Chapter 320: Summary Conference
The first theory had garnered significant support.
The Swarm was first discovered on the fifth planet of the T85 Star System, a barren, atmosphere-less world. According to the Rikens’ evolutionary theories, such a planet lacked the conditions necessary for life to emerge.
Yet not only was life present, but it also belonged to an advanced civilization.
However, whether the Swarm qualified as a “civilization” remained a contentious debate among the Rikens. To this day, they had not fully grasped the Swarm’s true nature.
Regardless of its essence, the Swarm had demonstrated the ability to travel between star systems. Though the Rikens had yet to crack the Swarm’s gene lock, one thing was clear: the Space Octopuses, regardless of size, had no onboard operators.
This was the central puzzle surrounding the Swarm’s identity, and the key argument supporting the first theory.
If the Space Octopuses were not some kind of biomechanical weapon but actual members of the Swarm, then the Swarm might not be the bio-technology-focused civilization the Rikens had previously assumed.
This line of thinking suggested that the Swarm might be a species with a hive-mind consciousness, exhibiting coordination and fearlessness akin to insect colonies.
If so, and if the Swarm was naturally capable of surviving in the vacuum of space, it stood to reason that they had expanded into surrounding star systems long ago. Planet Raze could have harbored Swarm units for years, allowing them to develop and grow unnoticed.