Missed a detail in yours which makes my sequel a bit of a non-sequitur. Rather than a sequel I’ll call mine an homage . . .

That’s ok Jim, glad you enjoyed it enough to write a sequel. :)

Ha ha. Programmable Matter Systems, or P.M.S. Good call.

Kind of a sci-fi-noir thing going on here which I like. The anti-steampunk. I like what you did with this, and am interested to see where it goes.

Thanks John… glad to see you made it on here too. I was wondering if someone would find that PMS link, BTW.
Good to see that the sci-fi noir theme read correctly too.
Take Care!

This is a really solid setup in a really interesting universe. Sounds like Michael Crichton’s Prey, only they couldn’t get a hold of the machines. Nicely done!