SCMR Chpt 10

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==Chapter 10 - Self Configuring Modular Robot==
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Shared processing...
...follows a pretty simple concept of geometric expansion. The natural delay in the movement of signals means that each processor either has to stick close to the others (relatively) or carry additional buffered memory.
The geometric multiplication spreads through a city. The device's base programming and the abuse of same by SAFE means that as entertainment units are encountered and incorporated, the small robots learn, and develop, refining techniques under the command to replicate, and kill. They sharpen their ability to do just that, altering their own designs with each successive build, cannibalizing older models for materials and components not readily available.
One month in, the killing stops.
The building continues.
You can thank the History Channel for why there are a few thousand 'Newts' in a planetary junkyard infested with mechanical scavengers.
The group mind has grown large enough, and diverse enough, to overcome the angry rantings of a seventeen year old savant.
Kalei didn't know why he was alive, but the screamers were keeping him alive, along with others. 
They didn't look human. The most 'human' of them still looked like electronic toys. They had big screamers and little screamers, crawling, swimming and flying screamers, and burrowing screamers.
A light lit over his cell door, and a small, tracked tray rolled in with a covered dish.
"You're feeding me??" he was astonished as he took the cover off. Lettuce, nuts, some kind of rice dish. "WHy are you FEEDING ME??"
The machine didn't answer, it waited patiently.
Eventually, hunger won out, and he ate.
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