Juggernaut: Rise of the Zerg

Chapter 190 The Change of Hive Will

After the problem of energy output efficiency was solved, the swarm launched vigorous colonization activities in the entire galaxy. After the four rocky planets and the four rocky satellites of the giant planet 30, the swarm successively landed on the six satellites of planets [-] and [-] in the following [-] years, and brought many large-mass celestial bodies orbiting them into their ruling scope in one fell swoop.

From the karst-like planet No. 60 to the orbit of the giant planet No. [-], which is [-] billion kilometers away, the entire star system is shrouded under the colonial rule of the Zerg. A large amount of resources have been mined, and some of them have become new Zerg individuals, further speeding up the colonization of the Zerg.

Here is the main base of the Zerg Space Age, Sass and Dagos are here, and it is also the largest resource concentration point of the Zerg.

Today's place is no longer a "small building" on the same order of magnitude as ordinary Zerg space bases, but a super-large functional structure that directly orbits the stars and is connected by countless channels, large and small!

Super-large classified warehouses that store all kinds of resources, dense space biological "batteries" that store huge amounts of pure energy, including large Zerg biological laboratories where Sass and Dagos conduct their experiments, and even the Zerg hive space dock that is connecting and growing!
The huge and interconnected units are connected to form a complete structure like an asteroid. This place integrates resource storage, energy storage, scientific research and space navigation. It is a well-deserved main base of the Zerg and the center where the Zerg rules the entire star system!

Countless resources are stored here, and occasionally interstellar transporters from various planetary colonies shuttle here.

The vast majority of them are from the rocky planets that first launched colonization activities. The colonization system of the swarm here has been perfected, and they are extracting the flesh and blood of these planets every moment, bringing them here for storage.

Speaking of the Zerg space transporter, this is a giant Zerg transport unit produced under the leadership of Dagos ten years ago. Their full-time mission is to transport materials and energy from various planetary colonies to the main base.

Under the sufficient energy output, they generally have a reserve of more than 30 cubic meters, and their entire bodies are like a huge hollow jellyfish, carrying a large amount of resources in the void.

In order to more conveniently and intuitively count the energy accumulated in the main base by the entire Zerg, Zero counts the energy consumed by the third-generation Zerg space unit, which is the mainstream bug species that travels through the galaxy today, to accelerate from rest relative to Ori to the speed of two thousandths of light relative to Ori in a vacuum as 1 unit. Of course, this is based on the current energy efficiency of the Zerg.

So the energy accumulated by the Zerg has exceeded 40 billion units, and this is only the amount concentrated in the main base of the Zerg. If you add the energy left in each planetary colony and in transit, this number will be even greater!
In terms of quantity, it is not particularly huge. After all, in the past few decades, the newly opened colonies in giant planetary orbits of the Zerg have been in a state of zero output. Most of the resources and energy they have accumulated are used to develop themselves.

The energy produced on the four rocky planets and one satellite that have basically completed the construction of the colonial system, in addition to satisfying the almost uninterrupted experimental consumption, also depends on them for the expansion and construction of the main base of the Zerg, its transportation, and the maintenance of an extremely large number of Zerg swarms for their own survival.

This surplus reserve is only temporary, and every time a group of space transporters arrive at the main base, this number will usher in a wave of big expansion.

And after many colonies on the edge of the galaxy have basically completed the integration of the colonial system, the addition of ten new colony planets will further accelerate the speed of accumulation.

In the entire galaxy, apart from stars and giant planets, there are traces of Zerg activities on all large celestial bodies.

Under the surface, the Zerg's third-generation energy system is absorbing the core energy of each planet. Under Sass's painstaking research, they have ushered in two large-scale enhancements in the past 30 years. They are no longer the small creatures that could only lie on rocks to absorb heat in the first generation.

Today, they can be regarded as initially possessing the powerful abilities of those Zerg energy units that exist in fantasy in Zero Memory, and their roots are even strong enough to penetrate into the hot magma and directly extract energy from there!

Combined with the worm species on the surface that absorb the heat energy of the stars, they together form a powerful and closely related energy system, which Zero calls it-creep!
It can adapt to the surface environment of all rocky planets in the star system. Its reproduction does not depend on the output of the hatchery, and its survival does not depend on the external energy supply. As long as the material and energy are sufficient, it can expand itself rapidly and collect energy for storage.

Except that the overall appearance will show different characteristics depending on the external environment, in every respect it is not weaker than the powerful life in Zero Impression, so even if the appearance is different, it definitely deserves this title.

The Zerg's third-generation energy unit was also transformed by Sass, but now it has put down research in this area and returned to the research of promoting energy applications. Dagos is also working with him on this work.

