In the Nevada desert, an experiment has gone horribly wrong. A cloud of nanoparticles-micro-robots-has escaped from the laboratory. This cloud is self-sustaining and self-reproducing. It is intelligent and learns from experience. For all practical purposes, it is alive. It has been programmed as a predator. It is evolving swiftly, becoming more deadly with each passing hour. Every attempt to destroy it has failed. And we are the prey.

"Prudence demands a pre-contact appraisal of ethical requirements towards living organisms as planetary science and astrobiology continue to move forward. Likewise, advances in artificial intelligence may mean that it will be necessary to have ethical guidelines in place for machine life. A novel framework for studying complementary ethical perspectives is presented along with results obtained by questionnaire and discussion with astrobiologists and...