Well you're kinda right Joe, in that both skeletons and an army are involved, but alas it seems Terry got it again. Terry that means it's your turn now.
i suppose side by side, there is possibilities to generate cameras from photos this is usually done from multible photos for 3d reconstruction ala autodesk 123d,
Molly Millions, aka Sally Shears! i dont think the book you're describing is actually Stephenson or Gibson, but rather a close contemporary with similar hallmarks.
PBR: DSD1 Dwarf Spider Droid as seen on the battle of geonosis Classic specular diffuse: AAT from one of my favorite movies episode 1 Lambda class T-4a shuttle