Babel Swarm

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Babel Swarm
Alias(es)	巴别塔蜂群; the Swarm; the Hive; “mutated swarm” (Galactic Alliance designation)
Species/Race	Hive-based swarm civilization
Affiliation	Former vassal race of the Void God; later self-directed under Lu Shang
Occupation/Role	Interstellar biological civilization, military power, and psionic collective
Status	Active 49
First Appearance	Chapter 1 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Level Ten psionic brains	11	Nestworld fielded over 200,000 Level Ten psionic brains, overwhelming several hundred invading Behemoth colossi and forcing them from orbit to the surface.
Level Twelve psionic brains	31	Planetary organisms were upgraded with Sovereign-brain structures; each could contain 40 million Level Twelve psionic brains, greatly increasing psionic range and power.

Background / History

The Babel Swarm began as a cruel, hive-minded civilization that exterminated every species on its homeworld and converted the planet into its first hive planet. Its genetic engineering remained limited to chemical-level methods, leaving it trapped in its home star system for 430,000 years. 1

A Void God granted the Swarm psionics: the ability to influence space-time and create faster-than-light warp bubbles. In exchange, the Swarm pledged absolute loyalty and joined other servant races in a galaxy-wide genocide that destroyed hundreds of millions of civilizations. 1

The surviving civilizations formed the Galactic Alliance, reverse-engineered psionics from swarm corpses, and developed the Frozen Cycle to seal the Void God. The Alliance annihilated the Swarm’s main forces in a supernova. During a final attempt to release the Void God, the former Swarm Overmind instead brought the human Lu Shang to Nestworld. 1

Lu Shang used the psionic network to command Nestworld’s swarm, devised the first faster-than-light escape of an entire hive planet, and received the swarm creatures’ unconditional recognition as their Brain Core. 2 4 5 Under his leadership, the Swarm began replacing its rigid dependence on Overlords and specialized mainbrains with distributed thought, gene-editing capability, and collective decision-making. 6 12 13 14

Biology and Organization

The Babel Swarm consists of specialized organisms coordinated through a psionic network rather than a completely shared consciousness. Individual creatures can think, but most possess simplified brains and weaker reasoning than brain cores, Overminds, or hive minds. 4 8

• Worker bees — Chitin-covered labor organisms with membrane-like flippers and pincers; used for excavation, retrieval, construction, and combat support. 1 11
• Behemoth colossi — Five- to fifteen-kilometer spaceborne organisms with keratinous armor, spikes, tendrils, pincers, incubation chambers, and Level Ten psionic capability. They function as biological transports and mobile hives. 5 11
• Swarm brains / mainbrains — Large, specialized brains that direct hives and complex work such as genetic editing. Captured swarm-brain tissue allowed Lu Shang’s faction to create gene-editing-capable brain templates. 12
• Hives and Overminds — Traditionally responsible for research, strategy, incubation, and genetic modification. Lu Shang pushed them to think independently rather than rely on a single ruler’s worldview. 5 6 14
• Planetary organisms — Entire solid planets converted into living swarm bodies through skeletal organisms, organic fluid, psionic brains, and planet-spanning biological networks. 16

Abilities & Skills

Psionic Network

The Swarm’s members exchange intent, orders, sensory information, and strategic discussion through a shared psionic network.

• Lu Shang became connected to Nestworld’s network after his arrival and could communicate normally with swarm creatures. 2
• Authority is granted collectively by swarm creatures rather than forcibly imposed by brain cores. 4
• The network enables rapid battlefield coordination, including worker-bee reports being immediately relayed to psionic brains for target confinement. 11
• The network does not fully merge every member’s consciousness; individuals retain separate knowledge and thought. 8

Space-Time Manipulation

Psionics allow the Swarm to distort space-time, create antigravity fields, and generate faster-than-light warp bubbles.

• Behemoth colossi normally require Level Ten psionic power to travel between stars. 5
• Lu Shang’s swarm achieved the unprecedented feat of enclosing all of Nestworld within a warp bubble and moving the planet faster than light. 3 5
• Planetary-scale warp travel ordinarily demands immense psionic power because a planet’s mass destabilizes warp bubbles. 2
• The Swarm can use psionic pressure to immobilize targets, pull objects from orbit, and restrain captured enemies within warped regions of space-time. 11 42 44

Psionic Combat

Under Lu Shang, the Swarm adapted psionics from a travel tool into a direct weapon system.

