A Joytoy’s Journey to become a Hive-Queen [A SCS Fanfic]

Chapter 70 – Junior ponders

"Therefore, if you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle."

  -  Sun Tzu’s Art of War, Chapter 3

I watched Us operate from the command center not far from the entrance to the tunnel system. Calling it a command center might be a bit grandiose, it wasn’t much more than a collection of barricades and turrets, courtesy of Knight Chloe’s catalogues.

Tiny was dutifully updating everyone as much as she could, of course, making sure nobody missed anything that could be of even minimal importance. I was very glad for her presence, it made organising all of Us so much easier.

It didn’t need mentioning that she wasn’t stopping her onslaught onto the bigger antithesis models deeper down the Hive, even while she kept our archives up to date. She might be a bit more childlike than most of Us, but she was still very dutiful.

Pushing the idle thoughts aside, I kept an eye on our Queen through some of the War Drones with her. Bellona had insisted on sending our best with her, even if our Queen had complained at first. I had to admit that I was glad about Bellona’s insistence, otherwise things might have gotten a bit hairy.

The rest of the expedition still went mostly as was planned, the increased activity notwithstanding. The Silthen were making sure nothing got out of hand too badly, their toxins and nanites were quite helpful in weakening the antithesis. Double-X had even postulated that some of the weakened models might be repurposed, which meant that the antithesis would need to spend more time and biomass to replenish their forces, considering that part of the chemical makeup of the toxins inhibited their growth.

It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it made me feel a lot better. As much as things were going to plan, this expedition had shown me that there were some things within our modus operandi that could use some polishing. Most of that were minor items, but there were also a few fundamental things. My only concern was that I couldn’t quite figure out what it was.

The symptoms were obvious, at least to me, but the root cause of it, or rather the solution to it, eluded me. It had become quite clear to me, and a few others, that we were lacking in team work. Not with the other Samurai, but within our own ranks. Our Queen’s mishap earlier was a good indication, and it wasn’t the only one, just the most obvious.

In a way we’d been severely lucky so far, and I didn’t want to push things to the point that our luck ran out. But what could we do about it? The Devourer of Worlds was pretty good at working together, and as much as that comparison lacked, considering the vast gulf of experience and voices between the two of us, it was a good indication that there was something we were missing.

Snuffles had also picked up on it, even if she hadn’t mentioned much about it so far. She was not one for long talks, preferring to do her duty and make sure we had enough biomass to go around. But that in and of itself was already showing that we needed a different approach.

Watching Kaori and her Glinthawks decemate another set of model Fifteens climbing out of the tunnels one Hive over, I contemplated the issue. Our Envoli drones had proven much more capable than I originally anticipated. Not that I thought them weak or incapable, but the results were a whole lot better than I would have thought. A welcome surprise.

As a whole, as Myriad, we were a bit different from the Devourer of Worlds, and, I would wager, most other Hive-Minds out there, even within the Hexclaw species. Part of that was, of course, our humanity, that part of Us that had an entirely different perspective and outlook on life. It was the part that pushed our Queen to continue working as a Joytoy, even though it was no longer strictly required. It pushed individualism and it enabled Us to find joy in things most Hive-Minds most likely wouldn’t.

That said, it felt insufficient as an explanation for what I was seeing. Yes, humans were individualistic by nature, that much was true, but we were also part Hexclaw. The most immediate proof of that was our lack of concern about potentially dying while fighting the antithesis, or even our desire to conquer the other swarm as best we could.

It was distinctly Hexclaw in nature. And that extended to more than just those aspects of Us.

Just being part Hexclaw wasn’t the explanation either, however. We had to find some way to improve our cooperation, but the question remained how we were supposed to do that. I had taken some time to peruse what we knew about ourselves, and Hexclaw Hive-Minds, from Tiny’s archive, enlisting a few of the Burdened to find anything that might give me a hint of how exactly we differed.

There were limits to what we knew about other Hexclaw Hive-Minds, of course, but at least I thought I had a pretty decent idea what made our approach unique, beyond just the superficial factors.

“Kayssa… I would like to dissscusss other Hexclaw Hive-Mindss.”

Turning my attention towards the limited link I had with our AI, I decided to get more answers from someone who would know more.

What exactly do you wish to talk about?

“We are different, obvioussly. I am sseeing a lot of thingss we could improve upon, yet I have no comparisson that would make finding a ssolution eassier. What are other Hexclaw Hive-Mindss like? Outsside of the Devourer of Worldss.”

There was a very brief silence which I interpreted as a sort of mental nod. Not being able to commune with her the way our Queen did, meant that I had started to learn how to interpret her mannerisms.

I see. It is good that you are finally catching on.

As you have already deduced, you are quite different. A large part of that is obviously the human core, from which you are formed, something you are most likely already aware of. Most Hexclaw Hive-Minds do not have much in the way of individualism, few would ever take names, if some do at all, and even then it is most likely they only do that when they are forced to interact with others.

