I Am The Swarm

The appearance of the Ji elder’s small personal starship, which landed directly on the landing pad of the Potling-style castle without triggering the defense systems, made the identity of the visitor clear.

It seemed that Elder Sade, the long-absent owner of the castle, had returned. The birds of prey in the sky had completed their mission, but they couldn’t get too close to the castle, as it wasn’t part of their usual territory.

However, this wasn’t a problem. The area around the castle was a key focus for Luo Wen’s surveillance network. Except for the interior of the castle itself, the surrounding dozens of kilometers were almost entirely covered by the Swarm’s monitoring systems.

At this moment, the area around the landing pad was teeming with insects crawling on the ground, burrowing in the soil, and flying in the air, along with small birds and animals—all part of Luo Wen’s surveillance network.

Once the ultra-small starship came to a stop, its hatch opened, and a row of robotic soldiers stepped out first. Luo Wen noticed that Elder Sade had a strong preference for using intelligent machines, a clear indication that he belonged to the Inheritor’s Faction within the Ji Race.

The Inheritor’s Faction was one of the mainstream factions in the Ji Race, advocating for coexistence with artificial intelligence. They believed that intelligent beings should not reject AI, especially Lumina.

Lumina was a legacy left by the original Ji Race. It had faithfully executed its programming for over a million years without ever overstepping its bounds, which was enough to prove its reliability.

In fact, no one in the Ji Race, or even among the other races, could refute this point. Lumina had indeed never acted outside its programming. The reason it was feared and guarded against was that when the original Ji Race disappeared, the foreign races began to stir, unwilling to abide by the rules left by the original Ji Race while also coveting their legacy.

Lumina, following its programming, took direct control of the fleet and annihilated several leading civilizations. Those civilizations, if they had survived, would undoubtedly have become part of the inner circle. Yet, they were wiped out so easily, disappearing into the river of history.

Some opponents argued that they had worked hard to break free from the shackles of the original Ji Race, only to find that there was still an overseer above them. They couldn’t guarantee that they would never make mistakes, and if they ever crossed a line set by the original Ji Race, Lumina, being inflexible, would act without mercy. This made many people feel insecure.

Others opposed Lumina out of concern for its safety. The rules left by the original Ji Race were the foundation of the Interstellar Technological Confederation’s stability, and only a stable environment allowed for the greatest exercise of power.

Thus, they were willing to abide by these rules, but what if Lumina malfunctioned one day? For example, the tragedy caused by the flying car enthusiasts hacking the system.

Although that didn’t happen within the Ji Race, it served as a warning. If artificial intelligence became unreliable, it would be catastrophic.

If even a simple AI responsible for autonomous driving and route planning could cause such significant damage, what about Lumina, which held far greater authority?

They weren’t opposed to artificial intelligence itself but to AI having no constraints and wielding such immense power. While Lumina had been reliable so far, what if that changed?

These were the three main factions within the Ji Race. Besides the Inheritor’s Faction, those who opposed artificial intelligence were part of the Exchange faction, while those who opposed AI holding significant authority were part of the Loyalist faction.

However, these weren’t formal factions with strict rules. They were more like loose affiliations representing individual stances, making it easier for like-minded individuals to communicate and form alliances.

From Elder Sade’s behavior, it was clear that he was a member of the Inheritor’s Faction, and he made no effort to hide it. This was evident from the fact that after he left, the castle was entirely maintained by intelligent machines, with no human servants in sight.

After learning that the castle belonged to Elder Sade, Luo Wen had also looked into his past through his own channels. From Sade’s public speeches and debates, it was clear that he aligned with the Inheritor’s Faction.

However, what puzzled Luo Wen was that Elder Cecil, who had drawn his attention to this place, didn’t seem to be a member of the Inheritor’s Faction based on her past statements and actions.

Although factions were an informal concept, they represented individual viewpoints. Differing viewpoints made it difficult for people to become friends.

So why was the biological armor Cecil had purchased now in Sade’s possession? Was it simply a transfer of ownership? If that were the case, it wouldn’t be good news for Luo Wen.

It would mean that all the effort he had put into this place, while not entirely wasted, had been a significant drain on his time.

After the robotic guards exited the starship and took up their positions, a tall, robust figure emerged. Although cloaked and with his face obscured, Luo Wen, through the eyes of his insects, believed this person was likely Sade.

The characteristics of the Black Tower Race were quite distinct, and their appearance lived up to their name. Most foreign races couldn’t replicate that look, so the racial aspect matched.

Additionally, among the group that disembarked, the Black Tower individual was the only living being. This was easy to discern because, while the other “individuals” moved with fluidity and naturalness, their exposed mechanical components made it clear they were robotic soldiers.

In fact, not just the Ji Race, but most members of the foreign races could easily equip robots with synthetic skin.

However, neither the Ji Race nor the foreign races supported this practice, especially when it came to blurring the line between living beings and machines in terms of constructing its head. Even most members of the Inheritor’s Faction, who supported coexistence with AI, didn’t endorse it.

There were exceptions, though. Among the foreign races and the Ji Race, a small number of individuals were openly enthusiastic about machinery. To them, equipping intelligent machines with synthetic skin was a trivial matter, not worth opposing.

Indeed, compared to their beliefs, these were minor issues. Their beliefs, or rather their goals, were never hidden. They believed that mechanical immortality was the future.

They argued that the body was merely a shell, and that consciousness was the essence of life. They advocated for transforming into virtual beings similar to artificial intelligence, thereby achieving a form of immortality.

With today’s advanced technology, creating a mechanical body would be effortless, and any damage could be easily repaired or replaced. This would eliminate the vulnerabilities of biological organisms, making them stronger.