The "mysterious drone signature" is something that you can notice after you use a bunch of drone memories. The exact uses/implications of this are currently unknown.
Acquiring Drone Memories
In the Metroplex U Computer Lab, you can search the top shelf of the Neglected Bookshelf to learn circuit recipes (Processor Chip, Memory Stick, Capacitor Array, Safety Loop and Juryrigged Antenna) if you don't have them; (and then History of Optics if you don't have it?); and if you have all of those, you can learn that you can extract memories from disabled or cooperative drones:
The memories can be extracted by equipping salvaging tools or electrical kit, and then killing any of the following:
- Burrowing Drone (burrowing drone memory)
- Helidrone (helidrone memory)
- Drone Hound (hound drone memory)
- Midgard SD1 (spider drone memory)
- Serving Drone (serving drone memory)
- Wall Turret (autoturret memory)
- Via SDnano prototype (SDnano memory)
Unlock
The special signature only shows up for certain drones - Midgard's later models. This is somehow related to their ability to turn into strange Etheric creatures when under the influence of Eclipse. (Note: the Wall Turret does not have the special signature and does not change when Etheric.)
To notice it you have to use about 60-62 drone memories. It doesn't seem to matter how many of each you use among the following. Once you have found the Mysterious Drone Signature you get one of the following messages. If you have learned certain techniques, you get a unique message (noted in bold), otherwise you get the same message across all memory types:
| Memory | Sober msg | Etheric msg | Etheric+technique msg |
|---|---|---|---|
| helidrone memory | There's a few strange patterns in the code you can't quite explain. It's like a subtle signature. You've seen it across dozens of drones, but it jumps out at you now. It's interesting… it only seems to appear in the oldest, original code. Whoever wrote it originally, over ten years ago, was obviously a genius, but it's hard to figure out what they were trying to do in a lot of passages. | ? | There's a few strange patterns in the code you can't quite explain. It's like a subtle signature. You've seen it across dozens of drones, but it jumps out at you now. The longer you stare at the code, the more it feels like it's staring back… as though some great secret were encoded in those tiny stylistic quirks. You learned a new Technique: Evil Eye |
| hound drone memory | There's a few strange patterns in the code you can't quite explain. It's like a subtle signature. You've seen it across dozens of drones, but it jumps out at you now. It's interesting… it only seems to appear in the oldest, original code. Whoever wrote it originally, over ten years ago, was obviously a genius, but it's hard to figure out what they were trying to do in a lot of passages. | There's a few strange patterns in the code you can't quite explain. It's like a subtle signature. You've seen it across dozens of drones, but it jumps out at you now. You feel as though some great secret is hidden in those little quirks, but can't put your finger on it. | There's a few strange patterns in the code you can't quite explain. It's like a subtle signature. You've seen it across dozens of drones, but it jumps out at you now. You feel as though you've captured another hound's essence. You learned a new Technique: Release the Hounds |
| spider drone memory | There's a few strange patterns in the code you can't quite explain. It's like a subtle signature. You've seen it across dozens of drones, but it jumps out at you now. It's interesting… it only seems to appear in the oldest, original code. Whoever wrote it originally, over ten years ago, was obviously a genius, but it's hard to figure out what they were trying to do in a lot of passages. | There's a few strange patterns in the code you can't quite explain. It's like a subtle signature. You've seen it across dozens of drones, but it jumps out at you now. You feel as though some great secret is hidden in those little quirks, but can't put your finger on it. | There's a few strange patterns in the code you can't quite explain. It's like a subtle signature. You've seen it across dozens of drones, but it jumps out at you now. It's almost… musical. The more you think about it, the closer you feel to the swarm, the more you can feel tiny shapes moving inside your body. You learned a new Technique: Call the Swarm |
| burrowing drone memory | ? | There's a few strange patterns in the code you can't quite explain. It's like a subtle signature. You've seen it across dozens of drones, but it jumps out at you now. You feel as though some great secret is hidden in those little quirks, but can't put your finger on it. | There's a few strange patterns in the code you can't quite explain. It's like a subtle signature. You've seen it across dozens of drones, but it jumps out at you now. It has a certain… strange rhythm to it, a pattern you can't quite recognize, like a map or the patterns made by rats crawling through walls. You learned a new Technique: Burrowing Horror |
| serving drone memory | There's a few strange patterns in the code you can't quite explain. It's like a subtle signature. You've seen it across dozens of drones, but it jumps out at you now. It's interesting… it only seems to appear in the oldest, original code. Whoever wrote it originally, over ten years ago, was obviously a genius, but it's hard to figure out what they were trying to do in a lot of passages. | There's a few strange patterns in the code you can't quite explain. It's like a subtle signature. You've seen it across dozens of drones, but it jumps out at you now. You feel as though some great secret is hidden in those little quirks, but can't put your finger on it. | ? |
The following do not count:
Results
If you are Etheric when you notice the signature, you can gain a copy of the Evil Eye, Release the Hounds or Call the Swarm techniques for using the heli-, hound or spider drone memory respectively.
Once found, this also affects
- Using a royal orb
- Reading the buried lab notebook
- Reading History Of The Orbital Wars
- Reading scary storybook
- Post Archive (University Net)
- Hacking the Piecemeal Network
- Watching the Whining Drone
- Gathering data with a Ghost recorder
See also: Historia Aetherium: Drone Creatures