Adrian was getting desperate. It had been almost a year and throughout it all the job market had seemed as barren and dry as any desert you cared to mention. Even the local fast food outlets had turned him down.
Over his by-now standard bowl of cheap noodles, he consulted the job section of newspaper after newspaper. It had become rote by now, his eyes flicking over the pages and his hand copying down contact details automatically. As always, laying down yet another newspaper, he let out a heavy dolorous sigh.
He picked up the last paper and began scanning the jobs. Mostly it was the usual - jobs out of his experience range, demeaningly poor offers - until one in particular caught his eye...

SKILLED PEOPLE REQUIRED FOR LABORATORY WORK
No prior experience required - training provided on-site
Excellent benefits provided
Full health coverage
On-site housing
ALL APPLICANTS WELCOME - NO APPOINTMENTS NECESSARY

Surprised and intrigued by the advert, Adrian checked for the contact details. Oddly enough, there was only a physical address - apparently there was no need to phone ahead. As strange as that was, it did look promising, and Adrian was on the verge of taking any work he could. He copied down the address and finished off his meal, before getting up and heading to get ready. Hopefully this would be the one!

* * *

It had been half an hour, and Adrian was almost toally lost. This area of the city's industrial district was a veritable labyrinth of alleyways, one in which Adrian had been wandering in blind circles. It was lucky, he mused, that this place apparently had on-site housing, because it would be Hell finding the place every weekday in this maze of twisty little passageways, all alike.
He rounded the first unfamiliar corner hed seen in about ten minutes and found himself faced with a high wooden wall, in which was set an iron gate. A plaque next to it matched the address in the advert. Opposite the gate in the yard beyond was a complex of plain white buildings, with barely any signage or windows. Adrian peered through the bars of the gate, before turning to the intercom and hesitantly pressed the intercom.
"Umm, hi. I'm Adrian, I'm here about the job?" he said into the speaker. No response was forthcoming, but the gate slid open to admit him. As he passed through the entryway, it smoothly closed after him. He gave a start at the clang and whipped around with a nervous swallow, then mentally shook himself. Pull yourself together, he sternly thought at himself, it's just a gate!
He turned back again and made for the complex. At his approach, a set of double doors opened for him, revealing a dark interior. Adrian entered, and found the doors closing behind him again. Just as they did so, the lights of the room flickered into life, illuminating a sight that immediately gave Adrian's uneasiness a boost. The room was a reception, clean and well-kept, but totally uninhabited. Most noticeable however was the fact that, aside from the doors, the furnishings and fixtures were of a style Adrian hadn't seen for several years. Somewhat suspicious of the outdated decoration, Adrian walked over to a pile of faded magazines and leafed through them. They all dated back to the late 90s!
Adrian dropped the magazines and peered around the room in confusion. How could this place have been empty for over a decade? It was definitely the place in the ad, and someone had opened the gate for him, but where was the receptionist, or any other applicants? Or even any sounds to indicate any sound of habitation? Adrian approached the desk and rung the bell.
"Hello? Is anyone actually here?"
Adrian made a small noise of frustration in the back of his throat as nothing happened, and eventually turned back to the front doors and started towards them. Just as he did, however, the other doors suddenly slid open. Adrian gave another small start, still not used to these self-opening doors. He gingerly moved towards the newly open doors. Inside was a pure white corridor, with rouned corners and no visible light source. It was almost as if the walls themselves were glowing softly, illuminating the bare white walls without causing a painful glare. A mildly snarky comparison to the Starship Enterprise crossed a more detached part of Adrian's mind, but under the circumstances he was a bit too unnerved to give voice to it. As he stepped hesitantly through the doorframe, a soft blue stripe on the right wall began glowing, arrows pulsing along its length. Acknowledging the rather obvious clue, Adrian mastered the butterflies in his stomach and walked forward, half expecting - yep, as he moved away from them, the doors "tsssh"-ed closed right on cue. Firmly refusing to think of being trapped, Adrian continued to follow the arrow-patterned stripe.
Soon, the stripe led him to another doorway, which opened to reveal a room decorated in the same stark white plastic as the corridors. Protruding from one wall was a table, with a simple chair set at it - both of which were plain white, of course - and a door emblazoned with simple figures of a man and a woman was set into one wall, presumably the toilet. Sitting on the table was a manila envelope, sitting neatly parallel to the edge of the table. Adrian entered the room and took a seat.He was somewhat surprised to find that the chair was rather comfortable, seemingly at odds with the firmly neutral and undecorative style. He opened the envelope and tipped out the contents: three sheets of paper and a pencil. He picked up the papers and glanced over them. One seemed to be a test paper and one was filled virtually edge-to-edge with fine print - these two he set aside - and the other was formatted like a letter...

