Synthetic life form
Synthetic life form is a broad category of life form composed of conscious entities made of artificial materials. Unlike androids or conventional robots, they evolved a general intelligence independent of direct human intervention, usually through some form of evolutionary algorithm and without the need of a consciousness upload. What distinguishes them from virtual life forms is that their life functions are entirely in the physical world. While they exist in sporadic pockets, entire worlds may sometimes be completely dominated by synthetic life.
Subspecies
- Archaetronian - Native to Archaetron, they evolved a complex ecosystem starting off from a single clade of nanobots.
- Mechafauna - Synthetic life forms that fill the niche of animals in an ecosystem. Some of them can grow to enormous size as tall as skyscrapers.