《The Fourth Faction》Chapter 02 - Starting from the bottom
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AN: Enjoy the second chapter of this starcraft fiction
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'Holy shit, I was reincarnated into a zerg... I can't believe it. Instead of a human, an elf or a demon from a fantasy word, or even an animal, I was reincarnated into a zerg... What the fuck am I supposed to do? How am I going to survive? I'm just a lowly larvae for fuck sake!! I can't do anything!! Larvae can turn into higher zerg through mutations, but how the hell am I supposed to do that? It usually is a higher ranked zerg that decide things, it's completely different than just clicking with the mouse on the computer! Worse, the only thing available to me right now is being a weak drone...'
He was lamenting on his situation. In the game, it was technically the cerebrates and the Overmind that decided the mutations the drones should take. The drones could turn into overlords, but the overlords were just there to help direct the units, they didn't control the mutations. And only the Overmind could make cerebrates. He didn't even know how to mutate, and couldn't control his 4 kins. Or so he though at the beginning...
'Right, zerg are supposed to be kind of mindless, just killing instinct and blind, absolute obediance to the ones above. But that's not the case with me... I have my own will, I can feel the minds of my kin, so maybe I can impose my will on them... But can they even understand me? Even if they can, even if I can order them around, it's not like they will mutate into what I want because I told them to... Haaaaa, I have no choice but to try it.'
While he was thinking, the others 4 larvaes had gone out of their eggs and were slowly crawling around. He started to focus his mind on them, and infusing autority in his thoughs, ordered them to come to him. He didn't know if it worked, but after a few seconds, they turned toward him and started to crawl in his direction. But he was also disappointed, because if his friend was there, he would have replied back, asking what he wanted. His friend wasn't the kind to just listen and follow strangers. And in this situation his friend would have been talkative instead of remaining silent.
'Ok... So I can order them around, that's one good thing to know. But what about mutations? We can't survive as mere larvaes. No, maybe we can because the creep that was on our egg shells is still growing and we can feed on it, but I don't want to spend the rest of my new life as a fucking larvae! So, how do we mutate? Probably by releasing some kind of hormone that will activate a certain part of our DNA, thus releasing another kind of hormone that will provoke a transformation in our cells? Damn, those biology lessons feel so far away... Hmm?'
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As he was thinking about the workings of their bodies, he got the feeling he knew what to do.
'… Could this be, perhaps, instinct? The information hidden within the DNA? Just like some animal do what they must to survive, like those turtles digging the ground to get out of the hole their eggs were left in and moving toward the sea even though noone told them to do that? Ha, hahahaha! I now know how to mutate! Hahaha!'
'The bodies of larvaes really are impressive in a sense, they can act on their own genetic code... Ok, I have 4 larvaes under my control. Since that's the case, I may not be forced to follow the paterns of the game... The Overmind is a rigid ruler, but I don't have to be as rigid as him... Hmm, but it looks like I still have some limitations, and I can't break them that easily...'
He believed that the larvaes held the full potential of zerg evolution, and that each time an individual evolved, the roads open to it would greatly decrease. If he wanted to get the best evolution for himself, he had to remain a larvae while experimenting with the others, all the while keeping a firm control on them. But keeping them under control would probably be hard as a simple larvae, so he still had to change.
More cerebral capacity without losing the larvae potential for evolution. Larvaes could evolve into overlords, who had control capacity. He had to unlock it without blocking his path for evolution. He decided to put it aside, and concentrated on the larvaes. Before evolving, they needed food, they needed more creep, but there wasn't enough yet.
He decided to sacrifice the injured larvae. Even if they were underground, it was still very cold, and even if the zergs as a whole were tough, the larvaes were still weak. He ordered 2 of the larvaes to kill the wounded one, and gave them the instruction to mutate into drones. They would use the corpse of the deceased larvae as material. The 2 larvaes executed his order, and soon enough got warped into cocoons which spread over the dead one.
'Ok, now that they are mutating into drones, what to do? Logically speaking, I should make a hatchery, but in the game it keep spamming larvaes without the player control. But I also need the hatchery to spread the creep... Or not... The creep colony can do the same. Also, usually, the creep can't grow without the hatchery, but here it is growing... Because I want it to grow!! In the starcraft lore, the creep is sensitive to psionique emanations. It's responding to my will!'
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'A hatchery will be too much of burden on my control ability, but a creep colony should be fine. I will use it as shelter as well. As for the second drone... In the game, to make a better unit I would need a spawning pool and an evolution chamber. I would also need gaz and some crystals, but they aren't necessary in real life it seem. As for the spawning pool and evolution chamber, they probably produce some hormones that allow higher mutations, something like that... '
'Hmm, with those, I should be able to completely break away from the rigid path used by the overmind, and make my own zerg sub-race. With the creep extending and the colony as home, I will be able to think about what kind of zerg I will make in a safe environment. Wait! I would still be lacking larvaes for experiments... So I'll have to make a hatchery in the end... Maybe I'll be able to reduce the amount of larvaes generated? Well, first let's see what my drones can do.'
A while later, the drones burst out of their cocoons. He still had perfect control over them. Focusing heavily on one of them, he started to think about how to make it mutate again, and soon enough he got his answer. Even better, he would be able to make something new. There were several hormones that could be released, each with a particular function in mind. The barrier between specific buildings was broken to a certain extend.
Focusing on the drone, he took control of its body, but it was an incredibly hard task, more than he imagined. It was completely different from just giving orders. He was going to mutate the drone into a completely new kind of building, a building with the functons of the spawning pool and the evolution chamber. With that building he would be able to make many experiments to find the best path for himself. He started the mutation, then retreated with the drone and the remaining larvae at a safer distance.
The ground around was already covered in creep, but it was still a thin layer, a small amount. It would still take some time until the organic building was completed. For the second drone, he wanted to mutate it into a creep colony with the birthing function of a hatchery, hoping it would restrain the production of larvaes. Following his instincts, he guessed that it was doable and ordered the mutation after sending the drone some distance away.
It took around 8 days for the modified creep colony to be finished. Just like he expected, compared to a hatchery the amount of eggs generated was reduced. But he also realised that he needed the hatchery to have access to more of the zerg genetic library. The last larvae and himself managed to survive during that time, though they were severely weakened. They took refuge into the new building, which he called the “Fort” because it was originally a defensive building. It was probably bigger than the original one, and probably generated more creep s well. That was good enough for him.
The other mixed building, which he called the “Genesis core”, was completed in thrice the amount of time used for the first. It was also quite big, probably 100m in cimcumference. Since both buildings were living zergs, he still retained a minimum of control after the mutation. That building was used to not only look for genetic traits and to generate specific mutations through different means, but also to assimilate other races. However, a specimen must be inside to get a mutation or for assimilation.
He did nothing but make experiments on every larvaes for 7 weeks until he got a good grasp of the mutations available for him. Like he hoped, he would be able to increase his control power without losing much of his evolution potential. He didn't want to make overlords yet, fearing he would lose control to them. Within the genesis core, his larvae body got surrounded in a cocoon. He could feel some of his body slowly being eroded before falling into unconsciousness.
9 days later he woke up, feeling stronger, his mind sharper and clearer. He still looked like a larvae for the most part, but dark brown and red, bigger, with 24 strong legs and 2 pincers that could be used like arms. He had taken traits from both a drone and an overlord. He was an oversized larvae with pincers and a better nervous system, and called himself a “Grand lord”.
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AN: There won't be much action until the mc is done designing and making his own zerg subrace, and then start expanding. The "slice of life" tag is for the development before the action.
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