The so-called “sentry” bot, with its speed, agility, and lightweight durability, is one of the most feared bot-types in the human communities. They are able to traverse great distances, both via flight (using fusion-propulsion technology which provides incredibly thrust almost for free) and on ground (via their tripod scuttlers)—this is what makes them doubly deadly.

While their primary purpose is that of scouting—they are the eyes and ears of Mother—they are also equipped with powerful and precise artillery that can strike with surgical precision and with the range of a sniper. Sentry bots are canine in their behaviour (acting in many ways, much like bloodhounds) and typically travel in large packs/swarms, much like their closely related cousins, the Botsweeps. Occasionally, a solitary sentry bot is spotted, and this is usually the sign of an ancillary or relatively unimportant scouting mission.

There is one feature of a sentry bot which makes it stand out from other, more powerful bot types such as the Machine Guardians, etc—due to their streamlined shape and lighting-fast electronics, a sentry’s optical visor is particularly unique. They can truly scan 360° of visual field quite effortlessly, shifting focus from one side to the opposite side within fractions of seconds. Their optical zoom lenses are optimised in a way that even the machines aren’t, viz., they can achieve up to 2500x magnification and even track-focus on targets once locked in vision. Finally, they also have peripheral vision—their perfectly symmetric optical visor strip allows them to take in ambient input from all directions, even when unfocused, and often a sentry is able to build a fairly clear picture of its surroundings and form a mental map, even while focused on an object.

The sentries are the eyes of the Neo-World, but they are also its ears. There is evidence of sentries having advanced audio-amplification abilities, and have been known in the past to unearth spies and saboteurs purely by their heartbeat, detected at a distance of half a mile and through four layers of reinforced steel alloys. [It should be mentioned that the sentries during the 0098 A.B covert “Operation Guy-Fawkes”, referenced here, had been tipped off to specifically look out for this signal]. In addition, sentries are in possession of other-sensory abilities which are not yet fully clear to any of the human Chroniclers, including possibly a bonafide sense of smell (as well as other sensors sensitive to electromagnetic fluctuations, and perhaps even gravitational waves).

You cannot hide from a sentry. You cannot run from a sentry. Your best hope will probably be to try and take it down, and then distance yourself from its tracker systems as far as possible. That’s if it is alone—in a pack, sentries are virtually unstoppable, synced, precision-coordinated and impossible to shrug off.