Murder Drones - Model Mix-up

Pilot - Exposition [Prologue]

BOOTING UP//
ALT_EXPOSITION//_

??? — "U-Um... we are..." a voice begins, clearly nervous. "Ahem, w-we are... Worker Drones! Uh, friendly little robots made by humans and designed to mine out planets for their big old company, J.C. Jenson..." they hesitate apprehensively before clearing their throat, "...J.C. Jenson, in SPAAAAACEE!!!!"

The owner of the voice, a quaint Worker Drone, throws their hands in the air. As they do so, they unintentionally toss a few of the notecards they'd been holding onto, fluttering to the ground like wordy confetti. Panicked and suddenly deeply embarrassed, the drone drops to the floor and picks the cards back up, sorting through them to ensure their script is in the correct order. Without a word or glance at the observing class, the drone presses the clicker their teacher provided them.

The screen behind the drone flickers away from displaying the J.C. Jenson title, swapping to a scene depicting a line of Worker Drones hauling equipment boxes through a warehouse, overseen by several humans donning hazmat gear.

??? — "The humans weren't... the nicest people ever, but—" they raise a finger as if to interrupt another they were conversing with, "—we never really had much of a problem with them, I-I don't think!" The presenter was consciously aware that not all in the room shared that opinion. "I mean, they, uh... they gave us purpose, and shelter, and... a-and stuff! It sounded pretty cool, to be honest!" They go off on a tangent before their expression becomes slightly more grim. "...B-But, um... they did kinda make... a little mistake, a while back. I-It wasn't that bad... it was just—"

The Worker continues to gesture as they speak, throwing their hands around as if to distract themselves. Their grip on the clicker loosens, causing the drone to overcorrect and click to the next slide on accident. A booming sound erupts from the speakers, causing everyone in the room to flinch, save for the teacher. The presenter nearly loses their footing from the surprise, stumbling to regain their balance. They recollect their thoughts and turn to the screen.

An orbital view of Copper-9 is displayed in the presentation. The clouds had been wildly disturbed, forming a chaotic ring around a large explosion that'd ruptured the planet's surface. Debris from the core has been blasted into orbit, flooding the atmosphere and plunging the world in an eternal, toxic winter — ultimately wiping out most, if not all, biological life... leaving only the icy remains.

The camera flicks to the planet's surface, following a lone snowflake drifting gently towards the ground. It lands on the raised hand of a human skeleton, perpetually frozen — quite literally — in a state of horrified surprise.

??? — "Oh, and... ever since all the humans, um... froze... us Worker Drones started— ...o-oh, biscuits..." The Worker briefly pauses to reorganize their script, having not wholly fixed it from earlier. "...Right, um... us Worker Drones started making new lives for ourselves! Learning from our old masters to carry out lives of our own!" They change the slide to feature a pair of loving Worker Drone parents holding an untrained neural network — a baby — in their hands. The two were happily smiling together. "And it was great! ...For a while."

With a sigh, the presenter clicks to the next slide, showing the glowing, ringed astral body above. A flash of light from the night sky shoots past the view, plummeting towards the planet's surface. The clip continues to play as the presenter speaks again.