• Psionic Impact — Applies kinetic energy directly to a target; 200,000 Behemoth brains launched a solid planet at Miro like a projectile. 8
• Psionic Grip — Exerts force through material barriers, allowing targets inside armored warships to be crushed into dense spheres. 10 11
• Gravitational interference — Used to stop fleeing administrative planets from entering faster-than-light travel. 46
• Limit: Early planetary organisms remained vulnerable to the Galactic Alliance’s black-hole-induced strikes; the first was destroyed by one. 27

Genetic Engineering and Incubation

The Swarm modifies, breeds, and combines organisms on scales ranging from individual brains to whole planets.

• The old Swarm’s biotechnology was narrowly focused on molecular genetics and chemical-level modification. 1 13
• Lu Shang ordered every hive to learn gene editing so the loss of mainbrains or an Overmind would not cripple the civilization. 6
• Cloned swarm brains became templates for gene-editing-capable hives and upgraded brains. 12
• The Swarm’s existing biotechnology could not absorb or properly analyze crystallite lifeforms, prompting a renewed effort to adapt to nonstandard life. 43

Infection and Intelligence Networks

The Swarm deploys spores that can spread through other civilizations without directly controlling their thoughts.

• Infected individuals’ endocrine systems are regulated, generally improving their physical health rather than harming them. 14
• The spores cannot control cognition; their direct influence is limited to bodily functions and, at most, emotions. 14
• Lu Shang uses infected populations as distributed sensory nodes, extending the Swarm’s intelligence network wherever infected people travel. 15
• Second-generation Scout organisms, each small enough to resemble dust, were deployed to expand surveillance across the galaxy. 47

Illusory Worlds

The Swarm can link brains and manipulate hormones and neurotransmitters to create artificial realities.

• These illusory worlds can satisfy participants’ desires with minimal material cost. 39
• The program was promoted externally under the slogan “Everything is for love and dreams,” encouraging civilians from Galactic Alliance worlds to seek shelter with the Swarm. 36 39
• The Galactic Alliance considered mass immersion in these realities a civilization-threatening political weapon. 40

Society and Governance

The traditional Babel Swarm followed a pyramid hierarchy centered on Overlords, brain cores, and hive minds. Although new leaders could emerge if existing ones died, the system concentrated the Swarm’s worldview within a single ruler’s limited understanding. 4 14

Lu Shang argued that this structure caused the Swarm’s 430,000-year stagnation: the old Overlords had pursued genetic development but could not imagine a path beyond it. He urged the Swarm to trust capable individuals, communicate through disagreements, and explore multiple developmental paths. 13 14

By the time of Lu Shang’s diplomatic contact with the Galactic Alliance, he declared Sovereigns redundant and stated that no further Sovereigns would exist within the Swarm. 45

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Survival of Nestworld — The Swarm narrowly escapes Galactic Alliance extermination after Lu Shang turns Nestworld itself into a faster-than-light vessel. 2 3 5
• Internal reform — Lu Shang gains recognition as Brain Core, forces hives to pursue gene editing, and challenges the Swarm’s reliance on Overlords. 4 6 12 14
• Bogu Grand Nebula campaign — The Swarm defeats Alliance fleets through direct psionic attacks, captures warships, and begins expanding through spores and Behemoth-led operations. 7 10
• Planetary-organism arms race — The Swarm incubates living planets, suffers losses to black-hole weaponry, develops expanded perception, and upgrades to Level Twelve psionic brains. 16 19 27 31
• Political expansion — Harmless infection, intelligence gathering, trade, neutrality agreements, and illusory worlds weaken the Galactic Alliance from within. 15 36 39 40
• Conflict with Bahadun’er — After refusing a Void God servant-race order without compensation, the Swarm defeats and imprisons Bahadun’er’s crystal entities for research. 41 44
• Galactic negotiations — The Swarm pressures Alliance civilizations into surrender while using Scouts to construct a galaxy-spanning intelligence network. 45 49

Relationships

• Lu Shang — Human-transmigrated Brain Core, commander-in-chief, reformer, and political representative of the Swarm. 4 36 45
• Void God — Former master who granted the Swarm psionics in exchange for absolute loyalty; now sealed within the Frozen Cycle. 1
• Galactic Alliance — Primary military and political adversary; its technology repeatedly forces the Swarm to adapt. 1 18 27
• Bahadun’er — Fellow former vassal race of the Void God; declared the Swarm traitors and was subsequently captured by it. 41 44
• Amon Empire — Another Void God vassal race; monitored by the Swarm’s Scouts rather than immediately engaged. 49
• Infected administrative planets — Nominally neutral worlds used as intelligence nodes, strategic intermediaries, and recruitment grounds. 15 30 36

Notable Quotes

“Make as few enemies as possible, and as many friends as possible.” — Lu Shang’s strategic philosophy for the Swarm 15

“Everything is for love and dreams.” — The Babel Swarm’s external propaganda slogan 36