Yeah, there's that- no reason it's gotta be just one mind, or a recent one. I'm definitely thinking people, though, even if we're not dealing with humans here. Too complex not to be some fucking kind of sapience.

You said the androids were studying this shit, right? Think they've got data about when it all started and how big the areas affected are? It'd narrow things down a little. Probably not much, but it's a start.