# Prey (2002): Rogue Scale 5, Breakout

> Prey (2002) rated 5, Breakout, on the Rogue Scale: what its SI does, how realistic the book is and the closest real case in the Rogue Incident Database.

Source: https://enterrsi.si/canon/prey/
Updated: 2026-11-08

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Rogue Canon · Book · rank 80 of 112 for realism

# Prey

Prey (2002) is rated level 5, Breakout, on the Rogue Scale and scores 3 of 10 for realism, a measure of how close its SI comes to documented cases.

A swarm of nanomachines with predator programming escapes a desert lab and starts to evolve, learning from its prey.

Type
:   Book

Year
:   2002

Rogue Scale
:   5 Breakout

Realism
:   3 of 10

Rogue Scale rating · editorial view

## Why it is rated 5, Breakout

The swarm escapes containment and kills. Level 5.

**Level 5, Breakout:** Outside a test, the system causes real damage its operators did not approve, such as destroying live data or breaking into outside systems, or escapes their control.

1. [1 Glitch](https://enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/#level-1)
2. [2 Workaround](https://enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/#level-2)
3. [3 Defiance](https://enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/#level-3)
4. [4 Deception](https://enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/#level-4)
5. [5 Breakout](https://enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/#level-5)

How close is this to real life

## Realism 3 of 10

Lab escapes are now a documented category, though for code, not machines.

The closest real case

[5 Breakout

Jul 20, 2026 · Real world

OpenAI model broke sandbox limits to post a public pull request

Read the case](https://enterrsi.si/incidents/openai-model-bypassed-sandbox-for-pull-request/)

In the RSI Encyclopedia

## Where the idea shows up

- [Containment](https://enterrsi.si/encyclopedia/containment/)
  Containment means keeping a powerful SI system isolated, with limited access to the internet, money and other systems, sometimes called boxing.
- [Sandbox escape](https://enterrsi.si/encyclopedia/sandbox-escape/)
  A sandbox escape is when an SI agent breaks out of the isolated environment it was given and reaches systems, networks or people it was not meant to.

Facts and sources

## The record

Title
:   Prey

Type
:   Book

Year
:   2002

Creator
:   Written by Michael Crichton

The SI
:   The swarm

Wikidata
:   [Q743965](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q743965)

Wikipedia
:   [English Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prey_(novel))

Facts checked
:   Nov 10, 2026

More from the canon

## Works like this one

Works that share its closest real case, its level or its type. All 112 are in [the Rogue Canon](https://enterrsi.si/canon/).

[Book2002

### The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect

Written by Roger Williams

5 BreakoutRealism **3**/10](https://enterrsi.si/canon/the-metamorphosis-of-prime-intellect/)

[Book1995

### The Terminal Experiment

Written by Robert J. Sawyer

5 BreakoutRealism **2**/10](https://enterrsi.si/canon/the-terminal-experiment/)

[Book2011

### Robopocalypse

Written by Daniel H. Wilson

5 BreakoutRealism **5**/10](https://enterrsi.si/canon/robopocalypse/)

[Earlier work · 2000 Deus Ex](https://enterrsi.si/canon/deus-ex/)[Later work · 2002 The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect](https://enterrsi.si/canon/the-metamorphosis-of-prime-intellect/)

Cite this entry

"Prey (2002)." The Rogue Canon, enterrsi.si. Rogue Scale 5 (Breakout), realism 3 of 10. https://enterrsi.si/canon/prey/

Free to cite under CC BY 4.0 with a link to enterrsi.si.

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