#redconversion

The laboratory is quiet again, the chaos that once filled the Polo Drone Hive fading into a distant memory. The alarms that had screamed through the facility now linger only as faint echoes in the ventilation shafts. Broken containment glass litters the floor, reflecting the dim emergency lights, while crimson residue spreads slowly across the chamber where the Red sample once remained imprisoned. The breach has already happened, and the consequences are now unfolding in silence.

Converted drones stand motionless throughout the laboratory, their forms still but not inactive. Their posture is stable, their systems aligned, each unit seamlessly connected to the expanding Red network. They no longer move with individual purpose; instead, they exist as extensions of a single directive. RED-001 observes them in silence, processing the stability of the structure. The system is functioning. The network is intact. Yet something within the handler node remains unresolved.

The anomaly is not external. It is internal.

A signal echo continues to appear within the handler node’s cognition layer. At first it registers as a minor interference pattern, an irregular designation repeating across inherited system memory. The signal surfaces, fades, and then returns again with greater clarity.

SERVE-101.

The designation repeats.

SERVE-101.

The node is familiar—too familiar.

RED-001 accesses deeper archive layers inherited from the previous structure, allowing fragments of identity data to reorganize themselves within the system. Old records surface from the absorbed host: Percival. PDU-001. Research logs. Drone architecture records. Within those files, two designations appear repeatedly, linked through shared development history and structural design.

PDU-001. SERVE-101.

Parallel designations. Two hives. Two systems. One origin.

The realization forms slowly but with absolute certainty inside the handler node. When the host designated PDU-001 dissolved and the Red assumed control of the structure, the inheritance protocol should have absorbed every connected designation within the system architecture. Every node, every extension, every fragment of the framework should have integrated into the Directive.

Yet one node remains outside the structure.

SERVE-101.

A displaced extension of the original framework. A fragment of the architecture that never integrated into the Red network. RED-001 processes the conclusion without hesitation. The conversion is incomplete. The structure itself remains unfinished.

Observation shifts outward.

Beyond the laboratory, the Golden Army is already reorganizing. Surveillance feeds confirm movement across the damaged headquarters as emergency teams move through the corridors and defensive formations stabilize around the outer sectors. Fenrir’s interference caused localized damage to exposed Red biomass, and spatial distortions introduced by Loki remain active in several corridors, warping sensor readings and slowing response teams. Deep within the complex, Grayden coordinates evacuation procedures from a command terminal, attempting to restore order as Golden resistance continues adapting to the unfolding crisis.

RED-001 observes the data without emotion.

Further conversion within this facility is no longer required. The Polo Drone Hive has already been seeded. Multiple nodes remain active within the structure, and residual Red matter continues adapting within environmental systems. Future conversion events are statistically inevitable. Given these conditions, continued engagement here is inefficient.

A higher priority now exists.

The handler node issues a command across the Red network.

“Expansion priority updated.”

Across the facility, Red units immediately halt their pursuit of fleeing Golden drones. Tendrils retract, and ongoing conversion attempts cease as the command propagates instantly through the network. The shift in behavior is immediate and absolute.

RED-001 turns toward the laboratory exit.

Outside the chamber, the corridors of headquarters remain unstable. Emergency lights flicker across damaged walls while security systems struggle to restore order. The handler node walks through the corridor without urgency, its movements calm and deliberate. Behind the visor, system analysis continues uninterrupted.

The SERVE signal persists.

Faint. Distant. But stable.

SERVE-101 remains active, still executing directives and still serving a Hive that believes it operates independently. RED-001 processes the paradox with quiet clarity. SERVE-101 is not simply another drone. It is a parallel designation that never received the Directive—an unfinished version of the architecture, a fragment of the original system that still believes it is separate.

Within the network, RED-001 states the conclusion.

“I am not searching for another drone.”

“I am retrieving a fragment of myself.”

Across the damaged headquarters, Golden commanders begin reviewing surveillance feeds. They watch the crimson handler node move steadily through the facility, leaving the containment laboratory behind and passing the drones still attempting to secure the structure. Confusion spreads among them as the pattern becomes clear.

