Grey Goo

Grey Goo is a hypothetical future artifact, a sort of nanotechnology used for mass transformation of the environment.

• Many hypothetical scenarios assume that it will go horribly wrong. These dystopian scenarios are often referred to as the nano-pocalypse.

Library Data Referral Tree

Please refer to the following AAB Library Data for more information:

• Nano Science / Nanotechnology (Nano-)
  • Angel Net
  • Apocalypse Package
  • Claytronics
  • Grey Goo
  • Makertech
  • Nanocyte
  • Nanomedicine
  • Self-replicating Factory
  • Smartdust
  • Starseed Launcher
  • Utility Fog
  • Von Neumann Machine

Description (Specifications)

Grey goo (...also spelled gray goo) is a hypothetical end-of-the-world scenario involving molecular nanotechnology in which out-of-control self-replicating robots consume all biomass on Earth while building more of themselves, a scenario that has been called ecophagy ("eating the environment", more literally "eating the habitation").

Nanocytes or nanotechnological machines are typically built in with preprogrammed lifespan limits, keeping them from running amok... But, what if those limitations didn't work. What would happen? What if the fail safes fail?

The technology to create grey goo is projected to become available around TL:22-24 and specifically at TL-23. It is not currently known to Imperial science.

Nantechnological Goo Variations

Variations on this term include:

Nantechnological Goo Variations
Type	Remarks
Black Goo	It is the use of nanomachines by military forces in open combat. They are often known as Disassembler Swarms and are specifically designed to break target materials into components. Many associate it with sanctioned military applications.
Blue Goo	It is a defensive nanotechnological system. It is often used to denote any form of benign and protective neumann-capable technology. Many associate it with defensive applications. It is also associated with aquaculture applications, with liquid sea or ocean environments.
Golden Goo	It is an economic optimizer, that optimizes resource collection and processing across vast scales. It associated with resource collection and concentration on a lesser scale than grey goo. It is also associated with theoretically possible dystopian scenarios.
Green Goo	They are usually thought of as out-of-control biologicals or bionanotech devices. It is often conjectured to be an antidote to the tendency of pink goo to spread, perhaps limiting its ability to reproduce. Many associate it with agricultural applications.
Grey Goo	It is an assembler nanomachine used for widescale construction and transformation of the environment. Many associate it with construction and manufacturing applications. In many dystopian scenarios, the machines go out of control and reduce the environment to a stinking, gooey slurry.
Pink Goo	Pink goo is a self-replicating entity with a tendency to fill up existing space. Many associate it with commercial applications. Others use it as an extended term for Humaniti.
Red Goo	It is the use of nanomachines by terrorists or nihilists to destroy all or some segment of humanity. Many associate it with unsanctioned politically violent applications.

History & Background (Dossier)

There are rumors that some Red Zone worlds on the Imperial Fringe may be former Ancients experiments gone wrong... Experiments with Grey Goo...

Neumann Nanopocalypse

Neumann (world) (Trojan Reach 3105) was almost destroyed by a nanobot swarm, leaving vast portions of the planet covered in grey goo.

Worlds & Sectors (Astrography)

This technological phenomenon can be found in the following areas:
Charted Space

World Listing: 1105

The following systems and worlds are associated with this phenomenon:

2 of 2 World articles in Grey Goo

Kueghakhe  •  Neumann  •  

startbacknext(2 listed)

References & Contributors (Sources)

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Gray_goo. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. The text of Wikipedia is available under the Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Self-replicating_machines_in_fiction. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. The text of Wikipedia is available under the Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Far Future Enterprises or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Marc Miller. T5 Core Rules (Far Future Enterprises, 2013), TBD.
• EXTERNAL LINK: Grey Goo at TV Tropes
• Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science, Emeritus