Zerg Swarm

*"Awaken my child, and embrace the glory that is your birthright. Know that I am the Overmind, the eternal will of the Swarm, and that you have been created to serve me."*

-The Overmind

The Zerg, otherwise known as the Swarm, are a race of insectoid aliens capable of mutating just by consuming essence. They are high in number, and one of the 3 main races in the Starcraft series.

## History

### Creation

The original zerg were born in the first spawning pool on Zerus. They started out as small, micro-organisms that began consuming one another, evolving into the first zerg. The zerg were capable of mutating just by eating the flesh of another species, but they were small animals and would not be able to become a powerful race on their own. Amon and his xel'naga came to Zerus and found them, and spurred their evolution through proto-genetic manipulation, in an attempt to merge them with the protoss and end the Infinite Cycle. The zerg, being parasitic creatures, could take over the body of a stronger creature and control it from within. After many cycles, the host would mutate a hardened carapace, and most would take on an insect-like appearance.

#### Evolution

The zerg were united, but were individuals, which would lead to inter-species conflict. The xel'naga would solve this by creating a massive creature called the Overmind, which would become the zerg's hive mind. It began as a semi-sentient intelligence that represented the zerg's will, and soon began creating cerebrates to control the many broods. As the broods kept growing, the swarm assimilated the Arachnis brood keeper to help manage broods. The zerg had assimilated most of the life forms on Zerus, and without any more new species to assimilate, they became stagnant. Eventually, the zerg assimilated a space-faring species called the behemoths, and used them to escape Zerus. From then on, they took to destroying the xel'naga fleet above them, killing Amon and his followers. While they could not assimilate the xel'naga, the Overmind learned of the existence of the protoss, and decided to search for them.

To get rid of the inefficiencies in the swarm's worker caste, the cerebrate Nargil was assigned to hunting down new species for assimilation. The Gashyrr wasps on Eldersthine were selected as the next candidates for zerg evolution. Due to its' DNA being incompatible with that of the zerg, the Overmind spun the essence of many creatures and created a geneticist to improve swarm evolution. By killing the Gashyrr wasps, the native ecosystem was being disrupted, as many species depended on the wasps for cross-pollination. The assimilated Gashyrr wasps became the base for the basic worker breed, while the remaining biomass was used to construct the Witness Deep-Space Array, which could detect light from other worlds. As the swarm spent centuries evolving and mutating, they looked for signs of the protoss. While the swarm left Zerus, some zerg stayed behind, having more in common with the original, pre-Overmind zerg.

## References

1. Overmind: "Though I have born witness to the passing of countless millennia, the temple which you must assault is older by far." *Starcraft.* Vivendi Games. Level/area: Full Circle (in English). 1998.