Nanobots are ridiculously useful in science fiction.
- Fan: Wait, how did Jewel return from the alternate dimension?Author: Nanobots.Fan: And where did Xan get the ability to create force fields?Author: Nanobots.Fan: And how can the starship travel faster than light?Author: Nanobots.
I realise how old this conversation is, but I wanted to say something like that.
I think the point is that nanomachines are frequently used as the Phlebotinium Du Jour to give a hand-wave explanation to all kinds of improbable situations.
At the moment that's discussed in the description of this trope. I was wondering if anyone thought it would stand in its own right as a subtrope. Mainly because until I found out it was part of this trope I wanted to call it Deus Ex Nanomachina.
We really should note the most common misconception that fiction tends to perpetuate about nanotechnology: That it only involves Nanomachines. It's actually a lot broader than that; for one, you don't need nanomachines to build nanomaterials or nanoelectronics, though it would certainly make it easier to do so.
Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.Halt! Nothing about Nanobreaker? It basically is made of this trope.
The image should be NANOMACHINES, SON!