The Republic of the Winter takes its armies very seriously. With so many threats domestic and abroad, it needs a top-notch army with the best soldiers it can muster. Unfortunately strong manpower is hard to come by (and is usually needed elsewhere in the workforce) so "volunteers" must be "recruited" and shipped off to "training centers". From the point of recruitment in their home settlements, they are bound up in rubber bags with hoods over their heads and shipped off upside-down in trucks down the ancient highways to processing facilities. It is there that their hoods are taken off and they are dropped down the processing chute. The machine itself takes care of them after that, keeping them secure and "comfortable" as the process begins.
The machine will move them throughout each stage of the process where gradually more and more of their inferior fleshy parts are replaced by perfect rubber protogen components. It starts from the bottom taking over the legs first and makes its way gradually up. At the final stage in the process, a rubbery latex-lined protogen helmet is snuggly fitted and permanently fixed to their head. After that, they will be carted off to a nearby training pod to begin the final stage of the process. You can see the excitement and patriotism of all the newly formed protogen soldiers as they excitedly rub their bodies and make sure their helmets are unremovable! Such helpful protos! Of course, despite clearly loving the opportunity to serve the republic for the rest of their lives forever and ever as squeaky shiny protos, they still have to undergo hypnosis and brainwashing treatments to clean up all those pesky thoughts of disobedience before the military VR training can begin.
From there you have highly obedient, dedicated, and beautifully shiny troopers ready to protect the Republic of the Winter!
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