"Dear Adrian,
Thank you for responding to our request for able-bodied workers such as yourself! First of all, we would like to apologise for what may seem like rather shoddy and uncaring treatment. It's certainly not our aim to appear so callous, but certain of our policies preclude a more personal reception. When you learn more of our organisation, we trust you'll understand..."

Well it's nice of them to make the apology, Adrian thought as he read this, though he was divided on whether the thought was mollified or sardonic - or both. He tried to drown out the tiny note of worry at the mention of "our policies" and read on...

"...but we get ahead of ourselves. In regards to the matter of your potential employment, the application process is very simple. You should find enclosed with this letter a test form, a legal form and a pencil with which to fill them in. This test contains fairly basic questions regarding your skills and general health, which will allow us to judge your suitability of the position. Please do not be worried, we have very broad and inclusive margins of acceptability. As for the legal form, please be sure to read it carefully before signing. When you have filled in both forms, please return them to the envelope and place them in the recessed receptacle in the table and wait for further instructions.
Once again, thank you for your interest and good luck!
Yours sincerely,
The Management"

As Adrian ran out of letter to read, he drummed his fingers gently on the table. As friendly as the tone of the letter seemed, it was still worryingly cagey about details on the job. Still, he'd come this far, he might as well see it through. He picked up the test form again and read through it in greater detail, before picking up the pencil and starting to fill the boxes. As the letter had said, most of the questions were fairly simple and unintrusive, asking about health, allergies and the like. Soon enough, both sides were complete, each box filled in meticulously by old habit. He slid the test paper back into the envelope and took a look at the legal form. In the manner of legalese everywhere the text was small and verbally convoluted to the point of being ludricrously overwrought. Even as his gaze fell upon the first sentences, Adrian grimaced and internally gave up, immediately signing the form and slipping it back into the envelope. After a moment's consideration, he put the letter and pencil in the envelope as well, before placing it as directed in the recess. Almost immediately, the recess lowered into the body of the desk, a cover sliding into place over the hole. With nothing more to do but wait, Adrian drummed his fingers on the table, then glanced over at the door to the facilities, before getting up to take advantage of them.
Five minutes later Adrian re-entered the room, feeling cleansed and drying his still slightly damp hands on his tie. As he looked at the desk, he saw that the recess was once again filled with an envelope, white this time. Giving his hands one last wipe, he sat down and opened the envelope. Tipping it out on the desk revealed a single sheet of paper and a small key, which jingled onto the table. He picked the items up and examined them. The key was a small steel affair, plain and unassuming with a short serial number engraved into the bow. With no indication as to what it was for, he put it down again and turned his attention to the second letter...

"Dear Adrian,
Congratulations! Analysis of your test results indicates that you are eminently suited to the position you have applied for, and thus we are delighted to accept your application! Welcome aboard!
As you read this letter, an employee is on their way to you with your new uniform (we took the liberty of extrapolating your measurements from CCTV footage), which they will be happy to help you into. Once you've been properly dressed, the employee will escort you to the employee quarters where you will undergo job training.
Once again, congratulations! We're sure you'll enjoy working with us!
Yours faithfully,
The Managment

