I Am The Swarm

When all the territories without internal conflict had been divided, what remained were contested and disputed lands with shared borders. However, the civilizations on the outermost edge of the Ji’s sphere of influence found themselves relatively free of such troubles.

Beyond them lay vast and unexplored frontiers, ready to be claimed, without the need for scheming and infighting with those within the inner circle.

But some issues cannot simply be avoided by choice.

A new regulation was enacted: to protect nascent civilizations, all native civilizations that had not yet stepped out from their home planet would have their surrounding star systems off-limits until their technological development reached a certain level.

This meant that discovering a native civilization could render at least four or five surrounding star systems undevelopable. While these star domains did not have an abundance of such native civilizations, they were far from rare. This severely restricted the expansion of outer-ring civilizations.

This regulation garnered widespread support among the outer species, as they held the majority in the inner circle.

Thus, conflicts arose not only between adjacent outer-ring civilizations but also between the inner and outer circles, dividing them into two camps.

The outer-ring camp soon realized that once these native civilizations matured, they generally avoided conflict with the established old civilizations along their borders, preferring instead to retreat and develop the vast expanses on the other side.

However, these civilizations would then encounter the same problems their predecessors faced: though space was vast, many star systems were protected, making detours cumbersome and governance challenging.

Transforming from beneficiaries into those restricted by the rules, the gratitude for previous protection quickly eroded over time, and resentment began to grow.

The New Ji Race identified this trend. Regardless of the camp, a common enemy should not emerge among them—and certainly, it should not be the New Ji Race.

Hence, a new set of rules was introduced.

The new rules introduced the concept of “old aiding new,” whereby, after a native civilization unearthed a Ji spaceship and developed for a period, a nearby established civilization would step in to “welcome” them.

What seemed like a mere courier mission was, in fact, highly lucrative. According to the new regulations, the initial points earned from the first scientific personnel dispatched by a native civilization to the Ji would be split 80-20 between the established and emerging civilizations. In other words, the older forces claimed the lion’s share of the profit from this “head count” transaction.

The rules also revised the protection framework for new civilizations. Previously, protection was indefinite and lifted only when a civilization reached a specific technological milestone. The new system implemented a fixed time limit: once the time was up, the protection would end regardless of the civilization’s level of advancement. Naturally, if a civilization achieved the technological benchmark earlier, the protection could also end prematurely.

Moreover, while interference from older civilizations was strictly forbidden during the protection period, this restriction did not apply during the invitation process, as long as the interference was not “excessive.”

Thus, through trial and error, the established forces gradually mastered the boundaries of what constituted “not excessive.” They transformed the invitation process into a grand harvest festival.

During this process, they would exploit every opportunity to weaken the strength and potential of new civilizations. For instance, they might annihilate their fleets, plunder their wealth, and forcibly take all eligible scientific personnel. To minimize their own costs during this phase, they even invented tools such as the “Crimson Kiss.”

As a result, a typical civilization emerging from the invitation process would require centuries of recuperation to regain some vitality.

Meanwhile, the old forces, enriched by points and plunder, invariably gained a new mortal enemy.

This was an overt scheme. The likelihood that a native civilization is surrounded by only one established force is very low.

While the closest established power holds the priority for extending the invitation, even if it chooses to abstain, territorial adjacency makes future conflicts with this nascent civilization almost inevitable. Therefore, rather than wait, it is often more advantageous to cripple the newcomer from the outset, ensuring it becomes a feeble opponent.

Naturally, apart from voluntary abstention, in cases of failed invitations, other established forces slightly farther away can intervene without issue. However, since the system’s implementation, there has never been a failed invitation.

After all, how could a civilization that has just unearthed a Ji spaceship hope to contend with the established powers?

This dynamic ensures that new native civilizations can no longer maintain amicable relations with the old powers, further entangling the web of hatred among the outer species. The shared enemy vanishes, and some factions even curry favor with the New Ji Race to gain support in disputes with their long-standing rivals.

As time passes, the New Ji Race’s status gradually returns to a position of transcendence. Meanwhile, the outer factions continue to grow, expanding their collective territory and influence.

Externally, however, they cannot openly claim to be a vassal race of the Ji, as many civilizations refuse to acknowledge such a designation. Thus, a new name emerged—Interstellar Technological Confederation.

“A magnificent civilization.”

Regardless of perspective, the legendary history of the Ji must be acknowledged.

Through an intelligent entity converted from the Daqi species, Luo Wen compiled information about the background of the Interstellar Technological Confederation. The above details were derived from this analysis.

According to the memories of the Daqi, both the New Ji Race and the outer species had deliberately concealed portions of the original Ji’s history, as there were elements they did not wish the future generations to uncover.

However, these hidden elements were under the control of Lumina, categorized as core principles within the Ji’s heritage and designated as immutable tenets. These could neither be altered nor obscured.

For a new civilization joining the Interstellar Technological Confederation, their first batch of points typically would not be spent on acquiring technology but on exchanging for the alliance’s history and rules.

As a result, the history of the Ji became universally known among the outer species. Even military officers without formal education on the subject could provide a general overview of it.

Yet, Luo Wen still found parts of the record puzzling. For instance, the account that claimed the last individual of the original Ji had chosen to pass the Ji’s name to their successor and personally modified Lumina’s core principles.

Luo Wen speculated that this decision might not have been entirely autonomous. Perhaps the original Ji had planned for this outcome long ago.

Moreover, how could a species devoid of emotion manipulate the hearts and minds of others with such precision? Even after their extinction, they had engineered their successors to embody the exact ideals needed to uphold their legacy in the galaxy for countless years.

Or perhaps this outcome was only possible because the transformation succeeded. If it had failed, would the AI known as Lumina have reset the starfield entirely?

And further, what exactly is Lumina? Is it merely a hyper-intelligent machine that strictly follows established rules? Or has it transcended its original programming to possess life and true wisdom?

Luo Wen couldn’t decide. His understanding of such concepts had once been quite clear, but after reading the history of the Ji, he found himself increasingly uncertain.

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