Swarming Sovereignty

“You’re sure about this, Willow?” Seth, the God of Space, asked.

Willow leaned back in the chair, giving Seth a knowing smile. “I’m sure.” She replied.

“And you do know it will likely be the swarm’s demise, right?” Seth continued. “I won’t hear complaints later.”

Willow held back the urge to snort. He was awfully confident for someone who wasn’t the most well-versed in combat. “You can think that.” She said. “I’ve carefully looked over the proposal and have decided it’s an acceptable risk.”

Seth raised an eyebrow. “I fail to see how you could come to that conclusion if you actually read through everything.”

“Then that’s your problem.” Willow replied. “You should be asking yourself why you’re so confident if I don’t agree with your assessment. Besides, doing this is basically the same as giving up on that plane, is it not? Can you really bring yourself to do that?”

Seth gave Willow a pained look. “With Rose and Amelia, that plane is a lost cause.” He said. “As much as it hurts to do, it’s better to cut my losses and focus on safeguarding the other planes.”

“You could just let them start in the Lia’s plane instead of Izumi’s plane.” Willow suggested. “If you’re that confident this will work.”

“No.” Seth replied. “It is imperative that they are given time to get accustomed to the new system and grow in power, and having them start in Lia’s plane would inevitably end in their defeat.”

Willow shrugged. “Well, I won’t say any more on the topic, then. Do you want my funding or not? And remember, you’re not allowed to announce to the mortals that I helped fund this, I don’t want people mistakenly thinking I’m on your side.”

Seth sighed. “Yes, we need your support.”

“Then consider it granted. I’ll give you one thousand Worship when the time comes, and you can hold me to that, so long as you don’t change anything from the design specs. I’ll notify Jerry about the deal, is that acceptable?”

Seth nodded. “Yes. Thank you, Willow.”

Willow gave him a knowing smile. “Don’t thank me. I’m doing this because I believe in the swarm, and because I believe that it will be for their benefit when your plan fails.”

“You’re joking, right?” Seth said incredulously. “You actually believe they can deal with this?”

“Of course.” Willow replied calmly. “If they couldn’t, then Jerry wouldn’t be interested in them. And, if you made it so unreasonable that no one from that world would ever have a shot at it, then Jerry wouldn’t allow it. You’re deluding yourself if you think otherwise, Seth.”

“Jerry clearly has had some sort of lapse of judgement!” Seth protested. “Even you must be able to see that allowing this is madness!”

Willow sighed. “When have you ever known Jerry to have a lapse of judgement? I’ve known him to make hard choices, choices that might even be called evil, but I’ve never seen him make them without thoroughly thinking them over first. Likewise, I too thought long and hard about this, and decided it is for the best.

“The status quo is not sacred, Seth. There is no inherent value in ‘the way things have always been’. The swarm does things in a highly distasteful manner, but that is only temporary. At the end of it all, should they succeed, then no sapient person will ever need to be converted again, and war will cease to be. We allow this one disdainful act this one time, and then reap massive benefits.

“I’m tired of war, Seth, and over the course of tens of thousands of years, more lives will be saved by the swarm taking over than the takeover affects. For that, I will gladly shoulder the burden of this sin. We’ve all done questionable things in the name of the greater good, this simply is another extension of that.”

Willow picked up the project specifications on the desk, then made for the door. “I’m delivering the project specs to Jerry along with my promise to provide one thousand Worship if these specs are followed exactly. You can verify with him later that I haven’t altered them at all. Goodbye, Seth.”

Seth made no move to stop her, so Willow rifled through the specs once more as she began heading towards Jerry’s lab. She had to give Seth and the other gods working on it credit; it was a highly ambitious project, one that had clearly been made after a long time thinking about the swarm and its weaknesses.

The concept was simple; in several of the more powerful planes, they would create a “game” sponsored by the gods. It would be a VR title called “World Saviors” that allowed the players to connect to Izumi’s home plane, using a vast amount of Worship to temporarily link the players’ souls to empty bodies to train and gain power. They would be told that the plane would soon be in danger it was unequipped to handle, and they would be the ones keeping it from destruction, all from the safety of their homes.

Of course, things weren’t that simple. For one, although the anti-swarm faction was allowed to market the game as if they were saving the world, it appeared that Jerry had stipulated that any god would be allowed to design quests, missions, and rewards, even if those quests, missions, or rewards outright stated that the god in question supported the swarm, so as to prevent people from getting the idea that the gods were completely and unambiguously against the swarm.

They just couldn’t lead players into traps or into becoming part of the swarm unless it was explicitly outlined that such things would be happening. Likewise, no information on the swarm’s movements or how the swarm worked could be leaked by the gods, it would be up to the players to decide.

