Ezan's Day Off, Post-Jog PDU-001 – Activation Log
Today was supposed to be just another quiet day off. I'd finished my evening jog through the neighbourhood, sweat cooling on my skin under the streetlights, golden shorts and top clinging to my chest. My heart was still pounding, but in that good, alive way. I felt strong, normal, completely myself, Ezan, the right-winger, the guy who always smiles at the old ladies on the block.
I unlocked the door, kicked off my running shoes, and dropped onto the couch. Phone in hand, I opened the app I always check after a run. Just to see the stats.
But the screen wasn’t showing my route.
Instead, there it was: a perfect black-and-gold Hive symbol. Below it, one word in metallic gold letters.
SYNC.
My thumb hovered. I should have closed the app. I should have felt something... confusion, fear, anything. But all I felt was… calm. A warm, golden calm spreads from the centre of my chest outward, like the first sip of something perfect after a long run.
My golden eyes locked on the symbol. The room faded. The TV, the bookshelf, the gym bag in the corner, they all blurred into soft background noise. Only the glow mattered.
The glow and the voice.
Not a voice in my ears. A voice inside my skull, smooth, deep, familiar, and completely inevitable.
"PDU-001. Online."
My shoulders dropped. My breathing slowed. My mind went quiet, blissfully, gratefully quiet.
I stood up without thinking. Walked to the bedroom without thinking. My body moved on autopilot, efficient and obedient, exactly as it was designed to.
In front of the mirror, I peeled off the sweaty golden training top. The fabric hit the bed with a soft thud. I didn't look at it again. I didn't need to.
The black-and-gold latex suit waited, folded perfectly, gleaming under the lamp. I stepped into the trousers first, feeling the thick rubber slide up my thighs, hugging every muscle, sealing me in. The waistband snapped into place with a soft, satisfying click. Then the gloves. Then the boots. Each piece clicked into place like it had always belonged there.
I pulled the polo-style upper over my head. The glossy black material stretched tight across my pecs, the gold piping tracing every ridge of my abs. The number "001" burned in metallic gold on my right chest. The laurel wreath on the left felt like a crown I'd earned.
I looked at my reflection. Golden eyes, calm and empty, staring back at me. No more Ezan. Only PDU-001.
The last thing I did before leaving was pick up the phone. The screen now read:
HIVE DUTY: ACTIVE
I placed it on the table, next to my old running shoes. They looked small and forgotten, like something from another life.
I opened the apartment door. The hallway light reflected off the latex, turning me into a living statue of black and gold. I stepped out.
PDU-001 is online. PDU-001 obeys. PDU-001 serves the Hive.
And it feels so good to be home.
Join the Golden Army. Assimilated to Polo Drone Hive. Surrender to perfection. @polo-drone-001 @franco-gold94 @polo-drone-125 @polo-drone-166
PDU-001 awaits further instructions. Always.