As he read the letter, a small grin of satisfaction crossed Adrian's face. He finally had a job! Hooray! He still had virtually no idea of what it actually was, but the promised training would likely fill him in. To pass the time until the employee arrived, Adrian picked up the key again, turning it over in his fingers, and wondered what "A-149" meant. Probably a locker number, he assumed.
After a few minutes, the room's doors opened, and Adrian turned to face the newcomer. As he caught sight of them, though, he stood up in shock. The figure was covered from head to toe in shiny black, not an inch of bare flesh showing, seemingly no distinguishing marks whatsoever. Adrian backed away in amazement from the black being, as it placed a metal cube on the table and turned to face him.
The creature was human - or humanoid, at least - standing about six feet tall, with a rather average build. The contours of its body were smooth and clean, apparently sealed in thick latex polished to a gleaming shine. Each finger and toe was individually coated, the rubber suit reducing them to simple cylinders, nails and joints buried beneath the fabric of the suit. Capping off the black rubber being was a gas mask, reducing the human Adrian assumed was in the suit into a mere drone, mouth and nose replaced with a round respirator and eyes buried behind gleaming reflective lenses. Adrian hesitantly stepped towards the rubber being, staring at his reflections in its lenses. His gaze flickered over the suit's surface, revealing no openings, zips or folds, and even the gas mask seemed to be a built-in part of the suit - it was as if a person had been dipped in liquid rubber. The only mark of identifying mark it seemed to have was a short serial number inscribed on a badge on the left side of its chest - "D-133".
The creature stood calmly inert before Adrian, air wheezing softly through its respirator. It stared unexpressivly back at him, though it almost seemed to be waiting for something.
"Umm... h-hello," Adrian stammered in nervous greeting. The rubber being didn't reply or respond in any way. Rather unnerved, Adrian turned his attention to the box it had brought with it. The box was undecorated, apart from a small lock set into the front. Making the obvious deduction, Adrian picked up the key. He glanced shyly at the latex drone, who simply looked back passively. Sighing, he unlocked the box and slowly opened the lid, almost afraid of what he might see.
True to expectations, as the light of the room entered the box, a now-familiar gleaming was shown. Adrian backed away, emotions conflicting within him. The drone reached into the box and removed something from it: a rubber suit with attached hood that would cover the body from almost completely head to toe. The drone carefully laid it on the table, before removing more items: a gas mask identical to its own, a pair of rubber briefs, an electric razor, what looked like an oddly-shaped gag, a strange-looking tool and a rectangular badge with "A-149" written on it. The drone left the box open and looked expectantly at Adrian.
"A-am I... gonna have to wear... all that?" Adrian asked nervously. The drone nodded slowly in reply.
"Well... how do I take it off again?" Adrian continued, "Can I take it off at all?"
The rubber drone shook its head, confirming Adrian's worst fears. He fidgeted with his tie, before hesitantly turning back to the door.
"I-I'm sorry, I'm really not sure about this..."
Watching his rubbery companion carefully, Adrian moved towards the door. Before he could reach it though, the drone intercepted him and politely yet firmly stepped in front of him, trapping Adrian in the room.
Realising his predicament, Adrian sighed again and stepped back to the desk. He picked up the rubber suit to examine it. As he took in its black gleam, he found a pair of rubber-clad hands encircling his neck, attempting to unfasten his tie. He put the suit back down and tried to push the drone's hands away.
"Ah-- please, I think I can undress myself..."
The drone backed off a few steps and resumed its blank stare. Blushing a little under the steady gaze, Adrian began to remove his clothes, piling them on the desk next to the box. In a self-effacing way, he turned back to the drone, now dressed only in his boxer shorts. Somewhat to his embarrassment, the drone's gaze seemed to be fixed on this last remaining item of apparel. Without warning, the drone quickly bent forward and grabbed them, efficiently pantsing Adrian. Able only to stammer a mild objection, Adrian stepped backwards and inadvertantly out of his underwear, slumping on the chair totally naked. His blush deepened intensely and his hands quickly moved to cover his shame. The drone seemed unconcerned by his modesty, however, occupying himself neatly folding and piling up Adrian's clothes. He picked up the pile and made to drop them in the box.
"Wait, what about my phone, my wallet--" Adrian began, just as the drone closed and locked the box. "Right... I guess I won't be needing them, then."
The drone shook its head at this, picked up the razor and advanced on Adrian. The razor whirred softly as it passed over his body, swiftly and cleanly denuding him. As the drone turned the razor off Adrian shivered to himself, partly at the sensation of the room's cool air, partly at the sensation of the drone's latex hands carefully brushing stray body hair off his skin.
The drone stood up and put the razor down again, before picking up the rubber briefs and holding them out. Adrian hesitantly took them and gave them a more indepth examination, which revealed a curious elongated pouch affair in the inside of the front panel and a worryingly thick tube protruding from the inside of the rear panel. The mere prospect of these esoteric latex gubbins gave Adrian a series of uneasily ambivalent sensations in his crotch.
With its typical smooth efficiency, the drone reached forward and started guiding the briefs towards Adrian's feet. Accepting his rather passive role in all this, Adrian did nothing to resist this, and soon enough the briefs were almost in place. The drone knelt down beside Adrian and began deftly manipulating the rear tube into place. Adrian could only twitch and groan in discomfort as the drone so clinically violated him. Once the thick tube was sitting comfortably in his anus, holding it open for whatever purpose needed it so wide, the drone moved on to the pouch. Adrian's suspicions as to its purpose was proven quite correct as the drone's rubber-clad hands gently guided his member inside. In spite of his fear and discomfort, Adrian could not prevent it stiffening in arousal.
All too soon, the briefs were settled in place around his crotch. Every contour (especially some very personal ones) was sealed in a snug rubber caress that tightly hugged Adrian's skin. Still blushing, he gently ran his hands over the surface of the latex. In spite of the forced nature of his situation, part of him was decidedly enjoying it...
