Floating, fire-spewing, robotic sentries. They can be encountered within the crumbling halls of the third ruins in Nintendo's 1991 Metroid II: Return of Samus Gameboy video game. Automs are relics from an ancient civilization that still continue to function long after their original creators (presumably the Chozo) either died or abandoned their settlements on Planet SR388. Merciless exterminators, they incinerate trespassers with bursts of 2000o Fahrenheit (1093o Centigrade) flames. These units are extremely durable, indeed, nothing in Samus Aran's arsenal will even scratch them--run or roll past an Autom while its downward-firing flamethrower is disengaged; attempting to combat one of these machines is a foolish venture that can only end in severe burns and/or death.

Materials:
Newsprint, Kleenex, white glue, nail polish, and acrylic paint.

Dimensions:
Without flame attached: 3.0 cm/1.2 in. x 4.3 cm/1.7 in. (widest point x highest point)
With flame attached: 4.0 cm/1.6 in. x 11.5 cm/4.5 in. (widest point x highest point)

Time:
Three days; January 13-15, 2009.