I Am The Swarm

Compared to cosmic radiation, the radiation Luo Wen dealt with in the laboratory was child’s play. According to calculations, unless he thickened his keratin layer to over three meters, he would be unable to withstand such radiation.

A three-meter-thick keratin shell would require his body size to reach at least 20 meters to support the armor, and the weight would likely exceed 100 tons.

Given the rat folk’s current level of technology, even another century might not suffice to send him to the moon.

Thus, the idea of enduring radiation physically was no longer feasible.

The paper Luo Wen read discussed the hypothesis of planetary magnetic fields shielding against cosmic radiation. The author speculated that planets naturally generated a massive protective field, deflecting or neutralizing harmful radiation from space, as evidenced by the ability of life to thrive on planetary surfaces.

The paper concluded with a proposal to research this field and replicate it in a small-scale magnetic device, which could be installed on rockets or personal protective suits to counter space radiation.

Through the Swarm Network, Luo Wen quickly tracked down the author, who turned out to be working in a private laboratory under Starlight Enterprises.

Unbeknownst to this rat folk, they were suddenly entrusted with a critical mission: promoted to lead a new laboratory, granted unlimited funding and personnel, and tasked with a single goal—developing the magnetic device envisioned in the paper as quickly as possible.

Luo Wen’s genetic library contained numerous organisms with unique understandings of magnetic fields, but none offered a complete framework. Even his anti-gravity wings (Beetle Elytra) were merely a rudimentary application of magnetic fields. Thus, Luo Wen needed a comprehensive theory to integrate and enhance these capabilities.

Time flew by, and in just a few years, the rat folk’s aerospace industry made remarkable strides. Rockets underwent continuous propulsion system upgrades, bringing them closer to reaching the moon.

Two years ago, they even managed to send a four-clawed beast into space. Unfortunately, their rockets still lacked re-entry systems. The creature contributed a wealth of data before becoming a permanent fixture in planetary orbit.

Last year, a rat folk was sent into low Earth orbit and successfully returned. Although they suffered numerous ailments afterward, they survived.

Luo Wen was intrigued but frustrated. After studying the equipment used by the astronaut, he found little of immediate value.

For instance, the rat folk’s protective suit had multiple layers, including a vacuum layer to mitigate extreme temperatures in space. However, Luo Wen had no idea how to grow a vacuum layer within his body.

There was good news, though. The radiation protection technology used in the rat folk’s space suits originated from a private laboratory under Starlight Enterprises.

The researcher, a rat folk named Karen, did not disappoint. They successfully developed a compact magnetic field protection device, which was further refined with ample resources and support. Eventually, the technology was streamlined into a metallic fiber material.

The outermost layer of the rat folk’s space suits was composed of this material. By forming a closed loop, it generated an induced current that produced a counter-electromagnetic field to block radiation.

Luo Wen couldn’t coat his body with such material, but he could use the theory to evolve an organ or ability with similar functionality.

After a period of research and experimentation, he was nearing success.

First, Luo Wen utilized genes from an electric fish species, whose specialized muscle tissue formed a natural electric organ. These fish also had numerous energy storage cells functioning like miniature stacked batteries. When the nerve center acting as a discharge hub sent signals, the electric organ released electricity, connecting the energy storage cells in series to generate high voltage.

This structure could power a small magnetic field generator.

To construct the generator, Luo Wen turned to the genes of a metal snail species that lived at depths of 3,000 meters, near hydrothermal vents and undersea volcanoes.

Luo Wen had discovered these snails during a deep-sea exploration. While they didn’t taste particularly good, their genes were worth collecting.

The snails had metallic scales on their footpads and metal shells with natural magnetic properties, giving them a futuristic appearance.

Using this trait, Luo Wen incorporated metal particles into his shell, arranging them into a biological magnetic field generator. The electric organ provided energy, successfully creating a small magnetic field on his body’s surface.

Not only did this magnetic field effectively block radiation penetration, but it also provided an unexpected bonus. The magnetic field’s containment effect significantly reduced heat dissipation, stabilizing Luo Wen’s ambient temperature.

This serendipitously solved the problem of extreme cold in space, a longstanding concern for Luo Wen. Though unsure of the exact mechanism behind this result, Luo Wen chalked it up to an evolutionary anomaly.

There was, however, a drawback. The system required a substantial intake of minerals to function. To make it viable for the Swarm, the Queen Ants’ diet would need to include specific minerals. Alternatively, Luo Wen considered enhancing the fungal carpet by integrating the metal snail’s genes. Since it could already break down rocks and minerals, this genetic addition might enable it to extract the required materials more effectively.

With the challenges of oxygen deprivation, low temperatures, and cosmic radiation resolved, Luo Wen made significant progress toward spacefaring capabilities. The remaining hurdle was energy acquisition. Once solved, Luo Wen would evolve into a true space-dwelling organism, with the Swarm following suit.

Another year passed. The rat folk’s rocket propulsion research hit a bottleneck. Returning to old methods, they increased the number of thrusters—from 1+4 to 1+6, and then to 1+8—bringing their rockets ever closer to the moon.

Over the same year, Luo Wen delved into numerous research papers and discovered a new application for the Swarm Network. He could extract and clone specific memories from the rat folk’s collective intelligence. It felt like forcibly downloading a book into his mind, allowing him to sift through the useful parts.

While this saved time compared to traditional reading, it came with downsides. The memory extraction captured an entire timeframe, including potentially unsavory personal experiences.

After a particularly embarrassing incident, Luo Wen expunged the cloned memory with great effort and resolved to use this method sparingly.

Still, a year of study provided Luo Wen with ideas on how to harvest energy in space.

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