I Am The Swarm

Luo Wen was a being who greatly valued personal privacy. Ever since detecting the presence of monitors for the first time during the Battle of Planet Raze, Luo Wen had been pondering ways to deal with them.

The monitors of the Ji were scattered across the entire galaxy, their numbers unknown. Given their stealth capabilities, these monitors were undoubtedly small, a fact confirmed during their initial detection by gravitational-wave radar technology.

By analyzing the strength of the reflected gravitational waves, the intelligent entities determined that these monitors were approximately two cubic meters in size.

If not for their proximity to the battlefield at the time, the Swarm’s relatively primitive gravitational-wave radar might not have detected them. Their compact size, coupled with advanced stealth technology, made them difficult to spot.

Once the mystery surrounding these monitors was unraveled, Luo Wen formed a plan. Their small size implied limited internal space—how much could fit in two cubic meters? Their external protective armor likely only offered radiation shielding and basic impact resistance. If stealth coatings were used, they wouldn’t take up much space. If special materials were employed, they would slightly reduce the available interior volume.

What about their propulsion systems? They were unlikely to be equipped with warp drives, probably relying on basic sublight engines. Given their size constraints, their speed would be limited. Based on this reasoning, these monitors were likely deployed by spacecraft rather than traveling on their own.

As for their observation systems, they were undoubtedly the most critical components. However, incorporating too many types of observational equipment would be spatially prohibitive, so their observational capabilities were likely not comprehensive.

The information transmission system was of paramount importance. No matter how much data the monitors collected, it would be useless if it couldn’t be transmitted back. Their size suggested that their armor wouldn’t be particularly thick, making them fragile. Therefore, it was improbable that these devices were equipped with precious quantum communication systems.

Of course, “precious” was a relative term, primarily from the perspective of civilizations lacking this technology.

To the Ji, such systems might not be extraordinarily valuable. However, considering the Ji’s stringent measures to safeguard these devices—the allocation of only five units to newly joined native civilizations, requiring approval for equipping a single unit during Prince Diallo’s expedition, and the Troi civilization secretly accumulating only a handful over many years—it was unlikely these monitors were uniformly outfitted with quantum communication systems. Acquiring a few monitors was much easier than covertly obtaining them from the Ji.

Thus, their information transmission systems were probably standard electronic signals. However, given the technological superiority of the Ji, even ordinary electronic signals would be challenging for lower-level civilizations to intercept.

Finally, there was the matter of their power and energy conversion systems. Given the specialized nature of their missions, they were unlikely to require frequent replacements or recharges.

Therefore, they likely utilized a long-lasting energy supply. However, their size precluded the use of controlled fusion devices, which require periodic refueling. Nuclear batteries were also unlikely to sustain operations for hundreds of years. Solar or radiation energy seemed the most plausible options.

If so, even with the Ji’s advanced energy conversion technology, the energy intake per unit of time would be limited by the collection area. This constraint suggested that high energy consuming equipment would not be present in these monitors, further supporting the earlier hypotheses.

Still, no matter how well-reasoned these speculations were, confirmation required dismantling an actual unit.

Back when Prince Diallo of the Daqi Empire’s invitation had just failed, leaving him wandering outside in frustration, the Swarm amassed a large number of Primordial bodies near the bases at Planet Izumo and the Solar Orbital Swarm Base to “deter” the Riken people and prevent them from acting recklessly.

During one of these military maneuvers, a Daqi fleet’s provocative proximity led the Primordial bodies to pursue them. In the midst of this chase, they “accidentally” passed by a Ji monitor.

That monitor attempted to evade, but the sheer number of Primordial bodies overwhelmed it. As predicted, the monitor’s propulsion system was only capable of minor directional adjustments. Consequently, once the swarm of Primordial bodies passed through the area, the monitor vanished as well…

Afterward, the Swarm concentrated numerous Observer Bugs in the region where the monitor had disappeared, conducting intense surveillance. However, even after more than a decade, no unidentified spacecraft had been observed returning to investigate the site.

The missing monitor had been consumed by one of the Primordial bodies. Inside this Primordial body, a specialized electromagnetic cage had been constructed—a minor modification for a being that inherently possessed various electromagnetic capabilities.

This electromagnetic cage incorporated elements of an Atomic Furnace and used a powerful electromagnetic field to restrain the monitor. During this period, the monitor emitted several electronic signals, which were extremely subtle and might have gone unnoticed if not for its presence inside the Primordial body. However, shielded within the electromagnetic cage, these signals were rendered useless.

Inside this field, no electronic signal could escape interference or penetrate the body of the Primordial body to transmit outward.

Moreover, after identifying the monitor’s frequency bands, the Swarm realized they could modify related Swarm entities to monitor these specific electronic signals. With this frequency included in their surveillance system, identifying such monitors would be far easier in the future.

This also confirmed the earlier hypothesis regarding the monitors’ information transmission systems. Given the limited strength of their electronic signals, there had to be a signal relay station somewhere. The monitors’ signals alone were insufficient to travel over vast distances.

By observing the direction of these transmitted signals, the Swarm deduced that the relay station was likely located in the void outside the Riken star system. As for its exact location, further covert investigation would be required. The Swarm, with its current capabilities, was not yet strong enough to act openly against the relay station’s owners.

Fortunately, this discovery provided Luo Wen with an additional piece of valuable intelligence. Even if the relay station was equipped with Quantum Communication Systems, the monitors’ electronic signals still required time to transmit. This meant that the Ji’s reception of information from the monitors would be delayed by several months or even years. This was welcome news.

In the following months, the Swarm dismantled additional monitors, verifying all previous speculations. They also quietly began using the newly identified frequency bands to search for Ji monitors within their territory.

When negotiations with the Troi civilization were underway, Luo Wen instructed Danton to subtly probe for information regarding the monitors. Bular, catching on to the intent, discreetly revealed some intelligence.

According to Bular, during the early days of the New Ji Race’s takeover of the progenitor Ji race’s legacy, everything had been in chaos. Previously confined to a single star system by the Ji, various alien civilizations seized the opportunity to break free from their home systems and embark on interstellar colonization.

At the time, the New Ji Race’s mindset was still tied to their progenitors.

By the time they adopted a more pragmatic attitude, too much time had passed, and the situation had already become irreversible.

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