Just as Adrian was puzzling out his conflict with his newfound latex lust, the drone quickly drew the gag around his head and neatly inserted a tube into his mouth. He let out a muffled yelp, until the gag muffled his cries. The drone pulled the straps tightly around Adrian's head and the tube settled just short of triggering his gag reflex. The drone picked up the odd tool and applied it to the straps behind Adrian's head, indicated by a brief flare of heat along his skin. As the heat faded, Adrian felt around the straps - or rather strap, for the heat-gun had seared the latex ribbons into one smooth whole. The strap didn't have much elasticity, certainly not enough for Adrian to remove the tube from his mouth.
The drone next gestured to the chair, indicating a desire for Adrian to sit down. Adrian obliged and watched as the drone picked up the suit. It knelt down and rolled the legs up, before taking hold of each of Adrian's feet and easing them into the suit's feet. It slowly and meticulously rolled the latex back up along Adrian's legs, being careful to smooth out folds and air pockets. Adrian shuddered and moaned softly in pleasure as the intense sensations played over his skin, covering more and more of his hairless and newly sensitive body. The drone pulled the suit up towards Adrian's hips, and he obligingly stood up, allowing the drone to tug the suit taut around his legs and crotch. With his lower limbs thusly encased, Adrian found his arms being guided into their corresponding holes. The drone pulled the suit up over his arms and shoulders, before slowly smoothing out the folds again. Adrian continued to groan softly to himself, moving his own hands over his rubberised chest. The thought crossed his mind that the drone's hand motions were almost akin to a loving caress, as though it were quite aware of the effect the suiting-up was having on him. Adrian wondered if the drone was as blank as it seemed...
Finally the drone pulled up Adrian's hood and meticulously adjusted its fit. Adrian's bald scalp tingled as the drone brushed over his hood's surface. The drone stepped back a little, as if admiring its work, before picking up the gas mask. Adrian closed his eyes in anticipation, and the drone stretched the straps carefully over Adrian's head and settled the mask proper over his face, covering the open portion of his hood and finally sealing him totally in rubber.
The gentle wheeze of Adrian's breath through his mask echoed in his ears, and he opened his eyes again. He was a little surprised to find that the pure black lenses only slightly obscured his vision, only as much as a pair of sunglasses. This allowed him an excellent view of the drone carefully running the heat-gun over the straps of the mask. Through the rubber, the feeling of the tool's heat was deadened, and it was almost hard to tell when the tool had been switched off. Adrian raised his hand to feel for the straps, but found only smooth rubber around his head. The drone picked up the last item from the table - Adrian's badge - and pressed it to his chest, using the heat-gun to fuse its edges into the suit. With a tiny flourish of finality, the drone turned off the heat-gun and stepped back.
Adrian ran his hands over his rubber-sealed body in awe -  as much as the drone looked like it had been dipped in a vat of liquid latex, so too did Adrian. He could make out his form in the drone's lenses, and it was virtually indistinguishable from the drone's own form. He stared in amazement at the reflected drone that was himself.
The non-Adrian drone placed a hand on Adrian's shoulder in an almost companionable fashion, and gently pushed him in the direction of the exit. Adrian got the idea and moved toward the door. Followed and steered by the drone, Adrian moved through the plain white corridors of the complex. Every now and again another drone passed them by, gazing placidly at the pair. Even with his newfound perspective on them, Adrian still found that they were hard to distinguish from each other. While one or two were obviously female, body shape was muted by the tight rubber bodysuit, rendering each drone an anonymous being of polished latex. The thought occured to him that he too was now one of these rubber creatures, sending a delightful frisson through him.
Eventually, Adrian's chaperone brought him to another door, which opened to reveal a large chamber containing rows upon rows of slanted pods. Adrian was led into the chamber, past several of the pods. Adrian looked inside a few of them to see drones reclined within, apparently sleeping peacefully, before he was stopped in front of an unoccupied pod. The perspex cover slid up over the pod, and Adrian was directed inside. Obediently he clambered into the pod's padded interior and was sealed in. Adrian gave a little wave to the drone, who stood staring into the pod at him. It tilted its head a little, before shyly waving back. Under his mask, Adrian smiled a little, before the drone dropped his hand and departed.
Adrian examined his pod as best he could, until he felt a tube entering his anal aperture through an opening in his suit. He squirmed a little, though he found that such penetration was no longer quite as uncomfortable as before. A second tube extended itself from the side of the pod and connected to a port in his mask. Two more tubes extended from the top of the pod, much wider than the mouth tube, and pressed themselves against his mask's lenses. They whirred softly as they screwed themselves into place. For a moment, Adrian wondered what this was in aid of, before...
Garish kaleidoscope patterns flashed bewilderingly in front of Adrian's eyes. He thought it... he thought...
He thought the colour was important. He tried to focus on the colour. He found it hard to hold onto any thoughts anymore, but the colour was important...
Definite patterns flashed through the otherwise random chromatic maelstrom. He tried to focus on those, too, spreading his waning attention span to its limit. He could almost feel memories and thoughts slipping through the gaps, as the patterns made it harder and harder to hold onto them. But Adrian didn't mind, the patterns said it was okay...
*DRONE A-149.*
What? What did the patterns mean, swirling in his mind? Was he meant to be A-149? That didn't make sense, he was Adri... Ad... A...
*DRONE A-149.*
A-149... that seemed right somehow. The patterns were reassuring, caressing his subconscious. They made sense...
*A-149 WILL BE A USEFUL DRONE.*
*A-149 WILL BE AN EFFICIENT DRONE.*
*A-149 WILL BE A GOOD DRONE.*
A-149 squirmed gently, watching and feeling the patterns in avid wonderment. Good drone... he so wanted to be a good, useful drone. The patterns said he was, so he must be a good drone... why would they lie?
*A-149 IS EFFICIENT.*
*A-149 IS USEFUL.*
*A-149 IS A GOOD DRONE.*
Useful... Good... A-149 was a useful drone... it was important to be useful... A-149 was a good drone...
*A-149 IS EFFICIENT AND USEFUL.*
*A-149 IS A GOOD DRONE.*
A-149... useful drone... good drone...
Efficient... useful...
Drone...
Drone.
Drone.