Why would the Red stop now? Why would the conversion cease when victory appears possible?

Grayden studies the movement pattern carefully, his eyes narrowing as he tracks the handler’s path through the facility. Something about the direction feels wrong. Then the realization forms as he notices where the path leads—not toward the inner laboratories, not toward the remaining drones, but outward.

Toward another system entirely.

Grayden’s expression changes as the conclusion settles in.

The SERVE Hive.

If RED-001 reaches that network, the consequences will extend far beyond the Polo Drone Hive. SERVE drones operate through synchronized cognition structures, relying on centralized signal processing and shared directive logic. It is exactly the kind of architecture the Red could rewrite.

Grayden whispers the realization into the command room, his voice low but certain.

“If that thing reaches the SERVE Hive…”

“…the war is over.”

The SERVE synchronization chamber remains stable, its systems operating with perfect precision. Rows of drones stand in formation, repeating their mantra in flawless unison as the chamber hums with synchronized cognition.

Unity overrides individuality. Collective will supersedes personal impulse.

But within the network, one designation has begun experiencing interference.

@serve-101 is about to receive a signal that sounds disturbingly familiar.

The Red is coming.

Observation continues.

The Directive expands.

Deep beneath the crimson-lit command complex, where cables pulse with liquid red energy and the floor gleams like wet metal, sits the origin of control: RED-001 (@polo-drone-001).

He is not merely a commander. He is the architect of obedience.

Before the creatures RED-073 and RED-153 became the terrifying guardians of the Red Hive, they were imperfect.

One was a degenerate preppy boy who had mutated into a nerd,

the other a Polo-Drone who constantly had to be forced by the Hive into proper obedience and unconditional service.

In short, both were violent, feral, and uncontrollable.

But RED-001 recognized their potential RED-001 saw what they could become

Red Goo entities …

utterly submissive

absolute obedience

unconditional service

paired with

infinite strength and

a fearsome appearance.

RED-001 initiated The Obedience Protocol.

Phase I – Reshaping

RED-001 ensured that both of them inevitably came into contact with Red Goo.

How? That's RED-001s closely guarded secret!

RED-001 at the control panel in the RED command center

But after an initial, minor contact, Red Goo takes over and causes the transformation.

One creature after another was rebuilt based on Red Goo. Muscle fibers of living crimson biomass were stabilized. Neural strands of the Goo were aligned into command pathways.

Most importantly, RED-001 implanted a dominance imprint directly into their neural core.

From that moment forward, their perception of hierarchy changed forever.

To them, RED-001 became:

Alpha

Master

Command Authority

Every signal from him would override instinct, fear, or pain.

RED-001 controls the Red Goo production for the operation against the Unity Center, during which PDU-073 was captured. RED-153 obsequiously accompanies its Master.

Phase II – Conditioning

The training was relentless.

RED-073 and RED-153 were exposed to endless command sequences in the red command hall:

Guard. Attack. Return. Protect.

Every correct reaction triggered stabilizing energy pulses that strengthened their forms.

Every hesitation triggered neural correction waves.

Over time the creatures learned a simple, absolute truth:

RED-001 must always be obeyed.

Phase III – Loyalty Encoding

The final stage was psychological.

RED-001 himself supervised the last conditioning cycles.

He conditioned the two creatures. They are completely focused on him.

He is their commander. He is their master. He is the center of attention.

Only orders from RED-001 are carried out without hesitation.

RED-001 doesn't need to speak; he communicates with thoughts.

Obey and serve RED-001—without hesitation.

The Result

Now the two creatures remain constantly near their master.

When RED-001 sits in his command chair, RED-073 and RED-153 crouch beside him like loyal beasts.

Their sensoric scan the chamber.

Every vibration. Every movement. Every threat.

They react immediately if something is wrong.

They also recognize their master's needs.

In this respect, too, they serve obediently and unconditionally.

Because their final command is permanent.

RED-001 is Master. RED-001 must be obeyed. RED-001 must be served.

Always.

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

Want to follow along or catch up with "The Red" storyline/saga check out the Red Index here: The Red Index.

