Greenfly was a human-designed terraforming machine programmed to break apart terrestrial planets and transform them into self-sufficient habitats filled with vegetation. Composed of swarms of Von Neumann robots, it was fully capable of self-replication and autonomous action -- at least, actions in keeping with its primary function. First seen aboard the lighthugger Hirondelle in 2303, it was taken by the pirate Run Seven in 2309, and unleashed some time after in the Ross 128 system. By 40,000, greenfly had transformed vast swathes of the Milky Way galaxy.