Restructuring, Part One
Atmospheric Creature have an extremely low density, and after they die, they truly turn into "clouds," slowly evaporating in the sky. Because they do not fall to the ground, they do not leave behind fossils or anything like that, so no trace of their existence can be found on other planets.
However, with the production of Atmospheric Creature by the Swarm, the Swarm now has units capable of regular navigation in outer space. Through a search of the A7 satellite constellation, signs of Atmospheric Creature activity were found on several satellites with distinct atmospheres.
However, because the atmospheres on those planets are incomplete and very thin, they are not habitable for Atmospheric Creature, so the number of Atmospheric Creature on those satellites is very small.
Meanwhile, the Swarm also sent a large number of Atmospheric Creature to Planet A7 for reconnaissance, but no trace of Atmospheric Creature was found there.
The reason is that the atmosphere of Planet A7 is constantly accompanied by high-energy storms, and Atmospheric Creature must keep their electromagnetic fields activated at all times in order to resist the tearing effect of these storms on their bodies.
Although Planet A7 experiences frequent lightning and has higher radiation intensity, allowing Atmospheric Creature to recharge faster, this still cannot keep up with its energy consumption rate.
If Atmospheric Creature cannot evacuate from Planet A7 in time, they can only survive for a little over ten days before their energy is depleted, their bodies lose their protection, and they are torn apart by the storm.
Two or three decades have passed in the blink of an eye, and the Origin Star System has become much more lively. Between the Red Moon and the Yellow Moon, small Zerg spaceships can often be seen traveling back and forth between the two stars.
Spaceships also frequently pass between the other major planets and their moons, but they are generally larger.
After decades of research, with the help of the Intellect team, Rowan modified the Creep template and developed a type of energy storage cell based on plant cells, which incorporates energy storage genes from various organisms such as deep-sea jellyfish, aquatic electric eels, and Atmospheric Creature. In the end, he obtained an energy storage cell with decent performance.
These cells can store electricity while also directly absorbing electrical energy to power themselves. This avoids the hassle of needing a separate energy production and conversion system.
By replacing all the non-functional components of Atmospheric Creature of the same volume with these energy-storing cells, their combat time under extreme output can be increased from a dozen minutes to several hours, which is a very significant improvement.
Moreover, the modified Atmospheric Creature, due to their increased body density, can now take off and land normally on the planet's surface, but this comes at the cost of losing their ability to float normally in the atmosphere.
Although the effects they experience in space are almost negligible, they do affect their combat capabilities within the atmosphere.
The Wind God, once the Swarm's main air combat force within the atmosphere and a long-range airborne carrier, now clearly lags behind the Swarm's development in various performance indicators.
Therefore, upgrading and replacement are necessary.
In fact, the modified Atmospheric Creature can still take off within the atmosphere using a plasma propulsion system and achieve extremely high flight speeds.
However, it must be in constant motion and cannot hover in the air, which would cause it to consume a lot of energy and has certain flaws.
To solve this problem, Rowan thought of the advanced technology that had enabled him to take flight for the first time: the anti-gravity system of the beetle elytra.
Research has shown that the beetle's anti-gravity system is actually an application of magnetic fields. At the time, it could only make the body lighter, but it only offset a certain amount of the effects of gravity and could not achieve true anti-gravity ascent.
Therefore, although its technology was quite advanced, it was not as practical as simple wings at the time and was eventually abandoned.
But at this moment, this cutting-edge technology is perfectly suited for use on the modified Atmospheric Creature.
The modified Atmospheric Creature, with the addition of an anti-gravity system, can hover and float in the air with minimal effort, just like before.
It can even absorb the radiant energy from sunlight directly in the air to recharge, although the charging time is a bit longer.
The revised Atmospheric Creature, strictly speaking, are actually a variant of a Creep, a large, flying aggregate of Strain.
This makes them more flexible and versatile, with greater compatibility. For example, Optical Stealth System, various visual systems, radar systems, and so on can be added to them. This makes their functions more comprehensive, and they can also be further improved by adding modules to fill in the templates.
However, because it is not considered an independent organism, its intelligence is somewhat lacking. To address this issue, Rowan specifically produced a large number of Blade.
Blade evolved from the original Type I Ant Queen.
At one stage, the Swarm lacked commanding units. It was later discovered that the Ant Queen ant was naturally capable of managing and commanding various ant species, and also possessed excellent learning abilities.
Based on these characteristics, Rowan further subdivided them, enhancing the mobility of some Ant Queen while reducing their reproductive capacity. This resulted in a special product dedicated to commanding battles.
Later, with the advent of Swarm Network, the Type I Ant Queen renamed and reorganized into the Blade, becoming a more flexible unit. Monitoring, commanding, calculating, guarding, and surveillance—it can be said that they are present everywhere in the Swarm.
Moreover, like intelligent AI, they lack the characteristics of emotions and feelings, making them very suitable for doing some tedious and boring tasks. Since their inception, they have been indispensable helpers to Rowan.
As the Swarm grows larger, their demand increases to the point that now, upon birth, they abandon their physical bodies and directly enter the Swarm Network with their consciousness, becoming a kind of virtual creature.
However, with their increasing numbers, it would be inappropriate to uniformly refer to them all Blade, as this could easily cause confusion. Therefore, over the years, Rowan has subdivided their functions; for example, the Blade that guard the Swarm Network have been renamed Stork.
Blade, responsible for monitoring the Rat-folk Colony Star, surface bases, and the Creep, was renamed Listener.
The Blade, responsible for monitoring celestial movements, the flight paths of Swarm Meteor, and maintaining various observation equipment, was renamed Sky Eye.
Because the Swarm may face other intelligent civilizations in the future, their rigid command methods are no longer suitable for the flexible and ever-changing battlefield environment. Therefore, the Blade, which is responsible for data collection, recording, assisting command, and logistics, has been renamed the Adjutant.
In response to the low intelligence of Creep fighters and warships, the Blade, which controls them through Swarm Network, was named the Knight.
As for the title of Blade, it was inherited by the Swarm Intellect led by Sarah Kerrigan, who specialized in interstellar warfare and legion warfare.