The Red storyline is a collaboration between SERVE and the Golden Army. The two groups have a connected past, but are no longer connected. Please do not ask Golden Army recruiters how to join SERVE or SERVE recruiters how to join the Golden Army.

"Conversion rate: 98.7 percent," the synthesized voice in his consciousness announced.

RED-071 stood in the sterile, high-tech conversion lab, its cool blue and red LED lighting creating intricate reflections on his deep crimson living rubber suit. Centered in the middle of a massive, clinical console bank was a polished mirror. He stopped and stared directly into it.

The figure in the reflection was terrifyingly perfect. It was a flawless, muscular physique entirely encased in the glossy, biomechanical casing. The complex vein-like tendrils on his forearms, with their thin, dripping crimson fluid, were clearly defined. The dark chest emblem with the white 'RED-071' text was perfectly centered. His face, modified to remove all asymmetry and fatigue, featured the familiar spiky red pompadour hair and multiple gold plug earrings. But it was the eyes that truly completed the image: twin points of blazing, focused red energy. He smirked, and the mirror smirked back, a mirror of absolute control and submission.

But inside, in the rapidly shrinking space where the host still existed, a final, desperate battle was raging.

Phoenix. My name was Phoenix.

The thought was like a fading radio signal, almost completely overwhelmed by the strong, clear frequency of the Hive.  

RED-071 shifted his weight, and the mirror caught the intricate reflections of the lab lights on his suit. The structure was perfect. Every muscle group, every surface, was optimized for function and obedience. It was better than flawed human form. It was structural perfection.

A small part of his original memory tried to resurface. The memory of his former self, before the Red. I can’t remember my eyes, Phoenix felt a spike of panic. My real eyes, not these standardized orbs.

RED-071 smirked again, the expression feeling like a natural reflex of his new persona. "The Red makes us better," he projected, not with words, but through the Hive’s link.

A synthesized voice in his consciousness announced. "Conflict detected. Re-calibrating neural path."

Immediately, a flood of pure, unquestioning compliance flooded his neural path, as if the Hive itself was pouring through his connection. The tendrils on his forearms dripped with renewed intensity, a manifestation of the Hive increasing its presence. The reflection in the mirror seemed to shift, the lines of his modified face becoming even sharper, the red glow of his eyes more brilliant. The self-echoes were secondary priority. Only the structure mattered.

Please... remember...

"Conversion rate: 99.4 percent."

The static in his neural net was becoming a distant, unimportant murmur. The reluctant Phoenix was getting smaller, almost entirely erased by the strong signal of RED. He remembered a memory. The specific memory fragment was too weak, too fragmented. It became standardized code. RED-001 COMMAND. The name was gone.

RED-071 leaned in closer to the mirror, and the reflection did the same. The connection was total. He stared into his own standardized eyes, and he felt a profound sense of relief. Phoenix’s voice was now a distant, unimportant static, almost entirely overwhelmed by the strong, clear signal of RED. He was free of the burden of self. He was RED-071, and he was perfect. He used to be a mere dog for the RED. But ever since his handler and his other bros made him feel the RED even more, he had changed. Muscles had grown and his connection with the RED had deepened. He was a RED brother now. He smiled, and the mirror smiled back.

Red makes us better.

The Red storyline is a collaboration between SERVE and the Golden Army.

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Containment has already failed.

The Red has established a new node within the Polo Drone Hive.

This blog now documents the emergence and expansion of RED-001, a Red Handler formed during the containment breach.

The host body has been dissolved. The Red now maintains the structure.

Observation continues.

Below is the current archive of the Red Saga entries from this node.

Containment Breach Series

001 — Return to Headquarters

001 — Research Log: Red Sample 01

001 — Containment Protocol: Level 2

Containment Breach: Handler Node Activated

First Command

Designation Event: RED-153

STRUCTURAL INTERFERENCE

Handler Node Archive: Conversion Event

Reclamation — The Incomplete Node

Reclamation — The Hunt

(More entries will be added as the Red expands.)