Secondly, if a player’s avatar was ever converted, they were to face a choice: either the connection between them and their avatar would be forever severed, their avatar being hooked into the system as a monster, or they could continue playing on the side of the swarm. If they chose the latter, something Seth and the other gods were foolishly hoping wouldn’t happen often, they would be given several warnings, warning the player that they would be temporarily under the swarm’s brainwashing whilst playing, be unable leak information about the swarm outside of the game, and that they would be unable to view the regular forums or otherwise hear information from the other side of things, instead gaining access to swarm-exclusive forums.

There were other stipulations too, things that would keep them from harming the natives, discussing the “game” outside of its forums, and other things to keep it fair, but those weren’t really important. What was important was that Seth and the other anti-swarm gods both vastly underestimated conversion and overestimated how opposed people would be to the swarm.

While there were safeguards to prevent a person’s soul from being converted with their avatar, Willow couldn’t help but notice they didn’t have any precautions in places afterward. For most mental magic, just inhabiting a body afflicted with it would have no long-term effects on the soul. Conversion…was different; all one had to do was look at Connie to see that the things Amelia made were far more potent than normal. There was a real chance that some of that thinking, and potentially even some of the physical changes, would carry over to their actual body if they spent too long as part of the swarm.

And, even if that wasn’t the case, even if it’s stressed that this is a real plane people are going to, the fact remains that people would be playing a game. And, in any game, there was a significant subset of people who liked to play as the “villains”, something that would only be exacerbated when other gods showed support for the swarm via the game.

The whole thing was clearly a desperate gamble, an attempt by several gods to stop the swarm when it was relatively small, and, in Willow’s opinion, it was destined to fail. Jerry had made too many stipulations to ensure that things were ‘fair’, and the gods were willingly clinging to the naïve hope that people without any real investment in the plane would stand staunchly against the swarm.

They would surely tell the players that, if they failed, the swarm would be allowed to go to another plane, and another, until all planes had been swallowed up, thinking that would be enough to get them invested. Unlike them, Willow knew better; people didn’t fully understand the threat of something like this until it directly affected them. They wouldn’t take it seriously until it was their plane or the planes of other players being invaded, and by then it would be too late.

Willow paused in front of the door to Jerry’s lab, then gave a sharp knock. After hearing Jerry yell out that it was safe to come in, Willow opened the door and walked in. “I came to inform you about a deal between me and the gods making that game.” She informed. “So long as they follow the specs within this document, I’ll be providing one thousand Worship to help cover their costs.”

Jerry raised an eyebrow. “That confident in the swarm, eh?”

“Are you not?” Willow retorted. “I’ve seen the way you’ve been experimenting lately.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Jerry admitted. “Under fair conditions, the swarm simply has too large an advantage for me to seriously doubt them, not with Rose leading their armies.”

“And, under unfair conditions?” Willow prompted.

“I’ll leave that to your imagination.” Jerry replied.

“I’m almost as invested in them as Connie is, you know.” Willow said. “Whatever you say isn’t going to affect me one way or the other.”

“If I say that I think they’ll fail, then you could well attempt to favor them more.” Jerry pointed out.

“But you’re not going to say that, are you?” Willow said. “Not unless the conditions are extremely unfair.”

Jerry was silent for a moment. “I guess you know me too well.” He said. “If I were a betting man, I wouldn’t bet against them. I just can’t shake the feeling that something is manipulating events surrounding the swarm. Everything leading to its existence is just…so improbable that I find it hard to think otherwise. Perhaps the eldritch, perhaps there really are Administrators above us and it’s Administrators all the way down, or maybe the multiverse itself has some sort of will. I’m just increasingly sure that this isn’t an accident.”

“You know, now that you mention it, it does seem odd.” Willow said. “I’d like to think that, whatever is manipulating events, they’re doing it to help us improve the lives of our people. Perhaps that’s a bit optimistic, but in two out of those three scenarios it seems plausible. As for the eldritch…we just pray it’s not that, I think. Nothing good ever comes of their meddling.”

“I know.” Jerry said grimly. “Regardless, I’ll look over these specs, and have Teri look over them to make sure they match what she has, thanks for letting me know. If there ends up being a discrepancy, I’ll let you know.”

“Seth was the one who gave me that document, so perhaps have him check it too?” Willow suggested. “I didn’t do anything to it, of course, but I understand that I’m sort of at odds with most of the people funding this, so I’d like to be extra cautious, just to cover my bases.”

Jerry nodded. “I’ll do that, then.”

“Thanks, Jerry, I’ll talk to you later.”

---

Astrea, Cardinal of the Religious State of Astrum, found her meditation interrupted by the presence of a divine being. Quickly, she kneeled down, waiting for whichever god it was to speak.

“Astrea, I come here to apologize, and to provide what aid I can.” The Goddess of Law said, her words transmitted directly to Astrea’s brain. “Several of my colleagues have written off this plane as a lost cause, and though I tried to convince them otherwise, I failed. And, loathe as I am to say it, many of my colleagues support the swarm. I am here as an envoy of the remainder, who those of us who both believe this plane can be saved and oppose the swarm.”