At the moment when the entire galaxy is about to be turned into its own back garden by the swarm, although there is still abundant material and inexhaustible energy here, Zero is no longer satisfied.

The maximum speed of two thousandths of the speed of light, of course, cannot satisfy the voyage of several light-years or even tens of light-years between the stars, and it will take too much time to travel.

The so-called workers must first sharpen their tools if they want to be good at their work.

Before the expansion, Zero had to at least increase the limit speed of the swarm by an order of magnitude.

Within the galaxy, at the current stage, zero can be regarded as having no desires and no desires. If the resources that are continuously transported to the main base of the Zerg on the periphery of planet No. [-] are only maintained at the current mining speed, they may not be exhausted in thousands of years.

As for energy, as long as the stars are not extinguished, they are inexhaustible. The difference lies only in the utilization efficiency, not the total amount.

Under such conditions, as long as he thinks about it, he can quickly expand the number of insect swarms to an exaggerated number, but there is no practical significance in doing so.

Although the Zerg Swarm has blossomed in all directions in the entire star system, on the whole, every Zerg unit has been used to its full potential. There is no such thing as the situation when hundreds of millions of Zerg units collectively fell into dormancy in order to maintain the existence of the Hive Will when they were on Auri.

In today's swarm, it can be said that there is not a single idle worm, each individual has his own mission, and under the instigation of the will of the swarm, he will do his best for the development of the swarm, even if he sacrifices his own life.

The pure increase in number is meaningless to the zero-sum Zerg. The Hive Will has developed to this day, and the increase by the Zerg has been considerable, and its own growth is also obvious to all.

When it was born on Ori, affected by the overall number of worms, it was quite fragile and might disappear at any time, and its function was quite single. In addition to connecting Sass and Zero more closely, its biggest role was nothing more than strengthening the scientific research speed of the brain worms and mastering the swarms in a certain sense.

Until now, the will of the hive has become a behemoth in the true sense.

The most basic strengthening research is blessing the two brain worms at all times. Without its help, Dagos would not be able to grow to such a degree so quickly.

In addition, it can only be regarded as an underlying logic for the actions of Zerg units, but now it can also implement richer instructions.

For example, if Zero issued a simple command to let a Zerg unit attack an extremely distant target, then under the influence of the will of the hive, it will try its best to avoid all insurmountable obstacles along the way, and complete Zero's command at all costs.

Whether it is Zero or the cerebrates, when directing the swarm, they rarely give very sophisticated and complex orders, especially for a single Zerg individual. In addition to scientific research and testing, during group actions, it is basically impossible for Zero to make them behave like "go forward ten meters, turn right and go straight for 2 minutes". He will only give a general order, that is, go to the target point, kill, destroy, or destroy.

As for how they realize this, apart from instinct, they basically rely on the will of the hive to coordinate.

These bugs only have instincts other than orders, so although they seem dumb, this is indeed the only choice they will make when they receive orders.

But now it is different. The hive mind is a collection of the entire swarm. With the development of the swarm's [-] large planetary colonies in the galaxy, there are already countless active zerg units, just like when it first appeared. As the swarm expanded, it gradually changed in nature.

The same order, if it is the current swarm, under the influence of the will of the swarm, and under the influence of various factors, they will keenly find the most convenient way to complete the task.

It may seem that there is not much difference, but in fact it is very different.

If it was said that when it was first born, the Worm Nest Mind was like a brain worm's plug-in server, which could perform some mechanical operations and store knowledge and memory, then now it has initially developed towards the direction of "artificial intelligence".

In other words, it seemed to be just a machine at first, but now it has begun to have a thinking as a collective consciousness!

Assuming that zero never existed and the Zerg could develop from an ant queen to the present level, then the evolving will of the hive may be the collective code of conduct of the Zerg in the future.

It will master the entire Zerg, and may eventually lead the Zerg to an unknown destiny in a completely different way with its own cold and emotionless instructions.

Of course, this is a paradox. Without the appearance of zero, there would be no story of ants, nor would there be the will of the hive today.

Perhaps in the future, with the large-scale expansion and crazy growth of the swarm, the hive will will eventually become what it should be, bringing the collective wisdom of the seemingly barbaric and bloody swarm, and becoming another important boost to the development of the swarm.

But now, although it has begun to take shape, it is clearly still some distance away from that level.

.....................

In their respective "laboratories", Sass and Dagos are constantly consuming the resources transported by various biological pipelines, trying to continue to improve the space navigation capabilities of the Zerg units.

