I Am The Swarm

“The subsequent history recorded by the Riken Race is unclear and heavily embellished. However, based on scattered information, it seems they suffered a crushing defeat. Although their fleet wasn’t completely annihilated, they were forced to retreat in disarray. The data on this creature was recorded during that time, and the life-extension plant was discovered in its nest.”

“A nest? Isn’t that the Swarm’s royal court? Given the Swarm’s strength, how could a force of that level land on their home planet?” Elder Cecil asked, puzzled.

“This is indeed an interesting point. According to the Riken Race’s records, they believed the Swarm’s main base was on another uninhabited planet, not the ecological planet. When their fleet first entered the LKDW399 star system, the ecological planet was completely undefended. Some Riken believed that the Swarm might not even be native to LKDW399 and were instead recent arrivals.”

“That speculation doesn’t hold up. As we discussed earlier, the Swarm’s strength wouldn’t allow them to evade our monitoring network. Therefore, they couldn’t be outsiders.”

Elder Humes nodded and said, “Indeed, the Riken Race, having just stepped out of their home star system, had a limited perspective. Their conclusions were naturally flawed. But regardless, the Swarm, this creature, and the life-extension plant are all real. They are likely the work of the original Ji Race. Given their strength, they don’t have the capability for interstellar travel, which suggests that the LKDW399 star system is their base. It’s possible that the original Ji Race’s biological laboratory is located there.”

Elder Cecil’s eyes flickered as she opened a star map and made a few adjustments. “Let me compare their locations…” She performed a series of complex operations, even invoking her Elder privileges at one point.

Two star maps appeared before her: one of the current era and another from hundreds of thousands of years ago, when the original Ji Race was still alive.

“Back then, there were so few foreign races. Even my own race, the Potlings, were just entering a primitive stage,” Elder Cecil remarked, looking at the star map. “The territory of the Confederation—or rather, the Ji Race—was pitifully small. If the LKDW399 star system was indeed the location of the original Ji Race’s biological laboratory, they moved it quite far away.”

During the time of the original Ji Race, foreign races were more like accessories, serving as production bases for auxiliary researchers. The original Ji Race restricted the development of foreign races, with most only controlling a single star system, barely stronger than the Riken Race.

At that time, the Swarm’s location couldn’t even be described as a remote suburb. It was separated from the Ji Race’s main occupied regions by vast stretches of space. Without coordinates, even the original Ji Race would have struggled to find them quickly, let alone the controlled opposition.

“Quiet and undisturbed—exactly what the original Ji Race needed,” Elder Humes said. “But the question is, where did they go? If the Swarm is a product of their laboratory, why release them at this point in time?”

Elder Cecil smiled slightly. “Elder Humes, don’t overcomplicate things. Not everything is a conspiracy.”

“What are you thinking?”

“The original Ji Race’s extinction is certain. Although there are no records from the biological laboratory, it’s clear that it wouldn’t be an exception. After the original Ji Race died, what do you think happened in the laboratory?”

Elder Humes’ expression gradually grew serious. Seeing his reaction, Elder Cecil continued, “It seems you’ve figured it out. Back then, the foreign races, to put it nicely, were research assistants. To put it bluntly, they were slaves, constantly performing tedious experiments and occasionally providing the original Ji Race with ideas and inspiration, contributing in small ways to the Ji Race’s development.”

Elder Humes picked up where Elder Cecil left off. “But no matter how much they contributed, they were never the original Ji Race. They were different from us New Ji. Aside from having the privilege to move within their masters’ rooms, they had almost no other permissions.”

“Exactly,” Elder Cecil continued. “When the masters died, the slaves were trapped in those rooms. They could move around inside but couldn’t open the doors to the outside. Communication devices, ships—these were all the masters’ property, and the slaves had no right to use them. With Lumina overseeing everything, the masters’ property would have been well-guarded. If any slaves tried to act out, Lumina wouldn’t have shown any mercy.”

“So…?”

“So they probably died out soon after the original Ji Race’s extinction. Or they struggled to survive, eventually dying of old age. Or they reproduced, but with no way to leave the laboratory, resources would have quickly run out, leading to some kind of disaster. No matter what, they’re likely gone. Otherwise, we would have heard something from them over all these years.”

“Your reasoning makes sense. Perhaps they weren’t completely silent, but after the original Ji Race’s extinction, the Confederation was in chaos for a long time. Even if they sent out some message, it was probably ignored.”

“True, we might have lost that information, but Lumina definitely wouldn’t have. There must be detailed records in Lumina’s archives. Let me take a look…” Elder Cecil began operating the device in front of her again, but her expression gradually shifted from a slight smile to one of concern.

“No luck. The biological laboratory itself had a very high level of secrecy. To access its records, we’d need to convene the highest-level Elder Council. Under Lumina’s supervision, we’d need the support of over 80% of the council to decrypt the data. And the subsequent records are likely even more classified.”

“Eighty percent…” Elder Humes shrugged. “It seems almost impossible to get the information we want from Lumina. Besides, I don’t want just anyone involved in this. I imagine you feel the same, Elder Cecil.”

The Ji Race has around five thousand Elders, representing over two hundred foreign races. Not only are their networks of relationships complicated, but simply gathering them would be an impossible task.

While there are five thousand Elders, most are in hibernation, and only a small fraction are active. Of those, the majority are scattered across the Confederation’s territories.

To convene the highest-level Elder Council, at least 90% of the Elders would need to attend.