Chapter 10
“Well I’m glad Earth wasn’t purged. How are those laws enforced anyway? I mean, it’s not a secret that earth has nukes. But I would think it would be impossible to enforce in a society that spans trillions of galaxies. Wouldn't it be easy for someone to hide a nuclear program on any of those planets?” I said trying to comprehend the intricacies of a government that large.
“The swarm itself enforces it on swarm integrated worlds. So swarm knights and lords just have to make sure that every world stays integrated.” The assembly master said.
I frowned at the simple answer. “How does that work?”
There was a long pause before he answered. I could tell that he thought the answer may upset me. “The swarm limits what you call technology. Swarm society is based solely on magic and primitive technology. What the swarm will allow to be produced by magic is also limited. So it’s impossible to create a magical disease or nuke.”
“What are the technological limits?” I asked, feeling a bit of dread.
“The big one is electricity. The swarm absorbs any large concentration of energy. You can’t even store electricity or radioactive material on a swarm world. It will all get converted into mana.” He explained.
That certainly explained why they were worried about chaos when Earth integrated with the swarm. I tried to imagine what would happen if people woke up and electricity simply no longer worked. “What about explosives?” I asked, thinking about things like guns, bombs, and most importantly combustion engines.
The assembly master shook his head. “The process is a bit slower but any explosive or fuel is an energy source.”
“So as soon as Earth integrates we will lose all our technology?” I said, seeking a bit of clarification.
He nodded. “It won’t happen instantly. But most will fail in just a few days. I looked over the projections earlier. There are two main ones based on if the governments on Earth accept integration peacefully or try to fight us. Nobody will be able to stop integration, but they could slow or even stop aid from getting to the population of Earth. If that happens it’s likely that most of the population will die.”
He was right. Without electricity and gasoline civilization would collapse. It would be impossible to move enough food into the cities. Let alone grow enough without access to high tech farm equipment. Famine and the ensuing chaos would kill an uncountable number of people.
“Which explains why you need so many swarm knights to feed the population.” I said finally realizing just how massive the issue facing Earth was.
“One of the powers and jobs of a swarm knight is to grant access to the mana that the swarm generates. People with access to mana are called mages and can channel it in numerous ways. This includes using it to create and transport food. Unfortunately we can’t just send in a few thousand knights because of the weapons.” He said, shaking his head.
“Because the weapons could be used against the swarm knights?” I asked, already thinking about the likely outcomes. Most countries would see the slow failure of their technology as an attack. It wouldn’t surprise me if one or more decided to attack the swarm knights.
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“Every swarm knight is worth hundreds of millions of lives. There is also the possibility that weapons could be smuggled off the planet. Depending on where they were stored it could be years before they are fully drained.” He said verifying my own thoughts.
“What’s to keep them from being smuggled off now?” I asked.
“Earth is being monitored for any swarm activity and any travel to and from the planet. Any activity or space travel would be easily tracked. But once integration starts someone could try to smuggle something through one of the already opened portals.” The assembly master explained.
“How did Earth lose integration anyway?” I asked.
“Rumor is that one of the swarm kings was behind it. They captured him and he is imprisoned for life now..” He surprised me once again.
“So it was intentional? Why would someone do that?” I was stunned by the revelation.
The assembly master frowned. “What they were tried for was the creation of the weapons of Earth. There aren’t many other reasons you would remove integration from a world. Although that doesn’t explain why it took thousands of years before those weapons were created.”
Before I could ask another question he stopped me. “I think we have spent more than enough time on this subject. If you want more information I’d be more than happy to have someone give you access to the files about Earth. For now there are other priorities. Such as figuring out where to assign you.”
He was right. None of my questions were going to change the outcome for Earth. Besides, it sounded like people with far more experience and knowledge than I had were already dealing with the problem.
“Is it possible to wait before assigning me to a Baron?” I asked.
The assembly master frowned at me. “It’s going to be at least a few years before Earth is reintegrated. It would be best if you were assigned to a Baron in the meantime and learned about being a knight. Reassignment is easy and common among the knights. Especially if it’s made clear that you will be leaving once Earth is reintegrated.”
I nodded in understanding. “That’s not actually why I want to wait. I’m hoping that I’m talented enough to become a Baron myself. You just said Earth doesn’t have a Baron right? Would it be possible for me to become the Baron of Earth if I have the talent?” I asked eagerly.
The assembly master seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. “It would certainly be possible. But the possibility of you being talented enough to be a Baron is highly unlikely. Among swarm knights from the general population less than one in a million qualify as Barons. Almost all Barons have at least one parent that was at least qualified to be a swarm knight.”
I couldn’t help but grin. “And how would you know that my parents don’t have any swarm talent?”
I nearly laughed at the shocked look he gave me. “Do you know if either of them have tried the Koravar VR helmet?”
I knew for a fact that they didn’t own one. Otherwise I would have used theirs instead of buying one for so much money. Still that didn’t mean that they hadn’t tried one out somewhere. I kind of doubted it though. “I don’t think so. Neither of them are that interested in gaming or VR.” I said with a shrug.
The assembly master seemed upset by my answer. “You’re right. I have no idea whether they are talented or not. Statistically now that I think about it chances are that at least one of them has some talent. I’m going to have to request that a team be sent to test them and the rest of your relatives.” He said and then looked at the piles of papers on his desk and sighed. I suspected that he was upset because making a request to bypass the interdiction on Earth was going to involve a bunch more paperwork.
Finally the assembly master took a deep breath and looked back up at me. “It won’t hurt anything to wait and see if you are qualified to become a Baron. Meanwhile you should begin assembling your staff and servants in case you aren’t a Baron. Some of them may even be qualified to serve a swarm Baron.” With that said he passed me a couple dozen pieces of papers.