The diplomat continued, "Moreover, they are immune to genetic viruses, you know that, right? After complete bionic transformation, they have lost their physical bodies and are basically immune to genetic viruses, whereas we humans are quite apprehensive about this."
"Scientists have always been studying nano-robots to guard against malevolent civilizations that introduce biochemical viruses on our planet."
A fourth-level civilization could already create some specific genetic viruses. If there really was ground warfare, it wouldn't be unusual for some shells to contain biological viruses.
If a biological virus spreads, it can quickly paralyze a civilization, having a much greater economic impact than ground warfare.
