Nano-Theropic Wasting

  Nano-Theropic Wasting is an unfortunate ailment in that it is a combination of several small factors. Nano-Therapy was developed by the Memoria to repair and address degenerative diseases in their people. Nanites would be injected into the body, programmed to target a specific point in the body that was damaged or weakened by illness or trauma. The Nanites would use excess material provided to them via surgery, and sometimes their own components, to repair the damage before being deactivated and flushed from the body. They were effective, tidy, and easy to manage by even the most novice of doctors; the Mainframe was always watching in case something got out of hand.   Then the Memoria died out, and the Mechanicals were shut down, including the Nanites. The Mainframe shut itself down to wait.   Thousands of years later, The Mechanicals started to be reactivated, one by one. A raid on an old Memoria town where Dr. Gearmo was found also produced a variety of valuable medical tools and knowlege... if anyone could figure out how to make them work. This included several vials of nanites.   The real trouble began after the Mainframe was reactivated, and the Mechanicals re-categorized within its datalogs. With the Mechanicals now categorized as 'people' rather than 'robot', They were given new permissions and benefits... and new curses.   A vial of nanites was spilled on an unsuspecting Mechanical as an old Memoria storehouse was being emptied. At first, the Mechanical in question noticed nothing amiss. Several days later, however was quite another story. The interior of its systems had been hollowed out, restricting its movement and deactivating its left arm. When the cavity was opened for inspection, a beating human heart was nestled in the midst of wires and the skeletal frame. Further investigation of the lab revealed several remains of lab experiements, humanoid forms devoid of the muscle that formed the heart.   Then the Mechanical's left arm fell off. A calcified formation resembling bone jutted out of the joint.   The Mechanical was quarantined while a remedy was sought after. At first it was believed that it would only affect Mechanicals. Only a single medic was checking on the Mechanical, whose form was flowly growing flesh and skin, its metal frame deteriorating as the Nanites raided it for precious metals to sustain their own forms. Then he noticed that he was losing weight, and far too quickly for any healthy human. The Mechanical was put in near-isolation, the expedition team evacuating. The Mechanical lay in agony-for now it had gained a nervous system, and could feel pain-for days, in a half-human, half-robotic state. The Nanites kept it alive.   Eventually, the Mainframe was able to connect to the systems in the lab, and shut the Nanites down remotely. However, the Mechanical in question was also shut down, to spare it any more misery until it could be rebuilt. If it could be rebuilt.   But, as anyone who has worked with a virus knows, you can never really kill all of them...