As Lute had suspected, the technology aboard the Cat’s Ear Spaceship was, compared to its intrinsic value, no more than scrap tal for the Swarm.
The experints comnced swiftly.
Luo Wen, with his extensive experience from countless tests conducted during the genesis of intelligent entities, approached this process with confidence.
The creation of intelligent entities relies on three essential elents: soil, seeds, and nutrients.
First cos the nutrients, intricately tied to the seeds in a symbiotic relationship.
The Riken civilization has a far more ancient history than the Ratfolk, making the latter appear as a newly ergent culture in comparison. From this perspective, wisdom nourished by such a venerable civilization was bound to et the required standards.
And seeds cultivated by such wisdom would likely be exceptional as well.
So far, the highest-quality seed Luo Wen had encountered was the first-generation Ratfolk Empress, Sarah. Her spiritual essence was extraordinarily refined, and her capacity for reception exceeded all others. Most intelligent entities would enter a comatose state after the infusion of mories due to an adaptation process, but Sarah showed no such reaction.
Although this was the only advantage Luo Wen had discovered in her, he was certain there was more to uncover as his capabilities and familiarity with her deepened.
However, Sarah was rely an exception.
From the perspective of nutrients, the Riken civilization, with its profound cultural heritage, might produce entities of higher average quality compared to the Ratfolk.
While there were no issues with seeds and nutrients, the Riken people encountered a bottleneck in the most fundantal elent: the “soil.”
Their bodies lacked any connection to the Swarm.
Yet, this issue was relatively straightforward to address given the Swarm’s current capabilities.
Luo Wen’s proudest creation wasn’t the Ratfolk, nor the Hive Queens, but the fungal carpet.
The fungal carpet, a genetic amalgamation, possessed unparalleled versatility and compatibility.
Electromagnetic cannons, bio-ships, and external incubation chambers were just a few of its derivatives. Nearly every unit in the Swarm now had so degree of association with it.
By implanting fungal carpet cells into the bodies of the Riken people, their physical forms could gradually be transford into suitable “soil.”
Luo Wen had conducted similar experints on various wild animals in the past, all of which succeeded. Unfortunately, these subjects ultimately failed in the seed and nutrient stages, preventing their transformation into intelligent entity production materials.
The transformation process was remarkably smooth. After only a few failures and the loss of a handful of test subjects, the “soil” was gradually modified. Seeds then thrived in the enriched nutrients.
A year later, the seeds matured and were harvested.
Thus, the first Riken intelligent entity was born.
Subsequently, Riken intelligent entities began to appear at a rate of two every half-month—precisely matching the frequency with which crew mbers were taken, as recalled by Reggie.
Despite the success, Luo Wen still perceived minor flaws in the process.
First, during the transformation of “soil,” the fungal carpet cells within their bodies could be detected. Given the Riken people’s advanced technology, such anomalies would be easy for them to discover.
This made covertly transforming the Riken into hosts unsuitable. However, once the transformation was complete and the seed converted into an intelligent entity, the Swarm could use the original body as a template to produce an identical new one.
This new body could be made indistinguishable from its pre-transformation state, leaving no detectable differences. This sparked so plans in Luo Wen’s mind at the ti.
These plans, however, led to a second minor flaw.
The transformation of the “soil” took too long. Allowing the fungal carpet cells to slowly alter the entire body of a Riken individual required almost a year. This extended tifra rendered Luo Wen’s plans nearly unfeasible.
Thus, accelerating the maturation of seeds beca Luo Wen’s next research focus.
The remaining Riken test subjects beca precious, a non-renewable resource in the short term. Even if Luo Wen attempted to breed them in captivity, the seeds produced without the proper nutrient environnt would likely differ from the originals.
Furthermore, the experintation itself introduced risks to the otherwise perfected technique.
Under such circumstances, the tiline for converting key Riken figures into intelligent entities was postponed.
If, in the end, the ordinary Riken subjects were exhausted before the maturation acceleration experints reached the desired results, the important figures would have to be used. While they still possessed so classified information, its value had likely already diminished due to ti, rendering it insufficient to save them from becoming expendable resources.
Fortunately, the experints progressed well. Luo Wen’s centuries of accumulated expertise finally bore fruit. The maturation period for the seeds was compressed to seven days.
At this point, further reductions beca nearly impossible. On both genetic and spiritual levels, Luo Wen had reached the current limits of his ability.
Within these seven days, half a day was allocated to the fungal carpetification of the body.
During the remaining six and a half days, the body’s transformation facilitated a profound tamorphosis of the spiritual essence, culminating in its connection to the Swarm network.
Further compressing this tamorphosis period would severely damage the spiritual essence, rendering it incapable of retaining mories. Such a compromised entity would be utterly useless to Luo Wen.
Thankfully, seven days, while inconvenient, held strategic value.
The reduced tifra ca with one unavoidable side effect: irreversible destruction of the physical body.
For the Swarm, creating a new body for an intelligent entity was effortless. However, applying this research to practical plans still required careful consideration.
Reggie awoke fully aware of everything. Before regaining his body, the Hive Queen had transmitted essential information to him. He inherited all of Reggie’s past and continued to exist as Swarm Reggie.
“Old friend, how do you feel?” Morgan asked as Reggie sat up.
“Excellent. Better than ever,” Reggie said, flexing his arm. “But why put in the sa body as before? I need sothing more robust.”
“I thought you might feel nostalgic,” Morgan replied with a grin.
“I’ve been reborn. I should leave the old era behind,” Reggie said firmly.
Different seeds produced subtly distinct outcos.
Perhaps because the Ratfolk were derivatives of the Brood Nest’s creations, intelligent entities made from them, while absolutely loyal to Luo Wen, often experienced identity confusion for the first few years post-conversion, craving a return to their forr lives.
Riken intelligent entities, however, exhibited no such tendencies. From the mont they awoke post-conversion, they clearly understood their identities, leaving no room for confusion.
Luo Wen marveled at this difference and welcod it wholeheartedly.
Reviews
All reviews (0)