Why not Robot?

Coming off of last week's zombie post, I've been doing a little bit of thinking in my spare time. Other monsters, other threats, other themes. What can be done that, really, hasn't been done much or done to death yet?

Why not robot? That's the thought that occurred to me while I was playing Infinity Wars -- a digital TCG. The setting of Infinity Wars is one of a sci-fi nature, with robots and nanotechnology and other futuristic bits. The robotic faction in Infinity Wars is known as Genesis and they hold the key to some truly awesome, and terrifying, robots. If you've seen the show Stargate SG-1 and know about the Replicators, well, those are pretty close. And not just the Replicators, but the 'Borg of Star Trek, the Cylons of Battlestar Gallactica... There are tons of examples of robots or cyborgs that are potentially terrifying. Even more so when you consider that, unlike zombies, these robots could possibly happen. It's funny how we often attribute the most fear to things that can never happen, yet think little of the real horrors that could exist.

So, what makes a robot scary? Well, like zombies it's not 'a' robot but 'a horde' of robots. That can repair themselves. And create copies from who-knows-what. That similar zombie theme of being hard to kill and constantly growing can happen with robots. Not only that but robots can also upgrade in ways that zombies can't and learn from their mistakes. How cliched is an AI with the capabilities to learn? Well, those activities are happening now, in basic forms, so it's likely less cliche and just a standard feature. But this ability to learn, improve and upgrade brings robots to a whole new level -- a level that zombies haven't really reached. They could out-adapt humans. How scary is that?

And that's why I ask myself, why not robot? I think it's time to retire the zombie and replace it with a shiny little bundle of malleable steel death.