I Am The Swarm

“Genesis? Swarm?” Bular repeated softly.

Genesis?

That name carried a certain weight, but it wasn’t entirely unprecedented. Plenty of species had grandiose names. For example, the Troi civilization itself—while the name “Troi” meant nothing to other cultures, in their own language, it signified “Masters of the World,” which far outshined something like “Genesis.”

However, from Danton’s brief introduction, Bular was able to glean a considerable amount of information.

First, Danton had said that “we” liked the name. Due to the Swarm’s previous aura of mystery, some external analysts had speculated that the Swarm might have evolved from a kind of social organism. These analysts believed that the space octopuses were merely Swarm drones, devoid of independent thought, operating solely under the control of a single will.

But this theory had been strongly contested. On the homeworlds of many alien species, there were examples of social organisms that evolved during their planetary ecosystems’ development.

Such species had members that followed the will of a central leader, with individual units almost completely devoid of self-awareness, mechanically executing tasks.

While these groups displayed unparalleled unity and collaboration, none of them had ever evolved into an advanced species. In their primitive eras, such creatures could dominate due to their collective strength, but once other species began developing intelligence, they were quickly outpaced.

Put simply, as long as no one had developed brains, these organisms could rely on their cohesion to hold the upper hand. But once intelligence came into play, the disadvantage of a species having only one “brain” became apparent.