Rust Death

"All robots must die. Rust death is both the most noble and ignoble way to go."

  Rust death is the final step in the aging process for robots. As a robot ages, they continue to rust until it starts affecting not just their mobility, but their core systems. Eventually, the robot will either become completely immobilized, or will lose control of their mental faculties and freeze up.   In the village, when a robot succumbs to rust death, their body is moved to the graveyard, and placed as though it's a statue. When it's clear that their core systems have failed completely, resulting in their actual death, then their life core is removed from their head and planted in the hopes that a life tree will grow.   The unfortunate thing about rust is that it's onset is based almost entirely on the robot's lifestyle. Robots in Grand Cluster are more reckless, so their lifespans are shorter. The shorter lifespan encourages more reckless living, causing a negative feedback loop.