Disclaimer: The description of trees as "evergreen" is technically inaccurate. While it is true that their leaves or needles never turn brown and fall off en masse, as with normal trees, individual needles still regularly die, turn brown, fall off, and form debris around the base of the tree. It also stops being green when you set it on fire. Which is very fun. And scientific. Unfortunately, Catalyst is only one of those things. By now, you should know which. Also, don't own it.
I wonder whether he even knows what he's talking about anymore… ~f
(Smooth jazz, in some videos, is a transition from being fully clothed to less than fully clothed. It is also used to increase certain types of tension in preparation for this transition. In other words, it's porn. I'm talking about porn.)
That's because he was still coming down from wanking high when he wrote this. Or so I suspect...I really never know with this guy. ~f
Catalyst
Dumbledore sat across from Thenabar, both illuminated in the dim evening light. Dumbledore had taken to visiting the boy daily, something which was much easier as the summer lightened his workload. Unfortunately, Thenabar wasn't showing many signs of growing past Abathur's influence. He had become more and more withdrawn, barely acknowledging Dumbledore's presence. When he wasn't nose-deep in a runes textbook, he was staring out a window at the Forest. From what the house elves told him, Thenabar was barely touching his food. Even when Dumbledore entered the room, Thenabar barely gave him a glance before returning his stare to the window.
"Are you alright, Thenabar?" Dumbledore asked.
"Why wouldn't I be? I have access to adequate food and shelter. There are no immediate threats, aside from you. My stimulation is adequate. My mental state is..." Thenabar trailed off, before fixing his gaze even more pointedly on the trees.
"Your mental state is...?" Dumbledore prompted.
"None of your concern, is it?"
"I'd have to disagree. As the headmaster, I am responsible for the wellbeing of my students," Dumbledore said, smiling softly. "Even if they don't particularly want my help."
"Oh, yes, that was quite obvious. The dementors, deadly tournament, schoolwide death threats, deranged criminal, and deceased troll all just scream safety and wellbeing, don't they?" Thenabar shot back, finally turning himself to gaze at Dumbledore. "Your concern for them is extremely obvious. Hell, why do you even care that Aba-that we killed Snape?"
"Why wouldn't I care?"
Thenabar took a deep breath. "He was an incompetent teacher, his combat ability was obviously lacking, he wouldn't have known the difference between an element and a compound if you shoved both in his face, his behavior and physical traits would have degraded the human race were they perpetuated in any form, not to mention-"
"Did he have a family?" Dumbledore interjected.
"I...don't know," Thenabar said.
"What was his favorite color? How did he brew Veritaserum? What experiences did he have in school? What memories did he cherish?" Dumbledore asked.
Thenabars brow furrowed. "Why does any of that matter?"
"Ah, forgive my ramblings. I am merely trying to make the point that Severus, despite his faults, still had those things that made him unique, and that tied him into the world. When he died, those were all lost. Everyone has their hidden depths, and the loss of all of that can be considered nothing less than a tragedy, even more so when one is unaware of all they have lost."
Thenabar didn't respond. His gaze had returned to the Forest, and it looked like it would be staying there. But when Dumbledore looked closely, he could see a frown on the boys face. Perhaps he was getting through to Thenabar after all.
(Transition)
Abathur's first challenge was to make sense of the essence that had been collected from the summoner. Whatever process had dumped the essence into terran flesh had left it scrambled and all but incoherent, and the random chunks of human essence all over the sequence weren't helping matters. Abathur had to clone the sample thousands of times over before he had enough. From there, he proceeded to purify the essence, filtering out the human pollution bit by bit. After that, he was left with an unorganized mess of random fragments of zerg strains. Upon a cursory assessment, Abathur could see the strands of a dozen different species all clumped into one chaotic heap, possibly with more difficulty hidden beneath the mess.
The majority of the clump was made up of generic traits: genes that allowed Zerg to digest creep, proteins that created structures to grip creep and aid movement, various cellular structures that permitted burrowing, and other traits that were present in almost every strain. Abathur cloned individual copies of each traits and stored them separately from the rest. Most, he had reinvented on his own some time ago, but it couldn't hurt to study and reintegrate the originals.
The rest of the various traits were broken down into their base components, leaving only the species-specific genes. Those, Abathur could not easily distinguish. Each zerg strain had been made up of several other species. Hydralisks alone had 7 different source species, zerglings had dozens for each of their strains, and he didn't even know if he'd possessed all of their essence in the first place. Isolating one trait might be easy, but Abathur would never be able to combine it with the rest. For all he knew, the strain could be broken up so badly that recombination just wasn't feasible, or there might even be key pieces of the sequence missing. No, there were far too many things that could prevent that from working. There wasn't any way for him to create hydralisks or roaches, or anything complex from this mess. At least, not yet. He needed a simpler strain. Something with only one source, one base species, and Abathur knew exactly which one to chose.
He found it exceedingly easy to recognize the overlord essence. The subtle harmony of psionics, the essence free of any additions from other species, all made it easy to find, even scrambled as it was. Not to mention it was still the only genetic code Abathur had found that dealt with helium. Abathur managed to extract it with ease. A simpler version, granted, without the sacs for carrying zerg, or the enzymes that converted its organs into creep, but it would still be able to transmit his psionic power. And really, that was all he needed from it.
