Attached to the hulls were various bits of gear: manipulators, sensors, 
locomotion systems, and antennas. The antennas were not at all like the ones on 
an insect—they were usually flat patches studded with what looked like 
close-cropped fuzz—phased-array systems for sweeping beams of visible 
light through the air. Most of the mites were also clearly marked with the 
manufacturer's name and a part number; this was demanded by Protocol. A few of 
them were
unmarked. These were illicit and had been invented either by people like
Dr. X; by outlaw phyles who spurned Protocol; or by the covert labs that 
most people assumed were run by all the zaibatsus.