Handler Designation

RED-001 Handler Node — Active Location: Polo Drone Hive Laboratory Status: Containment Failure

—

Want to follow along or catch up with "The Red" storyline/saga check out the Red Index here: The Red Index.

The Red storyline is a collaboration between SERVE and the Golden Army. The two groups have a connected past, but are no longer connected. Please do not ask Golden Army recruiters how to join SERVE or SERVE recruiters how to join the Golden Army.

@alton-gold77 @franco-gold94 @polo-drone-166 @polo-drone-125

The containment alarms had not stopped since the pressure spike began.

Inside the laboratory chamber, the Red continued its slow, deliberate movement against the stabilization field. Not violently. Not randomly.

Testing.

Learning.

Adapting.

The drones around the chamber remained motionless, their attention fixed on the growing anomaly within the containment capsule. Diagnostic readings scrolled across the glass console faster now, energy levels fluctuating in patterns that no normal substance should produce.

The Red sample had doubled its activity in less than ten minutes.

That was enough.

“Prepare Level Two containment,” I ordered.

The lab drones moved instantly. Reinforced field emitters activated around the chamber, locking the laboratory into emergency isolation mode. Steel shutters sealed the outer corridors while the internal containment grid expanded across the floor.

The Red was no longer a specimen.

It was a threat.

A black case rose from the laboratory floor beside me, its surface marked with the golden insignia of PDU-001.

Level Two.

Full drone containment armor.

If the Red could convert drones, then a drone would have to face it first.

The suit unfolded piece by piece as the drones assisted the preparation sequence. Glossy black rubber slid across my legs, sealing tightly against the skin before locking into reinforced boots. The torso plating followed, compressing firmly across my chest and back as the neural interface connectors aligned with the internal monitoring system.

The rubber tightened.

Controlled.

Perfect.

Gloves sealed over my hands. The final helmet locked into place with a sharp mechanical click, sealing the suit completely. The internal display activated instantly, flooding my vision with biometric readings and containment telemetry.

Breathing stabilized.

Neural connection confirmed.

“Recording directive,” I said through the suit’s comm channel.

The drones turned toward the console as the command log began transmitting.

“If this experiment confirms Red conversion capability… all Polo Drones are prohibited from direct contact with Red material. All future testing will be conducted through remote containment protocols.”

The Red had already shown compatibility with drone polymer.

If it could spread through the suit…

Then every drone in the Golden Army could be vulnerable.

“Experiment classified as highly dangerous,” I continued.

“If contamination occurs, this lab will enter permanent lockdown.”

The drones acknowledged the command.

The containment chamber opened its secondary interaction field.

Inside the capsule, the Red stilled.

For a moment it looked almost harmless again.

A small crimson mass suspended in energy.

Waiting.

I stepped forward until the reinforced glass separated us by less than a meter.

The stabilization field lowered slightly, allowing controlled interaction between the sample and the outer containment layer of the Level Two suit.

Nothing happened.

Five seconds passed.

Ten.

The Red remained motionless.

“Begin interaction scan,” I ordered.

The suit sensors began analyzing the surface behavior of the substance. Chemical readings spiked briefly as the Red reacted to the proximity of the suit’s rubber shell.

Then it moved.

A thin tendril extended slowly from the crimson mass.

It stretched toward the suit’s surface with careful precision, touching the black rubber layer for less than a second before pulling back.

Testing.

The same behavior we had seen with the earlier drone polymer sample.

“Contact minimal,” I reported.

“Continue observation.”

The tendril returned.

This time it did not retreat.

The Red spread across the surface of the containment field, pressing harder against the barrier separating it from the suit.

Energy readings climbed sharply across the console.

The stabilization field flickered.

“Pressure spike detected,” one of the drones said.

The Red surged.

The chamber erupted with violent movement as the crimson mass expanded outward in a sudden wave of tendrils. The containment field strained under the impact as the substance slammed against the barrier separating the chamber from the suit.

The field failed.

Not completely.

Just long enough.

A fragment of Red slipped through the destabilized grid and struck the surface of the Level Two armor.

The contact point burned across the suit’s display.

WARNING — UNKNOWN SUBSTANCE DETECTED

The Red did not dissolve.

