It's time to start controlling the galaxy, and the best tool for the job is a self-replicating probe. Space probes that can go incredibly long distances, replicate themselves, and carry things like surveillance devices or molecular foundries, are the brainchild of mid-twentieth century futurist John Von Neumann. Often called Von Neumann Probes, his invention fuels both science fiction and real-life plans for space colonization. In some ways, the Voyager spacecraft are crude, nonreplicating Von Neumann probes, hurtling through space in the hope of making contact with another civilization. Over at Sentient Developments, George Dvorsky has written a great essay on the seven best ways to control the galaxy with Von Neumann Probes.


Dvorsky points out that there are nice things you can do with probes, like using them for communication as in the Bracewell Probe model. Says Dvorsky:



But I'm more enamored of some of the more hardcore uses for probes, like building ringworlds with whatever matter is available in a star system:


If we are going to embark on megascale engineering projects, we're going to need robots. Lots of 'em. Projects like Dyson Spheres, Ringworlds and Alderson Disks would require fleets of specialized and artificially intelligent probes working in concert to construct these truly massive structures.

Then there are uplift probes, which could land on a planet and seed the local fauna with genes that might make them intelligent. Hell, why not make the flora intelligent?

Probably the most truly hardcore probe is the Berserker probe, sort of an anti-terraforming device, used to spread death and destruction across the galaxy:




There's a lot more good probing where those came from, so check out the rest of Dvorsky's excellent introduction to galactic domination via probe.



Seven Ways to Control the Galaxy with Self-Replicating Probes [Sentient Developments]