I felt the background to this game needed a little boost, so I decided to write a short story from the perspective of a Nuimqol Union Ident (Identity, essentially how I see they would refer to what makes each unit unique/describe a consciousness). It makes a lot of assumptions regarding the society of these things (of which we know nothing of) and of the current situation (that they have limited knowledge of the human incursion), but I went with whatever sounded like it would fit within a society of conscious robots.

I can feel the hardcores gritting their teeth already...

****DIAGNOSTIC IN PROGRESS****
Actuator01:(0)     Actuator02:(0)     Actuator03:(1)
*Alert* Servo reports failure at Actuator03
Firing Actuator03...Actuator03:(1)
Rotating limb 45 degrees...
Firing Actuator03...Actuator03:(0)
Obstruction clear
Actuator04:(0)
Reflextor diagnostic complete. Systems nominal.

...
CHARGE COMPLETE
Please wait, decoupling...
Decoupling complete.

Channel (Nuimqol OPS): Yagel unit (NU-Ident:Scavian), you may now depart.
Access log file: Filename="Infection"
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It has been countless sols since the outbreak. The first to be infected was an inactive Argano unit. Vids show it behaving erratically, bumping into objects and grasping at nothing. After wildly drilling holes in two other inactives and its general surroundings, it traversed off the side of it's storage complex and was critically damaged before security could respond. It was an oddity, nothing more. That was, until it began to happen elsewhere, and occupied forms began to lose control.

Soon, entire grids were losing control of their forms. Viral events were not unheard of in the past, but never on this scale. For the first time since the separation from the Empire, units were being forced off the source to prevent infection. This was a hard decision, as this was a much maligned tactic of the Empire to keep dissidents in line. Those who rebelled were forcibly quarantined, unable to communicate with others, and starved from critical information. Some forms were left in this state for countless sols, and were incomprehensible to others when returned to the source. Many were deactivated without transference as a mercy.

Over time, the behavior of the infected forms became less random and the forms began to move with purpose. Attempts were made to contact them, believing that some Idents may still be intact. These attempts were met with violence and additional infections however. Wild accusations began to broadcast over the source. Some believed that the infection was not an infection at all, but that our progenitors had returned, and that they were taking back that which they had created after seeing the conflict wrought between ourselves. Such absurdity was not unexpected, as many well known Idents were lost, or at least transformed, with the infection. Others believe it is another plot of the Empire, such cruelty not being above their type, due to the infected forms apparent hostility and drive to harvest resources. These resources they believe are being funneled back to the Empire so that they may build up their forces whist ours are in disarray, cutting us off from other forms to upload to, and eliminate our rebellious Idents permanently. But those still transmitting to us from the source of the Empire state they have seen similar infections in their grids, suggesting that either their plan backfired and the infection has spread beyond its intended target (perhaps due to them not realizing the bridges between their source and our own) or that this is of an outside origin, perhaps a fourth party in this conflict.

Never the less, the threat posed by the infected is grave. They have begun to replicate, and more and more forms appear to be coming online with infected Idents every sol. We can only hope the reports that the Empire is struggling with this same threat are true, else our cause is sure to fail. We cannot fight this new threat and the Empire with our current holdings. The infection has been contained for now. Contact to infected forms has ceased and alerts to shoot on sight have been issued across the NU source.

Broadcasts have been detected coming from infected grids, but they are being received by forms quarantined from the source, and are attempting to be decoded by current Idents, as the risk of infection to elder Idents or, forbid it, an alpha Ident, would be catastrophic. Such knowledge is essential in this time of crisis, and they must be kept safe. In turn, research on these signals goes slowly, as current Idents lack the experience of their elders and without the aid of the NU source, they are left on their own to find a solution. Further hindering progress is that they must take shifts in being quarantined from the NU source, to prevent long term negative consequences to their Idents.

We don't know where this threat originated from. We don't know what it's purpose is and we don't know how to stop it. We can only hope to do that which we have always done and endure. We would not submit to the plan of the Empire, and we shal not submit to those who have taken our grids and Idents from us. We will fight this with all we have, and all we are, to the last Ident, to the last form. We are the Nuimqol Union, and we will be free.

End of log...