I Am The Swarm

With eloquence and historical references, President Derlin began by summarizing the Riken’s development over time. He then addressed the grave challenge they now faced.

This was different from the past.

Previous wars had been internal conflicts. Even in defeat, there was always a retreat.

But this time, it was a war against an alien species. Failure could mean the extinction of their entire race.

“In a broken nest, no egg is left intact.”

He emphasized that there was no room for wishful thinking. This war against the aliens must be fought and won decisively, ideally with a single, crushing blow to eliminate the enemy entirely.

After rousing the populace to a state of unified indignation, Derlin shifted the discussion to the critical issue at hand: money.

Wars required funding—an immense amount of it.

A regular war demanded a colossal starting budget.

The required resources would reach astronomical levels.

The Federation government alone could not shoulder such an enormous burden.

However, this war concerned everyone. Whether for themselves, their families, or their race, every Riken citizen had a duty to support the expedition.

In closing, President Derlin called on everyone to contribute to the cause, urging them to donate whatever they could afford toward military funding.

Of course, voluntary contributions wouldn’t suffice.

The Federation Parliament seized the opportunity to introduce a wartime tax, imposed on all citizens.

Under normal circumstances, such a measure would never pass. Even if it did, the enraged populace would likely raze the parliamentary building. But at this moment, the timing was impeccable. Amid widespread fury, dissenting voices were drowned out. Media narratives cast opposition as treason against the species.

Thus, the tax was smoothly implemented.

Simultaneously, major corporations and prominent families made substantial donations.

As staggering sums were publicized, many Riken citizens, initially grumbling about the war tax, were stunned. They couldn’t understand why these typically stingy entities were now so generous. Were they truly acting out of a newfound sense of responsibility?

Regardless, the wave of donations spurred a nationwide trend. With subtle guidance from various factions, the movement grew until it reached a point where donating less became a source of embarrassment.

The vast funds amassed were safeguarded with an iron hand. Anyone attempting to misappropriate funds was swiftly eliminated. Every credit was allocated to military development.

For the first time, all financial records were made public. The transparency of fund usage far surpassed any previous project. Citizens were delighted to see the government genuinely taking action. Alongside their praise for the current administration, they speculated that the crisis might be more severe than it seemed.

This speculation sparked yet another donation surge.

The Riken star system, known to the Swarm as the M37 Star System, comprised ten planets. The Riken home planet was the fourth, accompanied by two moons.

A century ago, before the launch of the Cat’s Ear Spaceship, the Riken had established their first space city on the primary moon. Over time, this moon evolved into their first colony.

Not long after the Cat’s Ear Spaceship departed, construction began on the second moon.

While building the third space city on the second moon, the Riken made a shocking discovery:

They unearthed a spaceship.

This vessel, over 500 meters long, was made of an unknown metal. Geological analysis suggested it had been buried for tens of thousands of years.

Though its origin remained a mystery, its long abandonment indicated it was unclaimed.

After years of effort, the Riken finally breached the ship’s doors. Its defensive systems had long been deactivated due to energy depletion.

It was a windfall straight out of a novel.

The ship’s technology was leagues ahead of the Riken’s. Reverse-engineering its equipment spurred unprecedented advancements.

In just a few decades, their technological capabilities had multiplied several times over.

For instance, where earlier spacecraft relied on solar sails and prolonged acceleration to achieve one-tenth light speed, new propulsion engines could easily reach that speed. The latest engines even achieved one-fifth light speed.

With these new engines, journeys to the neighboring star system now took only twenty years.

This rapid progress allowed the Riken to terraform the third planet in the newly named Cloud Return Star System into their third colony, maintaining firm control over it.

Currently, orbiting the fifth planet in the same system—designated the Riven Planet—numerous spaceyards had been completed.

Construction on these yards had started over a decade ago, around the time the Cat’s Ear Spaceship neared the Neighboring Star System and detected Godzilla’s thermonuclear breath.

It seemed preparations for this operation had begun long ago. Perhaps the previous President had been involved. Even without the Cat’s Ear Spaceship incident, they might have fabricated a different pretext to achieve similar goals.

If Luo Wen were here, he would undoubtedly quip, “That’s absolutely right.” After all, Swarm meteors had only recently departed from the Neighboring Star System, traveling just one light-year.

They still required decades to reach the Riken system. The Riken’s fabricated asteroid strikes were essentially a form of “Fraud.” using the Swarm’s tactics.

Their maneuvering, however, had hit the mark. Yet one had to wonder how they would react upon discovering a genuine biological civilization in the Neighboring Star System, complete with bio-weapons comparable to or even surpassing Godzilla.

Their response would likely be quite… visceral.

The once-quiet Cloud Return Star System now bustled with activity. Ships from countless corporations, organizations, and individuals arrived to sell asteroids to the spaceyards.

To these capital-driven entities, the vast war funds represented a feast. No one wanted to miss the opportunity to claim a share.

Asteroids were melted in space foundries, their metal extracted using magnetic fields. The molten material was cast into modules and parts, which were then assembled into various spacecraft.

With the collective effort of over ten billion Riken citizens, warships of all sizes were rapidly constructed, delivered to the military, and staffed for training.

Time passed. Amid this, President Derlin crushed all opposition to secure a second term in office.

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