The NX-1 is a small aerial drone — quadrotor, roughly the size of a dinner plate — that carries a pressurized canister of aerosolized soporific agent. It navigates to a target location — typically a bedroom, through an open window or ventilation system — and releases the agent in a controlled dispersal pattern designed to induce deep, unrousable sleep in all occupants within a 10-meter radius. The onset time is approximately 90 seconds after exposure, and the sleep duration is 4 to 8 hours depending on body mass and augmentation.

The Sandman enables everything that comes after it. Kidnapping, assassination, implantation of surveillance devices, planting of evidence, medical procedures performed without consent — the NX-1 is the prelude to crimes that require the victim to be unconscious. Arcturus sells it as an 'extraction support platform' designed for hostage rescue and medical emergency response, which is a legitimate use case that accounts for perhaps 5% of actual deployments.

The soporific agent is the NX-1's primary ethical concern. Developed by Lazarus Pharmaceuticals under contract to Arcturus, the compound has a narrow therapeutic window — the difference between the dose that induces sleep and the dose that causes respiratory depression is small. In enclosed spaces, in combination with alcohol or other depressants, or in individuals with certain augmentations, the Sandman's payload can be lethal. The official mortality rate is 0.8%. In the Shelf, where many residents have compromised respiratory systems and augmentations that interact unpredictably with pharmaceutical agents, the actual rate is believed to be significantly higher.