This Hive Mind Defies Convention

"An Overlord would never betray the swarm."

"Why would an Overlord lead the swarm toward destruction?"

If Lu Shang's previous dismantling of the hive mind's division of labor had been considered heresy, then what he was saying now was a complete rejection of the swarm's traditional social structure.

Moreover, Lu Shang claimed that the Overlord was the fundamental reason the swarm's development had stagnated for 430,000 years. Yet in the swarm's memories, the Overlord had exhausted every effort to keep the swarm developing.

Fortunately, Lu Shang was the swarm's hive mind. Had this been human society, he would probably have been tied up and burned alive in a public square.

Lu Shang nodded. "The Overlord is chosen by the swarm. An Overlord acknowledged by such a vast swarm must, at least ideologically, genuinely wish to lead the swarm toward greater strength."

"However, the Overlord is a biological being. It cannot be omniscient. An individual organism cannot do things beyond its own understanding."

The unrest within the swarm network subsided, but they could not understand what Lu Shang meant.

"I don't understand," said one swarm individual.

Lu Shang continued, "Then let's use the 430,000-year stagnation period as an example. Did the Overlord of that era not want the swarm to develop?"

"Of course it did. It was even so desperate that it made the entire Babel Swarm bow before the Void God in exchange for psychic power."

"The Overlord itself understood clearly that the development of civilization was like rowing upstream: if one did not advance, one fell behind. A stagnant swarm meant that one day, it would inevitably be wiped out by some sudden catastrophe."

Everything Lu Shang said matched the swarm's memories of its history.

Lu Shang continued, "But it simply did not know how the swarm should continue developing. After the molecular biological gene path reached its end, its understanding could no longer find any route that would allow the Babel Swarm to continue growing stronger. The final result was that the swarm could only anxiously tread water on the path of molecular biological gene development, its progress stagnating."

With this example, the swarm understood what Lu Shang meant by "an individual organism cannot do things beyond its own understanding."

One swarm individual asked, "If even the Overlord cannot be trusted, then who can we trust?"

"Trust me." Lu Shang pointed at himself, then at all the worker bees beneath the granite platform. "But ultimately, trust every individual in the swarm."

They were capable of complex thought, but complexity depended on just how complex something was. Having the brain of a hive mind did not mean they could easily comprehend anything, no matter how complicated.

"Unable to understand."

Lu Shang explained, "The reason the swarm can produce Overlords and hive minds is essentially to concentrate the swarm's strongest capabilities, then have those individuals command the swarm to make the optimal choice."

"But the consequence is that the entire Babel Swarm's worldview becomes confined within the worldview of a single Overlord. In the Overlord's worldview, the swarm has only one path—developing molecular biological genes. Thus, the entire swarm can only develop molecular biological genes. No other individual will attempt to seek other paths of development for the swarm."

"Therefore, the swarm should not rely on the Overlord, nor should it rely on any hive mind. There has never been a savior. The only thing the swarm can rely on is the countless individuals of the swarm itself, now and in the future."

The swarm individuals looked at one another, then asked Lu Shang, "Then who should command us?"

"The same principle applies: the choice of commander should be decided by every individual in the swarm. What we need to break is the established relationship between the Overlord, the hive mind, and the swarm. The swarm itself must become the 'Overlord,' rather than choosing some individual to be the 'Overlord.'" Lu Shang explained to the gathered swarm individuals.

"How should endless disagreements be resolved?" one individual asked.

Lu Shang answered, "Disagreements can be resolved through communication. So long as everyone is working for the swarm's development, they will ultimately arrive at the same destination by different routes. Discussions may even open up more new lines of thought."

"Those new ideas may not show any effect in the short term, but they can play an extremely important role in the swarm's future development."

"Please, let me pass!"

"I spent everything I had just to save enough money to come here! I only want to survive!"

A four-eyed Diasian pleaded desperately before two aliens wearing sealed protective suits, assuming the humblest posture his civilization could offer.

This Diasian had illegally fled Hathe. Ever since the Bogu Grand Nebula Battle ended, the shadow of fear hanging over Hathe's residents had refused to fade, even after the battle was over.

Then there was the infection from swarm spores, which drove them into even greater panic. Even when hospitals on Hathe found nothing seriously wrong with them, they believed the hospitals were following government orders and deliberately saying so to placate them.

They also feared that one day, the Empire's upper echelons might suddenly send a fleet and unleash a Planetary Devastation directly on Hathe.

Under the combined influence of these factors, large numbers of powerful, wealthy, and capable Diasians left Hathe, fleeing to planets controlled by the various member powers of the Galactic Alliance.

"Unfortunately, any individual infected by swarm spores, whether human or animal, must undergo quarantine inspection. Those are the regulations."

As the alien in the protective suit spoke, their similarly suited companion offered reassurance in a gentler tone.

"Don't be nervous. The quarantine inspection will not affect your physical or mental health. We only need to determine whether the swarm spores in your body are contagious."

"Although the vast majority of infected individuals tested so far have not been contagious, certain exceptional cases could be extremely dangerous. We must take responsibility for the right to life of other healthy people. If you cannot cooperate, we can only deport you back to your point of departure."

The Diasian also knew that making trouble would do him no good. When he heard that refusing to cooperate would get him sent back to Hathe, his emotions quickly calmed down.

Inside a compartment at the inspection station, a transparent wall separated them. This transparent wall was both a scanner and a display, showing every aspect of the Diasian's physical data.

"This is really strange. Why would the Babel Swarm do this? I can't understand it at all..."

An octopus-like alien muttered as he continuously swiped through the data on the display with his tentacles.

An alien with a pair of membranous wings growing from his back stood outside the door. Having overheard this, he asked his companion curiously.

"Delan, did you find something?"

Delan pointed at the Diasian's physical data with a tentacle. "Look. The brains of these infected individuals have all been infected by Babel Swarm spores."

The membrane wings behind his companion twitched as he asked, "You mean... these infected individuals might be controlled by the Babel Swarm?"

Delan waved his tentacles. "No, we considered that possibility before and conducted multiple tests on the infected brains. All results showed that the infected portions only controlled bodily endocrine functions. They could not control the infected individuals' thoughts or influence their cognition. By the previous infection standards, these infected individuals do not even qualify as mildly infected."

"If the Babel Swarm can exert any control at all, it can at most influence these infected individuals' emotions through their endocrine systems."

After hearing that explanation, his companion became even more puzzled. "Then what were you finding strange just now?"

Delan explained, "What I find strange is that these spore-infected portions spontaneously regulate endocrine functions, making the infected individuals' bodies healthier and healthier."

"Uh..."

His companion's eyes widened, and for a moment, the idea seemed utterly absurd.

According to Delan's examination results, these infected Diasians were in even better physical condition than uninfected Diasians!

Wasn't the Babel Swarm infamous for being bloodthirsty and brutal?

Why had it begun helping other species improve their health?

Elsewhere, the corners of Lu Shang's lips curled upward slightly as he murmured, "Of course you can't figure it out. If you could, how would I spread my intelligence network?"