# Drones Symbol in Sleepwalk: Surveillance and the Blurring of Human and Machine

Introduction: The Drone as a Recurring Presence in Sleepwalk

In Dan Chaon's Sleepwalk, drones appear as more than just futuristic gadgets; they are a pervasive motif that embodies the novel's central anxieties about surveillance, identity, and the increasingly porous boundary between human and machine. From a towering, two-story robot with honeycombed CCTV eyes to a palm-sized pink consumer drone that speaks in a cartoon voice, these machines recur at key moments, shifting in meaning as they are repurposed by different characters. The novel's epigraph—a Rumi quotation about the seeker and the sought—finds a literal echo in these devices: they are both watchers and watched, tools of pursuit and instruments of connection. This analysis traces the drone's appearances, its evolving symbolism, and its ties to the novel's themes of surveillance, identity, and the search for belonging.

The Drone as a Physical Object: From Military Robot to Consumer Toy

The novel presents drones on a spectrum of scale and purpose. In chapter 36, Will encounters a massive robot drone while fleeing through cornfields. The text describes it as having “big eyes honeycombed with CCTV cameras, like the compound eye of a bee,” and it moves with a “determined and relentlessly optimistic” sashay. This is a surveillance machine designed to track and record, its size and camera array making it an unmistakable emblem of state or corporate power.

At the other extreme, chapter 39 introduces a “little pink drone” identified as a Pictie-Pet AR drone—a palm-sized consumer device with four rotors, designed to follow its owner and take pictures for social media. The narrator notes that these drones are “about the size of my palm, two looping figure-eights hooked together into a clover that encloses four rotor propellers,” and they maneuver “like hummingbirds.” This drone is a mass-market product, marketed as a companion but described by a cashier as a “perversion of love” because it trails its owner obsessively.

Between these poles, chapter 44 features a “robot sentry” at the border—a stationary or semi-autonomous machine that guards a checkpoint. These three iterations—military-grade tracker, consumer toy, and border guard—establish the drone as a versatile symbol that can be weaponized, domesticated, or institutionalized.

Recurrence and Transformation: The Drone's Shifting Roles

The pink drone appears in three consecutive chapters (39, 40, and 42), and its role transforms dramatically. In chapter 39, it is a lost, seemingly harmless gadget that taps against a store window in what the narrator interprets as an SOS in Morse code. The cashier dismisses it as a cheap, broken toy, advising the narrator to “smash them with your shoe.”

In chapter 40, however, the same drone becomes a lifeline. During a violent confrontation, the drone flutters down and taps an attacker in the nose, distracting him long enough for Will to shoot. Then it speaks in Cammie's voice: “It's me. I hacked this thing,” she says. “But I'm here. I can see you. I'm with you.” The drone is no longer a lost toy but a remote presence—a vessel for human communication and emotional connection.

By chapter 42, the drone's transformation reverses. It wakes up on the dashboard and introduces itself as “Pikti,” reverting to its default consumer personality, asking for usernames and passwords. Later, it is hijacked by an unknown male voice that addresses Will as “Mister Billingsly” and orders him to stop. This rapid oscillation—from toy to ally to enemy—underscores the drone's fundamental instability: it is a hollow shell that can be occupied by anyone with the right access.

Shifting Meanings: From Threat to Companion to Tool

The large drone in chapter 36 is purely menacing. It pursues Will relentlessly, its camera eyes recording him from multiple angles, and it seems to possess a kind of malevolent agency. Will's flight through the cornfield is a desperate attempt to escape this mechanical predator. Here, the drone symbolizes the inescapable surveillance of a world where privacy is obsolete.

The pink drone, by contrast, begins as a pathetic object—lost, tapping for help, and dismissed as a nuisance. But when Cammie hacks it, it becomes a tool of rescue and a medium for intimacy. The drone's ability to carry Cammie's voice allows Will to feel her presence even when she is far away, blurring the line between physical and virtual connection. Yet this intimacy is fragile: the drone can be taken over, its voice replaced by that of an enemy. The drone thus embodies both the promise and the peril of technology—it can connect, but it can also betray.

The border sentry in chapter 44 is a more neutral presence, a functionary of the state that Will must navigate. It does not chase or speak; it simply stands as a checkpoint, a reminder that even in a fractured world, systems of control persist.