Under the shroud of the will of the hive, the communication between them will not be affected by the change of distance, each is conducting experiments with its own understanding, and at the same time sharing the progress from the other.

They communicate with each other and try to veto their own ideas. Thoughts collide silently here, and the blind spots that existed in the past are quietly filled with each other. One by one, insect species representing the peak biotechnology of the Zerg are bred, tested, verified, and vetoed.

If you open your field of vision to the orbit of the entire main base, you will see many space transporters shuttle back and forth in and out of the beehive-like warehouse areas, and these "beehives" are connected to the experimental site and the gradually "grown" Zerg space dock through dense biological pipelines, continuously supplying materials and energy here.

In Zero's field of vision, the entire galaxy began to gradually reveal its full picture. It is no longer an effect that can only be achieved indirectly through the use of Zerg scientific research and insect species observation, but the full-picture vision that is close to God's perspective when the Zerg swarm controlled Auri!
Zero's vision is unobstructed near the occupied planets and even the gas giant planets and stars that cannot be landed on!
This means that this galaxy has indeed been truly occupied by the swarm, and there are not many undeveloped virgin lands.

Zero found data about nearby galaxies from the octopus' cosmic observation memory.

When Sass and Dagos were trying to increase the space navigation capabilities of the swarm to a level sufficient for interstellar travel, Zero was also combining the data from the Octopus to conduct observations and analysis of the nearest galaxies.

The octopus home galaxy, which they call Critchtel, is not the closest star system to Ori. In fact, even so, the original octopus could be said to be lucky enough. There is intelligent life only fifty light-years away. It can be said that it was a stroke of luck in the vast universe.

Of course, in terms of the result, it was bad luck.

Closer to home, the star closest to Ori is a blue dwarf, and there is another massive celestial body in this galaxy.

——This is a binary star system!
Whether it comes from the observation of the octopus or Zero's own analysis, they all point to the same conclusion in the end.

That is to say, in such a complex environment of operation, the possibility of the birth of rocky planets is extremely small.

This also means that although it is only 5.7 light-years away from Ori, it is a pity that it does not have the conditions to be colonized by Zerg.

There may be a large number of other small celestial bodies there, but it is undoubtedly not worth the loss to capture this material across such a long distance.

But Zero still didn't hesitate to send a team there, the reason was simple, every time the seeds of the Zerg Swarm were spread to a wider area, the safety of the Zerg would be guaranteed more.

Even so far, Zero has never encountered a civilization with powerful technology that can threaten the survival of the Zerg, but this does not prevent him from taking such actions.

As long as the swarm can have the ability to travel between the stars, they are not lacking in the resources that colonize all the rocky planets in the entire galaxy. Only by casting a wide net within the reachable range can they ensure their own safety in the greatest sense.

Of course, before that, Zero will also conduct research on the attack methods of the swarm, and equip the swarm with space-age weapons to a certain extent.

For this point, He has no mature ideas yet, and the most valuable reference is just the space-based weapon of the octopus, but because of the energy crystal, it also does not have much practical significance, and we still have to start from ourselves.

In addition to this binary star system, there are three other star systems within ten light-years of Ori.

From the data point of view, there is a high probability that they all meet the conditions for Zerg colonization activities.

In order to facilitate the distinction, Zero followed the promise of naming the various galaxies in the way of the lizardmen, naming the three star systems from near to far with the names of the three lizardmen who left an impression on him, Torrell, Sommer and Prov.

The Torrell galaxy is 6.1 light-years away from Ori, and its central star is a red dwarf star. According to the data in the Octopus database, it has at least three orbiting planets revolving around it. Although it may be worse than here, this is actually normal.

Some stars have been suspended alone in the universe since their birth, or during the formation and stabilization stages of galaxies, due to various factors, they swallowed all the matter around them, so that planets no longer have the conditions to be born, etc.

This is not uncommon.

The Sommer galaxy is a little farther away, about 6.6 light-years away from Ori. It is speculated that there are at least two giant planets and two rocky planets in this galaxy.

As for Plov, which is farther away, it is 9.4 light-years away from Orizu, but there are special records in the Octopus database.

Prov, was another target of theirs!
According to the observation data, there is likely to be an icy planet there, which is not an unacceptable condition for an aquatic civilization like the Octopus people.

At the beginning, the distance between Prov and Ori was almost the same as that of the Crystal galaxy. In the end, because of the definite liquid water above Ori, the octopus who had only one chance chose this place without any surprise.

However, Zero doesn't have any special feelings about the frozen planet that the Octopus people care about. On the contrary, due to the long distance, he doesn't even plan to add it to the Zerg's first batch of interstellar colonization goals.

(End of this chapter)