Early in the 21st century, DARPA entered the UBYKA project with a singular goal: arm insects with programmable micro-mechanical systems and micro-weapons platforms, then send them out to covertly and effectively infiltrate the strongholds of warring nations. These UBYKA cyborg animals were superior in strength and agility,  enhanced with the latest technologies, and as War Terminators, they were good. But still, war persisted.

Enter UBYKA 2.0 – Primary objective: END WAR.

UBYKA cyborg insects are upgraded; they now possess advanced artificial intelligence, access to classified documents and locations systems to plan and optimize a strategic death blow to embattled nations. But something happens. There is only one effective strategy for ending all war: eradicate the human race.

The UBYKA ARMY divides itself into SKY FORCE and EARTH FORCE, air and land units with a unified goal:

Eradicate the human race and bring peace to planet earth.

This was not called genocide.

This was called recalibration.

*****

It’s a compelling bit of fiction, and the story behind Sydney based conceptual artist Dean Christ’s collection of museum quality preserved insects outfitted with diecast metal aircraft wings, collector’s model engine parts, tactical gear, and a bevy of accessories to create micro-scale war(ending) machines.

The insects are brilliant works of art, mashing the specialization of nature with the human affinity for technological enhancement. The fictional UBYKA account adds an air of relevance, albeit a bit far-fetched. At any rate, the UBYKA Army project is interesting and  imaginative.

In a bit of somewhat alarmist futures-selling, “Christ points out that plugging into the brains of insects would be far easier than building robots and programming them to move like insects. Though he is not suggesting that this course of action would be wise, his sculptures underline what could very well come to be in the future of military technology.”

I don’t put a lot of stock in that statement or the idea. but I do admire Dean Christ’s attention to detail and creativity. These are only a handful of the specimens in Christ’s collection. If you’d like to read more about UBYKA Studio and Dean Christ’s work (and get some serious details on each unit of the UBYKA Army), check out the website. Each piece is for sale, as of the time of this posting.

[UBYKA ARMY via WebUrbanist]