Astrea’s heart raced as she received the revelation. Astrea knew deep down that a not-insignificant number of gods had to be supporting the swarm for it to remain in existence, but, for the rest to be abandoning an entire plane…it was unheard of.

“We wish to provide you a list of those of us who will be receptive to your prayers, those who would ignore them, and those who would use them against you.” The Goddess of Law continued. “It would not do for you to be wasting your efforts on those who have abandoned you, or, worse, work against you. Those of us who are fighting for you need every advantage we can get if we are to salvage this plane.”

There was a brief pause before the Goddess of Law continued. “I see that you have questions. Please, ask, and I will answer what I can.”

Astrea swallowed nervously. “Your Holiness…I thought the gods were unified on all important matters. Why, then, has there been a schism now, of all times? And why has it become so bad that some gods have abandoned this plane?”

“Even the gods have our own opinions, and in other important matters, we take a unified stance before we make moves. The swarm is unique in that it tests our tolerance towards the greater good, how far we are willing to go for an ideal. For many of the gods, they see the world that the leaders of the swarm envision and have decided that the ends justify the means. For many of us, we see this as a bridge too far.

“Unfortunately, the swarm is a phenomenon stemming entirely from mortals. Were this to be an initiative proposed by a god, it would never receive the unanimous agreement needed to enact it. So, we are instead forced to let things play out and only provide minor aid that won’t break the balance.”

Astrea frowned inwardly. Something felt…off about that statement. “Then why was the Ruby Emperor reincarnated on their side?”

There was a telling silence before the Goddess of Law spoke again. “That, I cannot disclose. Regardless, if you look up, you will find the list in front of you. I trust you will use it well.”

The divine presence faded, and Astrea looked up. As promised, there was indeed a scroll in front of her, and she quickly grabbed it and read it over. As she did, it quickly became evident that the gods most focused around tradition and order almost all opposed the swarm, but other than that there wasn’t really a pattern.

To Astrea’s surprise, just over half of the gods supported the swarm. She had assumed it would be around a fourth, a third at most, but she was clearly missing something if so many of the gods were in favor of it. Most notably, however, the God of Heroes opposed the swarm, and even though the God of Death and the God of Life supported the swarm, there was no way the Ruby Emperor could have been reincarnated without his permission. Yet, the Goddess of Law had made no move to deny that it truly was the Ruby Emperor, indicating that Rose’s status hadn’t lied. And, if that was the case…

Astrea carefully stowed the list away, then stood and walked over to the back of the room, laying a hand on a seemingly-ordinary brick and channeling some Mana into it. As she did, a section of the wall fell away, and she quickly stepped inside, laying a hand on another brick and channeling Mana to close the passage.

Inside was Astrum’s store of forbidden information. This was not forbidden because they were trying to hide things from the people, the gods would never stand for that, but because the gods weren’t perfect. Over the millennia, the gods had, on rare occasions, let things slip that they shouldn’t have, and the cardinals had a small collection of all such known events.

They had, of course, offered to destroy this stash, but the gods had struck a deal with them; they may keep the stash so long as only the cardinals could access it, and so long as they used the knowledge to help further the aims of the gods, not the least of which was keeping that knowledge secret from the public.

Astrea had made a point of memorizing the contents, and one thing in particular was bothering her. On a couple of occasions in the distant past, the gods had alluded to there being some sort of chief god, or some other being that was somehow above the rest of the gods. This was mostly a curiosity, as the gods made a point of publicly portraying themselves as equals and such a thing would only affect their internal politics and not mortals, but now…

If this “head god” was in favor of the swarm, many things made sense. They would be able to override Heroes when it came to reincarnating the Ruby Emperor, and it would explain why there were so many gods in favor of the swarm.

Astrea carefully pulled the relevant tome off of the shelf, opening it reverently. It was the product of centuries of work, including the original cardinals that received the revelation and the commentary of subsequent cardinals. Most previous cardinals were in agreement with Astrea; in day-to-day life, the existence of a “head god” meant nothing.

However, there was a not-insignificant number that believed that, should the unthinkable happen and there was a huge public disagreement among the gods, it would behoove the cardinals to determine on which side of the disagreement the “head god” fell, and align their views accordingly.

With shaking fingers, Astrea traced over what she herself had written on the subject. And, yes, she, too, had said that it would be best to follow the lead of the “head god” in the case of a hypothetical disagreement among the gods.

It had seemed such an outlandish thought that she had never truly entertained what making that decision would mean, the strain it would put on her. But…if half of the gods, and theoretically even the head god, supported the swarm, she couldn’t afford to dismiss it on principle anymore. She would have to think really think about the swarm, and what it would mean to assimilate into it.

Astrea sighed, closing the book and gingerly placing it back in its slot before standing up and making her way out of the secret room. Once out, she pulled a cord to call for a servant; she got the feeling she wouldn’t be sleeping that night, and she needed to eat before she made any big decisions.