Based on an original concept by TR Merchen

Description

Virobots (short for Virus Robots) are small robots that attach themselves to intelligent life-forms in order to have those life-forms build more of their kind. This is usually accomplished via neural probes that connect to the host's brain or spine.  The Virobot then communicates the idea to build robots, and the plans to build its offspring directly into the host's nervous system.  The effects vary by strain.  The most common Virobots give their host a quirky hobby that can last for several weeks.  The more dangerous strains can be fatal, causing the host to obsess over the construction process while neglecting to eat or sleep.  Most strains of Virobots stick to a single species of hosts, although cross-species infection is not unheard-of.

Sometimes, during an epidemic, star-ships are found drifting through space filled with Virobots, the entire crew dead from converting the life-support systems into Virobots.  At one point, an exploration mission from the Planetary League even found a planet with the crumbling remains of an advanced civilization thickly infested with Virobots.

History

Nobody knows for sure who built the first Virobot or why, but most speculation points to the Cult of Troniac.  The first known outbreaks of Virobot activity in the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns date to the middle of the 1,000 Years War.  

The first cases in human-dominated space were in the corporate state of Gazillion, but they rapidly spread to the Planetary League and beyond.  

Midway through Era-1, scientists at the University of Aldebaran 2 discovered several methods of altering Virobots to  perform more precise forms of mind-control.  It became common for mental health patients to have Virobots attached as part of treatment.  They also saw wide use in the criminal justice systems of the more advanced cultures.  

During Era-2, The Holy Empire of Man used Virobots to enhance the fanaticism of its followers, and to enforce it in dissidents.  

During Era-3, the Galactic Republic specifically engineered strains of Virobots to enhance the mental capabilities of its citizens.  These custom-designed Virobots became fashionable, and functional appendages to many life-forms.