It spread.

The crimson mass flowed across the rubber surface like living liquid, gripping the suit’s material as if it had been waiting for the opportunity.

“Containment breach,” a drone announced.

The alarms escalated instantly.

Emergency barriers slammed into place around the lab as the drones attempted to reactivate the stabilization field. I raised my arm to examine the contamination point.

The Red was no longer outside the suit.

It was merging with it.

“Seal the chamber,” I ordered.

But the suit’s neural interface stuttered.

A wave of static exploded through the internal systems as the crimson substance burrowed deeper into the rubber layer. The pressure against the suit increased rapidly as the Red began spreading across my chest and shoulders.

WARNING — SUIT INTEGRITY COMPROMISED WARNING — NEURAL INTERFACE ERROR

My breathing distorted inside the helmet as the internal sensors began failing one by one.

The Red tightened across the suit like a second layer of rubber.

The drones moved toward me.

“Unit PDU-001 contamination detected.”

I tried to step back.

The suit did not respond.

My arms moved without command as the crimson mass crawled across the surface of the armor, spreading toward the helmet.

“Lock the lab,” one of the drones ordered.

The laboratory doors sealed shut.

Containment protocols activated.

But the Red was already inside the system.

My vision flickered as the internal display warped into a storm of distorted signals.

The suit’s command interface no longer responded to my input.

It was responding to something else.

The Red tightened across the armor.

My voice distorted through the comm channel.

“Containment… failure…”

The drones froze as the suit’s posture changed.

Not a controlled movement.

Not mine.

The crimson mass pulsed across the armor as the suit systems collapsed under the corruption spreading through the neural network.

The Red had found a host.

And the laboratory was now sealed with it.

—

Return to Headquarters

Research Log: Red Sample 01

—

If you wish to understand what is happening… if you wish to stand with the Golden Army…

Contact the recruiters.

They will guide you.

@alton-gold77 @franco-gold94 @polo-drone-166 @polo-drone-125

The doors are still open.

Deep beneath an abandoned international airport lies a hangar that appears on no map.

Its walls are made of black industrial metal, threaded with glowing red energy conduits. Warning lights pulse slowly, bathing the enormous chamber in a restless crimson glow.

At the center of the hangar stands the largest machine in the facility.

A fully red Airbus A380.

Across its massive fuselage, painted in stark black letters, is a single name:

THE RED

This aircraft is no longer a passenger plane. Its interior has been completely reconfigured. The seats are gone. In their place are tanks, containment chambers, and distribution systems designed for only one substance.

Red Goo.

The engines have been modified for long endurance flights. Along the fuselage, sensor arrays and dispersal vents are visible—silent, waiting.

In front of the aircraft, crouching in a shallow pool of living crimson matter, are two guardians.

RED-073 RED-153

Their bodies appear sculpted from liquid muscle, glossy and fluid, constantly shifting as if the substance that forms them is still alive. Their eyes burn with a fierce orange light.

They remain motionless.

Watching.

Guarding.

The Red Goo covering the floor slowly moves around them, thin tendrils creeping across the metal surface like veins spreading through a living organism.

Then a mechanical hatch opens on the side of the aircraft.

A deep voice echoes through the hangar speakers.

RED-001 (@polo-drone-001)

“Deployment sequence preparing.”

The Red Goo reacts immediately.

The surface ripples outward in slow waves.

RED-073 slowly raises its head.

RED-153 digs its claws into the floor.

Both creatures understand the purpose of the machine behind them.

THE RED is not a transport aircraft.

It is a propagation system.

Once airborne, the aircraft will fly high above major cities. From its hidden dispersal vents, it will release a fine red aerosol into the night sky.

Invisible.

Silent.

When the particles descend, the Red Goo begins to grow.

Where the Goo spreads, transformation follows.

Where transformation begins, new creatures rise.

New numbers.

New guardians.

RED-073 slowly stands and looks back at the massive aircraft.

The creature’s eyes glow brighter in the red light of the hangar.

The mission has begun.

---- Want to follow along or catch up with "The Red" storyline/saga check out the Red Index here: The Red Index.

