He climbs up for a better look.

The humming sound that everyone has noticed is constant, but as Bert tunes into it... he thinks... he feels like it rather pleasant. He's attracted by it. He wants to know more about it. It makes him feel good...

Bert climbs the berm of the crater carefully as it seems pretty steep. The smoke rising from the crater rolls softly overhead.

As he reaches the top of the berm, he notices that the smoke completely obscures his view inside the crater. The smoke finally hits him in the face and he likes it... yeah. This smoke smells so fucking good...

Bert inhales deeply and his mind goes blank...

[Editors note: the NanoBots communicate primarily in binary code, which has been translated to plain language for your convenience.]

Nano: I'm in.

Nano Hive: Are you sure this time? Is it like the cow?

Nano: No, the cow was too stupid. It wouldn't run the scripts.

Nano Hive: We're still confused about the cow.

Nano: Would you forget about the cow? It was just a test. It wandered up and we just ran a test.

Nano Hive: We don't know why it exploded.

Nano: Ummm...

Nano Hive: Ummm, what?

Nano: Okay, okay... when the cow wouldn't take the code, I ran a script that made it explode. I was frustrated. Let's move on... okay?

Nano Hive: Okay. Is the human reprogrammed?

Nano: I think so. Just let me check this and click that and I think we're good.

Nano Hive: Ready to put his brain back on line?

Nano: Yes, my team and I are ready to stay onboard and operate from here. In the meantime, we will begin production of additional NanoBots using available organic material.

Nano Hive: Good luck, Nano. You are truly a pioneer.