to humans remains approximately 1:3. It is not entirely understood how they differentiate between regular humans and future Drones, but it is clear enough to be decided within moments of a Drone making contact with the soon-to-be-Drone. The human in question is then converted as soon as possible. (This bizarre behavior is remarkably similar to how forest spirits choose which humans to give boons to.)
Less than 0.1% of Drones would prefer to go back to being human, and those who do are given human-like chassis types and allowed to live peacefully in the human side of society.
Drones
Rank: UnknownType: Self-Propagating, Unknown
Notes:
Aaron could see her now, larger than he possibly could have imagined. Her enormous glowing red eyes were centered on him. He could physically feel the hum of the engine-heart at the center of her chest. Compared to her otherworldly presence, his heart and mind were woefully small.
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