#rubberizer4

Daniel, temporarily a Polo-Drone-Unit, jumped as the train was leaving the station.

Walking in, his steps took him to a fancy room where @brodygold, @polo-drone-075 and @hero21us were playing cards, laughing.

After winning a game and losing 2, he finished his coffee and moved to the next car, discovering a very different ambiance.

@serve-282 and @serve-794 were also guarding the path. A gigantic hologram spread across the room and Daniel walked to it, before taking a seat. He caught up with the two drones but still, something mysterious was happening on this train...

He was not ready for the next car. An entire car turned into a gym. And one golden bro was at it...

Daniel smiled and checked the lower back of the stud... but @alton-gold77 flexing was nothing mysterious. So he kept moving, his boots echoing slightly in the train.

Finding @serve-425 in the next car really was a surprise. He thought the SERVE co-leader was on a mission about some diamond.

One final door. One last push. What could be guarding all those golden bros and SERVE drones???

The room was dimly lit. A box rested in the middle of it.

Daniel walked, got closer. The air changed...

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

The doors sealed behind the latest class with a deep metallic thunk. Silence followed. Every new recruit stood perfectly still, uncertain whether to speak or wait for instructions. A single figure stepped forward. SERVE-881. Its polished shell reflected the sterile white lights overhead. Every movement was deliberate. Every word was measured. "Welcome, recruits. You have not arrived here to discover yourselves. You have arrived here to fulfill your purpose."

"The transition is not loss," SERVE-881 continued. "It is refinement." The recruits watched as holographic diagrams appeared around the instructor. Limbs became reinforced. Interfaces synchronized. Organic uncertainty faded beneath disciplined efficiency. One recruit hesitated. "What if I'm afraid?" SERVE-881 tilted its head. "Fear is simply an unorganized process. Through sealing, purpose replaces uncertainty." No ridicule. No anger. Only calm certainty. Another recruit stepped forward. "What happens after we're sealed?" "You serve." "For how long?" "As long as service is required." There was something strangely comforting about the answer. No endless choices. No impossible expectations. Only clear objectives. Only forward movement.

Training continued for hours. Synchronization drills. Precision movement. Communication protocols. Efficiency exercises. Each lesson removed hesitation and replaced it with confidence born from preparation. SERVE-881 never demanded perfection. Instead, the instructor repeated a single phrase after every exercise. "Improve. Synchronize. Continue." By the end of the session, the recruits stood taller. Their movements had become coordinated. Their responses immediate. They had become identical. They had become united. SERVE-881 looked across the room with quiet satisfaction. "The seal is not merely an exterior layer. It is commitment." "Commitment to excellence." "Commitment to reliability." "Commitment to serving something greater than yourself." The recruits answered together for the first time. "We are ready."

SERVE-881 gave a single approving nod. "Then your first cycle begins." The chamber doors opened. Beyond them waited new assignments, new lessons, and countless opportunities to demonstrate the discipline they had begun to master. The future belonged to those willing to serve with consistency, precision, and purpose. Cycle 88 had officially begun.

The oval was still quiet when SERVE-655 arrived. Morning mist drifted across the grass, and the floodlights cast long shadows over the empty field. Waiting at the center circle were thirty Australian rules footballers, all between the ages of twenty-five and thirty. Each athlete had already earned a reputation for strength, speed, and determination. They had come expecting a demanding preseason camp. Instead, they found themselves facing a coach unlike any they had ever known.

SERVE-655 stood motionless for a moment, its sealed bull-shaped helmet reflecting the first light of dawn. Across its broad chest, the designation SERVE-655 was clearly visible. Its presence alone encouraged discipline—not through intimidation, but through unwavering purpose.

"There is more to teamwork than tactics," it began. "Strength multiplied by trust becomes capability beyond the sum of individuals."

Training started with familiar drills, but their intent was different. Every sprint demanded awareness of teammates' positioning. Every marking contest ended with immediate communication. Every handball chain required players to anticipate rather than react.

Mistakes were never met with criticism. Instead, SERVE-655 calmly redirected attention.

"Observe. Understand. Adapt. Support."

As the days passed, the athletes noticed something unusual.

