From the instructions The AE ("rays") were designed as pollution-fighting robots by a well-intentioned multi-national corporation. Intended to save the world, the AE slipped through quality control out into the unsuspecting universe. Now THEY are out of control!! While the fate of the Free World does not depend upon getting rid of the AE, they have become an unrelenting nuisance, much like motorcycle gangs or geese on the runway. Only when you have pushed the AE all the way up and out of our corner of the cosmos will they finally leave us alone. We hope.