The Nomads

As Humanity began to find its way to other planets they came across a world full of vibrantly colored cities towns, farms, everything...except life. Expeditions into some of the cities found that the last time anyone had ever even used a computer terminal was over 300 years ago! How, then, was this world so intact and well kept? Months went by and expeditionary teams dubbed the planet safe for human population, which was answered by droves of people moving to the new world. Many aspects of these cities were automated, such as public travel, food production, various maintenance and janitorial tasks, but as more and more people came, so did their corruption. Crime began to spread as it always has in human cities, and chaos followed in its wake. The cities began to fall into disrepair due to vandalism and the destruction of many of the automated systems of the cities. Eventually, crime was subdued by a large scale law enforcement campaign that shut down all major crime rings. As the chaos subsided, the people of the cities did not know how to repair most of the systems...but then the Nomads appeared. They arrived by crawling along the odd pipe system that extended from the cities, almost like a web network. They were silent, shining, insect-like machines...almost stoic in their presence, they began to swiftly and efficiently repair the cities. People stood back and watched in awe as these incredible and benevolent machines took care of everything that had been damaged during the crime spree. As soon as the Nomads had finished their work, they left, still silent. People sought the nomads after they were gone, but no one was able to successfully track down the nomads. The only time anyone encountered the nomads were when the cities and towns required maintenance and repair. Strangely though, the nomads did not seem to fit in with their surroundings. They had a grey metallic shine unlike the bright colors of the cities, and to this day people wonder if the nomads are even from this planet. Perhaps they were delivered here by another race, or perhaps they are a race of their own. No one understands the nomads, and likely never will.