What’s scarier than dangerous swarms of robots in the future? The answer is: tiny swarms of robots. In the latest episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks, a diminutive AI threat has been brought back into the fold, though these particular tiny robots may not be top of mind for every single Trek fan. Continuing its five-season tradition of super-deep cuts from the Trek Universe, “The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel” brings back the nanites in a big (small?) way. But this reappearance of the nanites is actually a bigger callback to a moment in which Star Trek: The Next Generation shifted gears forever.
Here’s why the nanite Easter egg in Lower Decks is significant, and why the episode they come from is wilder than you might remember.
