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Description
Concept for a robot infested with an alien nano-machine plague. Plague was discovered in a derelict alien vessel on a routine robot mining operation in an asteroid belt. The nano-machines eat away at the metal of the host, repurposing it into grotesque metallic fungal-like growths. These growths are then used to infect other machines, either through casual contact or, if they reach sufficient size, through autonomous bodies which bud off on their own. Infected machines show surprising level of cooperation, at times even surpassing the intelligence expected of them giving their original programming; this implies that not only does the plague operate with some sort of electronically transmitted hive-mind but that the plague actually makes machines more intelligent if not sapient. The plague is incapable of infecting organic tissue but will mutate any implants in an organic body.

Description
Concept for a robot infested with an alien nano-machine plague. Plague was discovered in a derelict alien vessel on a routine robot mining operation in an asteroid belt. The nano-machines eat away at the metal of the host, repurposing it into grotesque metallic fungal-like growths. These growths are then used to infect other machines, either through casual contact or, if they reach sufficient size, through autonomous bodies which bud off on their own. Infected machines show surprising level of cooperation, at times even surpassing the intelligence expected of them giving their original programming; this implies that not only does the plague operate with some sort of electronically transmitted hive-mind but that the plague actually makes machines more intelligent if not sapient. The plague is incapable of infecting organic tissue but will mutate any implants in an organic body.