RootRot

RootRot is a condition that Androids get that causes them to lose their memories. This condition seems to infect the inner workings of their wiring and causes more short-term memory loss than long-term loss. An android may remember the overall mission directive, but may not recall that it has already performed step one of the process, and may therefore perform the action again.
An android may also forget what it was tasked to communicate. If it has been sent to deliver a message, it may end up going on a tangent and forgetting the original purpose of conversation.

Commander McCox gives newbies the rundown:
Listen, I don't know why you keep bringing up androids. They're not even confirmed to be advanced or anything. But, yes. You're right. The androids that W.I.L.L.O.W.I.S.P. has been working on are known to have this thing called Rootrot. Scientists have confirmed that. And it basically means that, when you have plants in your house or something, and you water them too much and they don't get enough air, the roots can start to mold. And that's not good at all. That's how plants can die fast. That's why you're supposed to look up and make sure how much water each plant requires.
Some plants, like cacti, can take a lot of water and retain it for harsh, dry environments. So it's totally not necessary to water them too much. If you do, they could--
Wait. We weren't talking about plants! Silly me. We were talking about the other kind of RootRot. The scientific kind. The technological roots and wires of androids, right? Yeah. So don't water your androids. Some of them can't actually stand up to water, I don't think. I heard that they tried an experiment to see if one could swim...it didn't end well.