Dust discussion

As much as I loved Wool and Shift, the ending of Dust came as a disappointment. Either I can't grasp the whole picture of what really happened in the outside world when the bombs came down or the nano mechanics don't make sense.
When the group of survivors steps out of the nano cloud, they reach an area covered with green grass as far as the eye can see. They come across the "seed" building full of crop seeds and other supplies.

Does this mean the nanos affected humans and crops, but not animals, insects, plants and grass?

So if the nanos eradicated all traces of human civilization (buildings, technologic devices, streets, cars,..), how come the silos and the skyscraper ruins shown in the background of the silo cameras are completely unaffected? It's not like they are made of a special material, which the nanos are programmed not to harm; they're made of concrete and steel, material most buildings are made of.

On the other side, if we assume the nanos didn't destroy man-made structures of any sort, if it was the bombs obliterating most traces in the area around the silos, and during the long passage of time nature fought its way back, covering the debris, there must still be research facilities all around the globe.

What's the point in wiping out mankind, if the knowledge which can and will bring humankind to an end is still there, stored in hard drives, books, etc? If any underground research facility is ever discovered, mankind is on the brink of destruction once again, rendering the silo project useless.

I wish this part was better thought through, or at least explained.

(Spoilers Galore!)


The Silo project was an attempt to wipe out all of humanity EXCEPT for the chosen few who got into a Silo. The rest of the world would die out via global nanite bombings (and probably some conventional warfare too) Thurman selected the original occupants of the Silos, and engineered the Legacy to ensure that the silo that embodied his prefered worldview survived.

The nanites wear-out eventually, and need to be continually replaced - that's why more are released each cleaning to the area surrounding the Silos. The rest of the nanite population has worn-out and nature had re-established itself.

The nearby city was turned to ruin probably by a combination of conventional warfare (bullets and bombs) and natural decay (without maintenance, buildings will eventually fail) as well as a little erosion from the nanites. The Nanites themselves don't eat-through concrete and steel - otherwise the Silos would be vulnerable to them.

Charis wrote: "
What's the point in wiping out mankind, if the knowledge which can and will bring humankind to an end is still there, stored in hard drives, books, etc? If any underground research facility is ever discovered, mankind is on the brink of destruction once again, rendering the silo project useless."

I agree. It's weird. The nanos target certain genetic structures, so yeah only touch humans (maybe a new strain was also developed to sabotage crops, which was also released with the 'argon' gas)...

... but no, they definitively can't touch infrastructure/technology

One can assume that there were only x number of Nano-creating facilities around and that they would be targeted either a) as part of Thurman's plan or b) over the course of the 500 years as a result of warfare. But I still don't get it, there would still be access to a load of high-end technology and research... I guess the main aim was to curb population numbers and thus the main cause of conflict/development of warfare?

[Edit] I think a lot of these issues were created by the author in the earlier books. I wouldn't really blame Dust for not being able to clear them all up.