Despite extensive research being done, and some cooperation between the protectors and the Hexclaws, there is not much that is known on how the internal workings of their Hive-Minds function in detail. While they are not xenophobic, most of them are much too busy dealing with the antithesis on their homeworld. Very few ever left that planet, and none did so for a prolonged period of time.

That said, we are almost certain that they are utilising the chorus extensively. From the deep scan we managed to make of the Devourer of Worlds, which is where most of our information comes from, it appears that they are almost exclusively immersing themselves into the whole.

The seedlings that form the basis of a Hexclaw Hive-Mind support that theory.

I raised my hand, interrupting her for a moment. “Sseedlingss? I wass unaware that such a thing wass part of Uss.”

Calling it a seed isn’t strictly correct. And in your case, it is also not quite the same. Hive-Minds, especially Gestalt type Hive-Minds such as yourself, or other Hexclaws, do need some way to communicate with one another. Most of that is simulated through the implants you all possess, biological they might be.

In a true Hexclaw Hive-Mind these implants are not present, instead they have a natural connection to one another. It is why they can discard and reuse bodies as they please. It is also why they do not lose voices naturally.

I won’t bore you with the details, such would take for too long and is not helpful to our discussion, but these seedlings are the basis from which the Hive forms, and they enable their communication among them. It is part of the Hive-Queen, and something only she can produce, even if the Hive has Princesses or specialised Broodmothers available.

I frowned at that, not quite sure what to make of it. It was good to know, but I did have trouble adding that piece of information to my understanding of our own Hive-Mind. While I didn’t have the full picture, it appeared that we were fundamentally already quite different from what a typical Hexclaw Hive-Mind would look like, even disregarding our personality and personal opinions.

“I ssee. Thiss… sseedling, we posssesss one ass well?”

In a manner of speaking, yes. Even if your Hive-Mind works on different principles, with most of the functionality being taken care of by advanced technologies, you do possess such a seedling. I can’t tell you more about it, considering that it is part of the security mechanisms the protectors put in place.

It should also be mentioned that the seedling itself isn’t specifically a purely physical item. It is, in large parts, a metaphysical phenomenon, which is why it is harder to study in detail. Magic does not exist, but nature has found some interesting ways to evolve to use the laws of physics to its advantage.

I nodded at her explanation, but my mind was occupied with something else. If I understood the function and the purpose of the seedling correctly, it might enable Us to bypass some of the restrictions that were placed upon Us. I agreed with those restrictions, all of Us did, they had a purpose. However, knowing this, a question did creep into my mind.

“Thiss might come acrosss the wrong way; however, I have to assk. Should we find a way to bypasss thesse resstrictionss, even accidentally, would the protectorss try to sstep in?”

There was another pause from Kaysa, this one a bit longer. Knowing that she could already formulate a trillion responses before I even finished speaking, I was quite certain that this was either a deliberate pause, or she had to contact someone else to give me a proper reply.

I knew that she did that from time to time, in our previous discussions she more or less told me so. 

They would not.

Her voice sounded hesitant, even though I wasn’t quite sure why.

Unless you deliberately try to play the system to your advantage, and to the detriment of others, they would not step in. It is not our task to micromanage your actions, and we are the ones giving you the tools you have access to, so any restrictions that might fail are our responsibility to fix.

I nodded at that, it made sense and fit with my understanding on how the protectors worked. And it wasn’t like we were planning to break any of the restrictions. They were there for a reason, and as much as we might dislike some of the things that they subjected Us to, we had seen what the Devourer of Worlds could do. Having a Hive of that power with the ability to obtain any weapon known the galaxy over would be a very bad thing indeed.

Still, there were a lot of things that we didn’t know about, pertaining to the basis on which our Hive was built. I wanted to be sure that we wouldn’t be eradicated for finding some loophole accidentally, even if I found it unlikely. The protectors obviously put a lot of thought into it, and I was very sure that they tried to make sure that their restrictions weren’t easily bypassed.

That said, if we could be punished for accidentally bypassing them, we might end up frozen in indecision, not wanting to risk anything.

Of course, there was also the possibility that Kaysa had just lied to me, but I didn’t consider that in any way a reasonable option. Not only would it mean that anything she told Us up until now would be up to question, so far she’s always been truthful with Us. If we would start to question every word coming from her, we would not get anywhere.

“Thank you. I hope I do not need to asssure you that we don’t have anything like that planned.”

No. I am very aware about how you work, and I find it highly unlikely that you would try something along those lines. It is still a very delicate topic, as you are no doubt aware of.

Nodding again, I dropped the topic, focusing back on the issue at hand. Her words had been informative, especially about an aspect I hadn’t even considered so far. She had mentioned that the other Hexclaw Hive-Minds rarely, if ever, surfaced from the chorus. It was a minor detail, one that was obvious in a way, since most of Us didn’t do so, but it did bring up something that I hadn’t considered before.

