@inkican Damn - wish I had seen this sooner. I loved the Uplift War and the Postman - if you're still in contact, I be curious if he ever thought about combining the two types of novels.

My particular premise based on this idea (and inspired by both of Brin's works) - AI enhanced neurosurgical nanobots escape into wild species. Following their programming for human cybernetic enhancement, they integrate and enhance the language centers of each infected species' brain, equipping them with wifi to allow them to communicate with each other, and giving them access to the internet.

No one notices at first, but it all goes to hell once the rats learn how to code.

The basic plot is your standard apocalyptic polka, with bits of War with the Newts - the potential for bionic beavers to get busy in this scenario cannot be ignored. Our protagonist is tasked with traveling across America a century after the infection started, in landscape full of new intelligent species now just as technically adept as humans once were at the height of their civilization.