Following that flash of light (like the changing of a channel), the VHZ era begins with the invention of stranger-extruding technology, the mainstream discovery and acceptance of the strangers, and their use in the drone units, which come to permeate every facet of life.
Though seemingly still ▟▘▙▟▘▟▟▙▞▜▚▜▖▙▙▛▘▙ in form, the extrusion leaves the stranger inert. It does not engage in any actions on its own, and no longer needs external energy sources. The zymatic components that form the affix arrangement can then be attached, completing the drone unit.
Animation is then achieved via outside control. ▝ ▟▛▛▝ ▚▙▟▙▞▜▛▚▖▛▞▘ shooting them up with pressurized chemicals, pin-pricks of electricity beneath the skin, rods twisted into the arms and through the gut, or sometimes manipulating them via fully external animatronics. Either way ▞▖▜▙▟▟▘▙▗ ▝ ▗ ▜▞▚▜▞▛▛▘▘ the ability to manipulate is crude.
Some strains hold together better than others, and those with a low stability are less fit to be used within a drone unit.
If the stranger is yanked free from the zymatics once more, it continues to live out the remainder of its natural lifespan (as allowed by its environment), though it can never be returned to its pre-extrusion state, and it will never be able to move on its own again.