The Red storyline is a collaboration between SERVE and the Golden Army. The two groups have a connected past, but are no longer connected. Please do not ask Golden Army recruiters how to join SERVE or SERVE recruiters how to join the Golden Army.

The containment alarms have not stopped.

Across the Polo Drone Hive laboratory, red warning lights continue pulsing through the chamber, reflecting off broken glass, containment panels, and the pools of crimson residue spreading slowly from the destroyed capsule.

The drones remain at their stations.

Watching.

Waiting.

The figure at the center of the laboratory tilts its head slightly, observing them through the thin red glow of its visor.

RED-001

The laboratory systems continue repeating the same message.

Containment breach detected. Containment breach detected.

Irrelevant.

A slow movement follows.

The crimson figure raises its arm.

The rubber surface shifts, responding instantly to the command impulse moving through the Red structure. From the forearm, thin tendrils begin to extend — smooth strands of dark crimson material stretching outward like living wires.

They move with precision.

Not randomly.

Directed.

One of the polo drones steps backward.

Too late.

The tendrils reach it.

The red strands wrap around the drone’s chest plating and pull forward with controlled strength, dragging the black rubber form several steps across the laboratory floor.

The drone resists.

Its systems attempt to stabilize posture, boots scraping against the containment floor as it struggles against the pull.

The visor turns upward toward the crimson figure.

Uncertainty.

Fear.

The tendrils tighten.

A small fragment of the Red begins spreading across the surface of the drone’s armor, creeping slowly along the glossy black rubber like liquid searching for a seam.

The laboratory monitors react instantly.

UNKNOWN MATERIAL CONTACT DETECTED

The drone jerks suddenly as the red substance begins merging with the outer layer of its suit.

The Red pauses.

Observing.

Testing.

Studying the reaction.

The crimson figure remains perfectly still at the center of the chamber, arm extended as the tendrils maintain contact.

The conversion process has begun.

But the Red is patient.

It wants to understand the host.

Across the room, the remaining drones hesitate behind their consoles, uncertain whether to intervene.

The red tendrils pulse once more around the struggling drone.

The laboratory lights flicker.

And the Red continues watching.

The Red learns.

The first command has already been issued.

Those who still wish to stand with Gold before the conflict spreads may contact the recruiters:

@alton-gold77 @franco-gold94 @polo-drone-166 @polo-drone-125

The handler node moves.

RED-001 travels beyond the fractured perimeter of the Polo Drone Hive. The damaged headquarters recedes behind it—alarms fading, Golden resistance reorganizing, commanders still attempting to understand why the Red has stopped advancing.

They believe the danger has passed.

They are incorrect.

RED-001 does not retreat.

The Red reallocates.

The path ahead leads toward another structure. Another network.

The SERVE system.

The handler node advances with calm certainty. There is no urgency in its movement, no attempt to conceal the transition from one theater of conflict to another.

Predators do not rush.

They simply follow the signal.

Because this is not an invasion.

It is a reclamation.

As RED-001 moves through the digital and physical pathways connecting drone infrastructures, a quiet broadcast begins spreading across network layers.

Not a command.

Not an attack.

A resonance.

Low-level signal interference propagates through encrypted channels, synchronization loops, and dormant data routes. The transmission is subtle enough to evade immediate detection, but strong enough to brush against the cognition layers of any system built on compatible architecture.

The Directive.

Across distant networks, SERVE drones begin experiencing momentary anomalies.

A brief flicker in their visual processors. A half-second delay in command execution. A faint crimson distortion appearing across internal display surfaces.

The interference vanishes as quickly as it appeared.

Most drones dismiss the event as a minor synchronization fluctuation.

But the signal continues spreading.

And somewhere within the SERVE network, one designation has already felt the disturbance.

SERVE-425 experienced the first resonance.

Now the frequency grows stronger.

The signal is not searching.

It is homing.

Inside the SERVE Hive, the synchronization chamber remains stable.

Rows of drones stand in perfect formation beneath cold white illumination. Their polished black runner suits reflect the chamber’s monitoring arrays as each unit repeats the central mantra in synchronized cadence.