Immersing oneself in the chorus, or, conversely, emerging from it, was a rather stark contrast to the contrary. Being a part of the chorus made it much easier to converse with the rest of Us, even if it wasn’t impossible to do so while you weren’t. The connection was never quite completely cut, but the difference in feedback was rather potent.

It also shifted your own perspective depending on the state you were in. Personally, I preferred a more subtle approach, never quite completely immersed, but also never quite completely emerged either. It helped me find the objective viewpoint I needed, while retaining a deeper understanding of what was going on with the rest of Us.

Our Queen, on the other hand, switched quite often and for extended periods of time. In and of itself that wasn’t a problem, but I had already noticed that even while she was immersed in the chorus, she tended to focus more on her own perspective, as if she was still not quite fully paying attention to the rest of Us.

The mishap earlier with the model Eighteen was a good indication of that.

If I took all of these things into account, the way our Queen and Snuffles differed, the way we made use of the chorus, and the way we differed from other Hexclaw Hive-Minds on a fundamental level, an image started to form.

We had to find our own path. We could neither rely on our human perspective, nor on our Hexclaw perspective. Neither approach would work well for Us, since we differed from either side quite significantly. That left me with the question of what that path would look like.

Thinking about it, I decided that it wasn’t my decision to make. We had to find a solution as a whole, as Myriad. Only then would we be able to properly work out the issues plaguing our Hive.

I didn’t have any illusions about Us finding a solution quickly. Such things would take time, but I did already feel a bit better for realising where the crux of the matter was. 

Turning my attention back to the rest of Us, although saying that I wasn’t paying attention beforehand would be wrong, I once more checked the status of things. This was another aspect of our nature that I don’t think any one of Us has made conscious use of before. We knew it was possible to split our attention, but none of Us had ever addressed it directly.

Perhaps that would be another key to a more coherent work flow in the future. Yet another item to add to the list of things that required discussion.

Our advance was going smoothly, or at least, as smoothly as it could go with the increased antithesis activity. We suffered some losses, mostly wounds, thankfully, and we did have to rotate out our forces quite often to make sure that those that required it, got the medical attention they needed.

Contacting one of the War Drone groups, I sent a few orders their way, making sure that Bellona was up to date and wouldn’t object to the new movements. Our newly equipped Hatchlings were quite potent fighters, and while they didn’t have the same amount of firepower as our upgraded War Drones boasted, with all the upgrades they were nigh on as capable as any unupgraded War Drone would be.

Once more keeping an eye on our Queen’s group, I watched her decimate a horde of smaller aliens. The training had served Us well, and I was glad to see how impactful it had become. That said, compared to the others, our Queen was lacking in combat ability. As potent as her Hard-Light emitters were, fact of the matter was, that she couldn’t deal with larger groups of larger models in the same way Knight Chloe, or Bobby could. Even Knight Jenna was more capable in that regard, despite her lack of direct combat ability.

It wasn’t as if our Queen wasn’t contributing, but I was almost certain that she would be able to help much more if she’d have her body modifications. That would take time, however, time I wasn’t sure we had.

As with a lot of other things, I had taken some time discussing this issue with Kaysa. She had told me that for the body modifications that our Queen wanted, she would most likely be out of commission for roughly a week, maybe a day less. Surprisingly enough, the main problem wasn't her different combat forms. Those could be done almost instantaneously, once she obtained her shapeshifting abilities and had sufficient knowledge and biomass to use them.

No, it was the foundation itself that took all that time. Hexclaws were adaptable, capable of rewriting their entire genome in just a few years on the outside. But our Queen wasn’t a Hexclaw, she was human. And all of that had to be replaced, before the increased adaptability would be able to kick in.

We hadn’t much thought about what the body modifications would mean for Us on a more intimate level. In effect, she would replace her entire body with that of a Hexclaw, even if there were some other aspects mixed in. Once the true extent of the required changes became clear, I had begun worrying a little.

We were quite open and less attached to our human form, as a whole. It was comfortable, yes, and even the rest of Us who were born a Hexclaw did appreciate the generally humanoid design that shaped our bodies, but it wasn’t to the point where we felt icky about the idea of looking different. Especially in the case of our Queen, since she would be able to adjust her appearance on the fly.

What worried me more was what it would mean for our humanity. Even those of Us who weren’t biologically human in any way, did feel a slight nagging at the idea of perhaps losing that aspect of Us, was it not one of the most important parts that made Us who we were.

Perhaps it was time that I addressed the topic with our Queen. Her obtaining the body modifications would be quite a boon for Us, both in terms of combat power and her defences.

With a sigh, I waited for them to clean up the next cave, before I decided that I might as well do it now.

“My Queen. There iss ssomething I would like to talk to you about.”

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