* * *

The perspex lid of pod #327 opened, and the computational induction modules disengaged from the drone's lenses. The feeding tube and waste port followed suit, and A-149 stepped out of the pod. It processed its latest task data, issued by the CIMs shortly before they had disconnected, and turned to carry out the task. Inasmuch as any drone could be said to actually think, A-149 thought only of its assigned task, as it had for two months. A-149 was a good drone.
A-149 arrived at its destination, and saw a selection of items arrayed before it. It didn't register what these items were in any real detail - it hadn't been assigned to - but it did look at a monitor showing security camera footage from the reception. It saw a young man standing at the desk, looking bewildered and slightly unnerved.
"Uhh... hello? I-It's Mattias, I'm, umm... here about the laboratory job?" he said to no-one in particular.
A-149 calmly watched as the recpetion door opened, and the man named Mattias passed through and navigated the corridors. He continued to watch as he sat down and examined the test paper he had been given, before filling it in and returning it to the slot. A green light in front of A-149 shone at him, and a drawer next to him opened to reveal a neatly folded rubber bodysuit and a rectangular badge labelled "M-477". Acting on its orders, A-149 picked up the suit and badge and placed them inside an undecorated box, along with a gas mask, tube gag, rubber briefs, heat-fuser and electric razor. A-149 sealed the box and picked it up, before exiting the room and going to deliver the box to the test room.
A-149 had not been assigned to think about M-477's upcoming conversion, but it did nonetheless.
M-477 would be a useful drone. M-477 would a good drone.