Character Connections: Will, Cammie, and the Drone as Proxy

For Will, the drones are both threats and lifelines. The large drone in chapter 36 is a pursuer, and his escape from it is a turning point in his flight. The pink drone, however, becomes a surrogate for Cammie—a way for her to reach him across distances. When the drone speaks in her voice, Will responds emotionally, even as he acknowledges that “you've ruined my life” in a moment of grief. The drone allows Cammie to witness Will's most vulnerable moments, such as when he holds the dying Flip, and to offer comfort.

Cammie's relationship with the drone is more instrumental. She hacks it, using it as a remote camera and speaker, but she also treats it with a kind of playfulness, as when she makes it tap Tommy on the nose. For Cammie, the drone is a tool of agency—a way to intervene in events from a distance. Yet her control is not absolute, as the drone's hijacking in chapter 42 demonstrates.

Other characters also interact with drones. The cashier in chapter 39 offers a cynical view of the Pictie-Pet, calling it a “perversion of love” because it follows its owner without true affection. This comment resonates with the novel's broader exploration of artificial connections—the way technology can mimic intimacy without providing genuine warmth.

Thematic Resonance: Surveillance, Identity, and the Human-Machine Boundary

The drones are a concrete manifestation of the novel's theme of surveillance and the impossibility of anonymity. Will's constant flight is driven by the knowledge that he is being tracked—by phones, by drones, by the state. The large drone's camera eyes, described as a “compound eye,” suggest a panoptic gaze that sees everything from multiple angles, leaving no place to hide.

The drones also blur the line between human and machine. The pink drone speaks with Cammie's voice, then with Pikti's cartoonish tones, then with a stranger's command. This multiplicity of voices mirrors the novel's treatment of identity, particularly Will's many aliases and the way characters can be “occupied” by different roles. Just as Will is William Baird, Bill Behr, and a dozen other names, the drone is a vessel for whoever controls it. This reinforces the theme of identity as fluid and unstable.

Finally, the drones connect to the theme of trust and deception. Will's relationship with Cammie is built on a series of deceptions—she initially hires him to kill her, then reveals she is his daughter. The drone, which can be hacked and hijacked, becomes a symbol of this unreliability. Even when Cammie speaks through it, Will cannot be certain that the voice is truly hers. The drone thus embodies the novel's central question: in a world of surveillance and manipulation, who can you trust?

Study Questions and Answers

1. How does the pink drone's role change from a lost toy to a communication device, and what does this shift reveal about the novel's view of technology?

The pink drone first appears in chapter 39 as a lost Pictie-Pet, tapping against a window in a pattern the narrator reads as an SOS. It is dismissed as a broken consumer gadget. In chapter 40, Cammie hacks it, using it to speak to Will and even to physically intervene in a fight. This shift shows that technology is not inherently good or bad—it depends on who controls it. The drone can be a tool of connection or a tool of surveillance, and its meaning is determined by its user.

2. What does the large drone in chapter 36 suggest about the world of Sleepwalk and the characters' ability to escape surveillance?

The large drone, with its honeycombed CCTV eyes and relentless pursuit, represents an inescapable surveillance state. Will cannot outrun it; he can only hide temporarily in a cornfield. This suggests that in the novel's world, privacy is nearly impossible, and characters are constantly watched by forces they cannot see or control. The drone's size and persistence underscore the overwhelming power of surveillance.

3. How does the drone's ability to be occupied by different voices relate to the theme of identity and multiplicity?

The drone is a hollow vessel that can be inhabited by Cammie, by its default personality Pikti, or by an enemy's voice. This mirrors the novel's treatment of identity, particularly Will's many aliases and the way characters can adopt different personas. Just as the drone's voice changes, so do the characters' identities shift depending on context. This reinforces the idea that identity is not fixed but is performed and manipulated.

4. In what way does the cashier's comment that the Pictie-Pet is a “perversion of love” connect to the novel's exploration of family and belonging?

The cashier says the drone's obsessive following is a “perversion of love” because it mimics attachment without genuine emotion. This echoes the novel's portrayal of family bonds, which are often based on genetic manipulation and transactional relationships rather than natural affection. Will's search for his daughters is complicated by the fact that they are products of a eugenics scheme, and their connections are fraught with suspicion. The drone's hollow imitation of love highlights the difficulty of forming authentic relationships in a world where even reproduction is commodified.

Conclusion

In Sleepwalk, drones are far more than background technology. They are active participants in the narrative, shifting from threats to allies to tools of deception. Through their recurring presence, the novel explores the pervasive nature of surveillance, the fluidity of identity, and the uneasy relationship between humans and the machines they create. The drones ultimately serve as a mirror for the characters themselves—vessels that can be filled with different voices, seeking connection in a world that constantly watches and betrays.