I Am The Swarm

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, several decades had passed.

“Good day, everyone! Welcome to the live broadcast of our daily science segment. Today, we have the renowned astrophysicist, Professor Staffin, here to address some of the public’s pressing questions.”

“Good day, Professor Staffin.”

“Good day to you, host.”

“Recently, we’ve received numerous letters from viewers intrigued by the shadow clusters around Planet A7. Many speculate that they might be artificial structures created by aliens. What are your thoughts on this matter?”

“Haha, this is a classic question. People have asked about this many times in the past. In truth, it’s a simple matter to explain. Those objects are natural formations that have existed there for ages. As you know, Planet A7 is a gas giant with an immense volume and equally immense gravity. Its gravitational pull captures numerous passing meteors, trapping them in its orbit over time. This accumulation forms what we call the meteor belt—what you’ve referred to as the shadow clusters.”

Professor Staffin, an elderly male Ratfolk with white and brown fur—a sign of his partial Kerrigan royal lineage—wore a tailored suit and black-framed glasses. His speech, combined with his refined appearance, exuded an air of credibility that naturally engendered trust in his words.

“Then why have we only recently discovered this meteor belt?” the host—a young female Ratfolk dressed in a floral dress—pressed further. Her tail, adorned with a decorative bow, peeked out from the folds of her skirt. Clearly unsatisfied with Staffin’s explanation, she continued probing.

“Well, we’ve known about it for quite some time. However, it was previously only of interest to specialists in certain circles. The claim that it was recently discovered arises from the broader public now having access to advanced observational tools. Many consumer-grade telescopes today are capable of spotting the meteor belt,” Staffin explained, pausing briefly before adding:

“So, the meteor belt wasn’t recently discovered; it’s just that the general public has only recently started paying attention to it.”

The host nodded thoughtfully, though her refined features still betrayed a hint of skepticism. She pressed on: “So, do they have any impact on us?”

Staffin discreetly smirked to himself, thinking: Such an ignorant pretty face will never understand the greatness of the Overlord, nor the true nature of the world.

Although he’d been spouting nonsense with an air of authority, anyone with basic logic could follow his reasoning and avoid asking such questions. Still, to protect his cover for the Overlord, Staffin maintained his persona.

After a moment of contemplation, he replied, “The meteor belt has always been there. The fact that we’ve observed it now doesn’t change anything. So, compared to when we hadn’t noticed it, what difference does it make?”

He continued: “However, without Planet A7, they might indeed pose a threat to us. Many of those meteors were initially on a trajectory toward our planet but were captured and held in orbit by Planet A7’s gravity. In this way, Planet A7 serves as our protector. Without it, the likelihood of meteor strikes on our world would increase severalfold.”

As Staffin elaborated, the conversation veered further from its original course.

Finally, as the program drew to a close, Staffin left his audience with an enigmatic remark: “Our Ratfolk have already reached the moon. From Genesis Planet, one can occasionally catch glimpses of our spacecraft through telescopes. And on the moon, with its unobstructed view unimpeded by an atmosphere, observations are even clearer. For those interested in such matters, I encourage you to pursue related studies. Who knows? Someday you might join us and uncover the true nature of the world.”

With that, the broadcast concluded. Neither the host nor the bewildered viewers realized that the “we” Staffin spoke of was not the “we” they understood.

Only when they experienced it firsthand would they come to comprehend the true meaning of “we.”

Such incidents were but the tip of the iceberg in Ratfolk society. The Swarm had assimilated the brightest minds from the Ratfolk, while the rest were relegated to a controlled existence, unwittingly reduced to mere breeding machines.

Their offspring underwent the same selection process, generation after generation, in an endless, repeating cycle.

The originally planned ultra-massive electromagnetic launch platform halted its growth upon reaching 500 kilometers in length, following Luo Wen’s orders.

This wasn’t due to concern that ordinary Ratfolk might uncover anything unusual. If that were the case, it could easily be addressed by the countless Ratfolk experts fabricating plausible explanations.

The real reason for halting its growth was its increasing gravitational influence.

At 500 kilometers, the platform was already longer than many of A7’s moons in diameter. If it grew to 5,000 kilometers, it would become second only to A7B5 among A7’s orbiting bodies.

Such a massive structure would cause unpredictable gravitational tidal effects, posing potential risks not only to the megastructure itself but also to Planet A7 and its many moons.

After extensive research and discussions, Luo Wen decided to rebuild the electromagnetic launch platform elsewhere.

Since the existing platform was already enormous and difficult to move, it was left in Planet A7’s orbit.

The new platform’s construction site was chosen away from Planet A7. With advancements in Swarm technology, Luo Wen had found an even better location: the system’s sun.

The star, whose mass accounted for over 99% of the Genesis Star System’s total mass, was far superior to Planet A7 as a power source. Even the colossal A7, thousands of times larger than Genesis Planet, was dwarfed by the sun.

Constantly emitting vast amounts of light energy, the sun far surpassed A7’s charging capabilities.

The new electromagnetic launch platform was positioned in the synchronous orbit of Planet A2, much closer to the sun, where it could absorb a plethora of energies. For the platform’s fungal carpet, the environment was ideal for growth.

With support from Swarm bases on A2, A4, and the moons Red Moon and Yellow Moon, the primal fungal strains were continuously deployed to designated locations, where they absorbed energy and began to grow.

After years of development, the new platform had already reached over 3,000 kilometers in length—far surpassing its predecessor.

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