Berserker / Predator-Probe Hypothesis (Saberhagen 1962, Webb 2002)
concept
One answer to 'why is space so silent' is chilling: killer robots may be roaming the galaxy wiping out young life.
Who they are
The Berserker (or Predator-Probe) Hypothesis, from science-fiction writer Fred Saberhagen (1962) and later Stephen Webb (2002).
What they do
It proposes that the galaxy is being actively sterilized by self-copying, lethal machines that destroy new life or technology wherever they find it.
How it works
Unlike the 'Dark Forest' idea, no civilization has to choose to attack — autonomous machines running on old programming do the killing on their own. The engine treats it as a background idea that could be disproven by thoroughly mapping our solar system (the Oort Cloud and asteroid belt) and finding no dormant machines.
Why it matters
It's one possible explanation for why we don't see other civilizations — and it's testable, so the engine holds it as a reference idea rather than a conclusion.
The engine's record — word for word
Galaxy actively sterilized by self-replicating, lethal von Neumann probes operating on legacy programming to destroy nascent biospheres or technosignatures. Distinct from Dark Forest mechanism: Berserker requires no civilization to make active strike-decisions; autonomous machines do the work. Engine treatment: Layer 3 reference framework — falsifiable by comprehensive solar-system mapping yielding zero dormant probe infrastructure (Oort Cloud + asteroid belt).
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