"You signed the contract. You took the implant. You swore yourself to the system. You can call it what you want—job security, stability, a means to survive. But let’s not pretend. You’re a drone now, and drones don’t get choices."
— Unidentified Renegade operative, intercepted Axiom Corp transmission.
In the Echelon System, drones are not machines—they are people bound by Directive Conditioning, a process that alters the mind and body to ensure absolute obedience while maintaining functional autonomy. Drones walk among the population as workers, soldiers, couriers, and specialists, seamlessly integrated into society yet stripped of the most fundamental human right: free will.
A drone can think, feel, and react to their environment. But when faced with a command tied to their Directives, they cannot disobey. Whether through bio-neural implants, Mnemoscape conditioning, or genetic modifications, a drone’s autonomy is little more than an illusion. They live, they serve, and they endure—until their usefulness expires.
Used in every industry, from security and logistics to entertainment and governance, drones are the backbone of the megacorporate machine—a workforce that never questions, never resists, and never stops. Most never realize they are enslaved, their conditioning so deep it feels like free will. To corporations, drones are a perfect labor force; to the Renegades, they are the ultimate symbol of oppression.
"Your past is irrelevant. Your service is eternal."
— Metacortex Drone Recruitment Slogan.
The process of creating a drone, called Directive Conditioning, is an invasive neural restructuring that binds an individual to immutable commands. Unlike traditional slavery or servitude, drones do not perceive themselves as captives—their conditioning is so deeply rooted that they accept their role as natural, sometimes even beneficial.
Directive Conditioning is achieved through a multi-layered process:
This layered control ensures that while drones retain their memories, personalities, and skillsets, they are incapable of disobeying their core Directives.
"You ever see a drone hesitate? Watch them. The flicker in their eyes, the fraction of a second where they struggle—before the Directive locks in. That’s the moment. That’s when you know there’s still someone in there."
— Dr. Liora Sitoni, former Axiom Corp neuroscientist, now in hiding.
Drones are indispensable to the function of the Echelon System. They operate in nearly every industry, from manual labor to corporate governance, ensuring absolute efficiency in sectors where human error or disobedience could disrupt megacorporate stability.