Abathur set about changing the ritholisks to work with the new essence. Until now, all they had really been doing was modifying the base acromantula strands, bit by bit. Changes in size were simple to induce. Even the splicer only required a bit of rearrangement. But now, they had to work with a completely alien essence. Modifying the overlord was out of the question. Even if it was possible, Abathur would rather rewrite the entirety of the ritholisk's essence than bend Swarm essence to grow in anything less than optimal conditions.
(Transition)
It took nearly two months before the first acromantula grown overlord rose into the sky. The instant its bulbous eyes began to gaze over the Forest, Abathur could feel his control expanding. With the release of years of frustration, he flexed his mind over the new network, filling it with his will and power. It was a glorious feeling, one he had been missing for far, far too-
"Why do we have a hot air balloon?"
Abathur whirled around. He hadn't noticed anyone approaching. That was disturbing. "Luna. Unaware of purpose?"
"Well, you've been holed up since June. I couldn't exactly ask you about it," Luna pointed out.
"...Logical. Organism, overlord. Crucial to Swarm. Multiple functions. Transmits psionics, works as relay. Powerful sensory organs. Can see long distances, peer through most cloaking." They used to be able to detect everything that was cloaked. Then the Terrans improved their tech, the Protoss followed suit, and drones started to die for no apparent reason. It was an absolute nightmare, at least until he made the overseer.
"Oooo! I wish Daddy and I had one of those when we went to Norway. Maybe we would have finally found a Snorkack! It was only a few weeks ago, I could have stopped by and gotten one."
Abathur stilled. "Have told you. Interactions with psionic humans, unnecessary risk. Keep to minimum."
"I have to go home, Abathur. Daddy would worry if I didn't, and he might ask Dumbledore where I was."
"Went on extended trip. Alone with psionic human. High risk of discovery. Unacceptable."
"He won't find out. I promise," Luna said.
"Hmm," Luna had a point. She had to interact with psionics at some point, and better one she was familiar with than hordes that she wasn't. But even when she was fully human, she had issues with standing out. It had been a boon when Abathur was recruiting her, but now it was a danger. This needed to be fixed, sooner rather than later. "Potential, still disturbing. Must be corrected. Increase interactions with non-psionics. Learn to blend in."
Luna's face twisted in distaste. "Why would I be with them at all? They already didn't like me when I was one of them." She reached down to pet a teraling that had scurried next to her. "Besides, why would I want to be with them, when I have you?"
"Necessary. Swarm must advance psionic knowledge. Hogwarts, useful tool. Only member of Swarm capable of attendance," Her reluctance was welcome, to some degree. Her unwillingness to leave the Swarm was invaluable. But she had to learn to serve.
"What about Thenabar?" Luna asked, looking for a way out.
"Position, uncertain. Advancing runic knowledge. Can utilize soon. Otherwise, inadequate. Other areas require expansion," Abathur explained.
"But.." Luna tried to protest, but couldn't come up with an argument. "Fine. For the Swarm. But I don't have to actually pretend to like them, right?"
"Minimal interaction, optimal," Abathur confirmed. Luna breathed a sigh of relief. "Before, prepare. Interact with non-psionics. Practice using overlords."
"Use them to what?"
"Communicate. Command. Extremely important. Your experience, necessary for next project," Abathur elaborated.
"Ooo! What are you making now?" Luna asked, all rebellion lost with the idea of new friends on the horizon. Abathur would have to make a note of that.
"Not creating strain." At least, no strain that required Luna's help. "Will become aware of purpose. Later."
"Why not now?" Luna pouted.
"Could slip to father. Have mind invaded. Unnecessary risk. Must be secret," Abathur said. He was too close this time. The overlords had been the final piece, and he was so, so close now. He couldn't let anything interfere with it, and if the humans found out, they would try to stop him. They would have no other choice. But he couldn't let them, not yet, not now, not this late. "Cannot be discovered. Too close. No risk. None."
"Alright..." Luna relented. "But it better be good!"
"Immensely so," Abathur promised.
Psionics: The Swarm has a... mixed history with psionics. It is simultaneously their most common and their least utilized trait. Every member of the Swarm is psionic to some degree, as they must in order to form a hivemind. However, more advanced use of psionics, such as telekinesis, the formation of lightning, or the storage of immaterial minds, remain beyond the Swarm's grasp. While the Zerg are capable of assimilating species with existing psionic traits, such as overlords, the extreme rarity of psionic species means that the few the Zerg do encounter are not modified in any extreme way, so as not to possibly damage the fragile psionic systems. There are few notable psionic strains within the Swarm. One example is the aforementioned overlords and their mutation, overseers, both of which serve as psionic transmitters, increasing the range and power of the Zerg commanders control. Queens, Broodmothers, and Cerebrates also possess great psionic potential, but it is almost entirely used to communicate and control, as an enhancement of the already existing psionic potential within all zerg. Infestors are also considered psionic, although the exact nature of their psionic ability is almost completely unknown. Though some individuals within the Swarm have displayed greater powers, such as the Queen of Blades and the Evolution Master, the Swarm remains largely incapable of the feats that are commonplace to the Protoss. Still, what little psionic abilities they possess the Swarm uses to their fullest. After all, controlling massive broods or communicating across interstellar distances would be impossible without the humble Overlords, and their ability to act as relays.