DCS | Digital Culture and Society | Vol. 4, Issue 1 | © transcript 2018 DOI 10.14361/dcs-2018-0108 Pervasive Intelligence The Tempo-Spatiality of Drone Swarms Sebastian Vehlken Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract ########## Abstract 1. Upside Down Evolution Stanislaw Lem allegedly always resisted to be primarily attributed as a science fction writer. In fact, designations like visionary or utopian seem more appropriate: The edginess of Lem’s writing coincides with a comprehensive education in literature, technology, and natural sciences. And it was always driven by a genuine interest in the minute analysis of social phenomena, no matter whether it concerned the future, the present, or the past – although this seems difcult to separate, anyway. As early as 1964, Lem devoted his novel The Invincible (see Lem 1973) to a reconcep- tualization of technological progress. In this story, the crew of the star cruiser Invin- cible is sent on a search mission to an unknown planet. After the arrival, the space explorers make an encounter with a strange form of artifcial intelligence: a giant swarm of very simple, but coordinated and cohesively moving micro machines. During their research the crew discovers that these ‘pseudo-insects’ are the last surviving ‘species’ of an evolutionary struggle for artifcial life between competing