Many recent science fiction novels deal with the concept of nanites - tiny bits of computers than can aggregate themselves to form new larger composites to assist their host. These concepts typically relate to making human cells self-healing, but they also have their sinister aspects, like the terminator, made out of liquid living metal in the last movie, who could reconfigure himself at will into any shape, and recover from any injury.

While this may seem like fantasy at the moment, there's a quiet revolution going on in the computing industry that makes this dream (or nightmare) one step closer to reality. Oddly enough, it's all a part of service-oriented architecture.