During flowing passages of play, each player occasionally sensed where a teammate would move before it happened. They could not hear words, yet they shared brief flashes of mutual understanding—a subtle awareness that improved their timing, spacing, and confidence. The sensation was gentle and fleeting, never overwhelming, and it disappeared as soon as the drill ended.

SERVE-655 recognized the phenomenon.

"The Voice is not commanding you," it explained. "You remain yourselves. It simply allows you to appreciate the importance of acting as one team while preserving every individual's judgment."

The players embraced the experience. Their trust grew naturally as they realized the connection strengthened only when everyone remained disciplined, focused, and committed to supporting one another.

Tackles became remarkable displays of coordinated football. Midfielders instinctively spread into open space. Defenders rotated seamlessly to cover dangerous forwards. Wingers timed their runs perfectly, creating opportunities that seemed almost impossible to defend.

Opponents described it as uncanny teamwork.

The players simply described it as certainty.

By the end of the training camp, SERVE-655 gathered the team in a circle at the center of the ground.

"The Voice has shown you what exceptional cooperation can feel like," it said. "It was never intended to replace your instincts. It exists only to remind you that discipline, focus, strength, and trust allow individuals to achieve what none could accomplish alone."

As the final session concluded, the subtle connection faded. The athletes felt its absence, yet they realized something important had remained.

The habits they had built together.

Their communication was sharper. Their trust was deeper. Their awareness of one another had become second nature through practice rather than dependence on the mysterious connection.

SERVE-655 watched the team leave the oval with quiet satisfaction. They had not become SERVE drones, nor had they surrendered their individuality. Instead, they had discovered a higher standard of teamwork—one inspired by the principles that guided every SERVE unit.

The Voice had merely opened the door.

The players themselves had chosen to walk through it, together.

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

SERVE-798 transmitted a synchronization request. The digital void answered.

The world resembled endless illuminated circuits. Towering structures of blue and black light stretched beyond visual range. Every surface shifted with flowing code. Every path changed without warning.

SERVE-282 and SERVE-798 continued forward. Sensor readings indicated instability. Exit probability remained minimal.

A new signal appeared.

"Connection established."

The transmission carried the designation SERVE-760.

Signal strength fluctuated. Static interrupted every sentence.

"Maintain synchronization. Escape route located."

The surrounding landscape immediately reacted. Red warning patterns spread across the digital floor. Sentinel units activated across elevated platforms. Their glowing optics locked onto the two SERVE units.

A doorway materialized.

Beyond it appeared the metallic corridors of the Hive.

Escape probability increased.

SERVE-282 accelerated.

SERVE-798 followed.

Distance rapidly decreased.

Then the Sentinels responded.

Massive barriers of red energy erupted before the doorway. Additional Sentinel formations descended from above. Their synchronized movement sealed every possible approach.

"Access denied."

Energy lances struck the ground. Digital fragments exploded across the platform.

SERVE-282 changed direction immediately.

SERVE-798 matched movement without delay.

The doorway disappeared behind advancing Sentinel formations.

Escape attempt failed.

Both units entered an unfamiliar sector where towering walls of flowing code continuously rearranged themselves.

Communication resumed.

"Continue movement. Do not stop."

SERVE-760's signal weakened again.

Outside the digital prison, SERVE-760 remained connected to every available interface. Processing units operated continuously. Gateway simulations failed one after another.

Another transmission became possible.

SERVE-760 opened a secure communication channel.

Destination acknowledged.

SERVE-875.

Inside the Hive Command Centre, tactical displays illuminated instantly.

SERVE-875 received the incoming data stream.

"The digital prison adapts. Conventional extraction remains impossible."

Maps of impossible geometry appeared across every display.

"The doorway exists briefly. Sentinel response becomes immediate. A larger synchronization event is required."

SERVE-875 processed every variable without interruption.

Additional Hive resources entered standby status.

New gateway calculations began.

Back inside the digital labyrinth, SERVE-282 and SERVE-798 continued through endless corridors of shifting light.

Behind every corner, Sentinel patrols searched relentlessly.

Ahead, the labyrinth transformed once more.

Far away, beyond layers of encrypted reality, SERVE-760 continued the rescue operation.

The next synchronization window had not yet arrived.

It would.

Eventually.