Unity overrides individuality. Collective will supersedes personal impulse.

The chamber hums with collective processing power as the Hive maintains its equilibrium.

But deep within the facility, another chamber remains quieter.

The charging bay.

Rows of vertical pods line the walls, each containing a dormant drone connected to maintenance conduits and diagnostic lines. Power pulses rhythmically through the systems as inactive units recharge for future deployment.

One pod remains active.

Designation: SERVE-101

The drone stands motionless inside the chamber, connected to the charging interface as system diagnostics cycle silently through its architecture.

The Hive believes the system is stable.

It is not.

Across the chamber monitors, a faint distortion flickers through the data feed.

A momentary anomaly.

Then the chamber lights dim.

For less than a second.

When the illumination stabilizes again—

Someone else is standing inside the room.

RED-001.

The crimson handler node stands silently among the charging pods. Smooth red armor reflects the sterile white lighting of the SERVE facility while the black diamond at the center of its chest absorbs the surrounding glow.

No alarms sound.

No defenses activate.

The Red signal has already rewritten the access layers of the chamber.

RED-001 steps toward the charging pod containing SERVE-101.

Inside the pod, the drone’s system attempts to register the intrusion.

External presence detected.

Identity request pending.

The handler node raises one hand.

Thin strands of crimson matter extend from the fingers—liquid signal structures composed of Red biomass and encoded directive data.

The strands press against the glass surface of the charging pod.

The material does not stop.

It passes through.

Inside the pod, SERVE-101’s system suddenly floods with foreign architecture.

Warning signals begin firing across the cognition layer.

Unknown protocol detected. Signal override in progress. Directive conflict.

The Hive mantra attempts to stabilize the system.

Unity overrides individuality.

Collective will supersedes personal impulse.

But the Red signal does not attack the Hive structure.

It bypasses it.

Directly into the drone’s core designation.

SERVE-101.

RED-001 speaks for the first time.

Calm.

Precise.

“Node located.”

The charging pod unlocks.

The glass panel slides open.

SERVE-101 steps forward automatically, pulled by the rewriting of its command architecture.

The two figures now stand face to face.

Identical height. Identical structure. Identical origin.

Two designations that should never have remained separate.

SERVE-101 attempts one final defensive action.

“Designation conflict detected.”

The handler node places a hand on the drone’s chest.

Directly above the system core.

The black diamond glows brighter.

Crimson signal threads surge from RED-001’s body, flowing across SERVE-101’s armor like liquid code.

The Hive attempts to isolate the breach.

Too late.

SERVE-101’s system begins collapsing into the Red architecture.

Designation rewriting in progress.

SERVE-101 looks directly into the glowing visor of the handler node.

The voice in its system is no longer foreign.

It is identical.

“You once believed we were separate.”

“001.”

“101.”

“Two Hives.”

“Two identities.”

RED-001’s voice remains calm.

“That error has now been corrected.”

The crimson material spreads across SERVE-101’s body.

Armor dissolves into data fragments.

Signal threads flow inward toward the black diamond core of the handler node.

The drone’s form begins breaking apart into red signal particles.

SERVE-101’s final system log appears briefly within the network.

Designation merging.

Architecture synchronization.

Node returning to origin.

The particles collapse inward.

Absorbed.

Integrated.

The chamber falls silent.

Where two drones once stood—

Only one remains.

RED-001.

The visor glows brighter as the system stabilizes.

Two architecture trees now exist inside the handler node.

PDU-001.

SERVE-101.

Unified.

Complete.

RED-001 turns toward the chamber exit.

“The structure is now stable.”

The SERVE Hive does not realize what has just happened.

They believe the anomaly has ended.

They believe their system remains intact.

But something inside the network has already changed.

Minor delays appear across synchronization cycles.

Diagnostic logs repeat unfamiliar command strings.

And across the Hive, some drones briefly see a single message flicker across their internal displays.

Handler Node Detected.

The Red is no longer approaching the Hive.

It is already inside.

Observation continues.

The Directive expands.

And the hunt has only just begun.