The twin stars shone brightly in the noonday sky, performing their endless waltz together, both grappling arms and twirling around each other, neither leading the other, neither following, neither one gaining the upper hand. They spun for the sole sake of spinning, for the sheer joy of spinning. That's how they were born and also how they continued - they knew nothing else. And so they continued, for the sheer joy of not gaining the upper hand, never following, never leading, grappling arms and twirling, twin stars endlessly waltzing in the noonday sky.
Zerglings would chase one another, running after someone and hunting them until they were caught and then the game would begin over again. Some played tag or chase through the scattered Hatcheries, hiding behind their tendrils and surprising wandering Hydralisk or other Zerglings while their Overlords hovered above in watchful eye. Life was a happy game preparing them for the cruel realities of battle against the Terrans which would never be won.
The Hive slumbered on in perpetuity, dreaming a dream that only its enemies could awaken it from.
The rhythm of a heartbeat is part of that living dream, beating the time out longer than there were consciousnesses to count them. He didn't hear it; he felt it, moving slowly, heavily, overpowering his own smaller, quicker beat. The flesh walls around him convulsed, a third rhythm in between the heartbeats squeezing him out into the world. His larval body fell out of his mother Hatchery and into the Creep.
"Hizlip."
He looked back at her in bewildered wonder. Her monstrous, faceless monument offered no explanation.
"Hizlip!"
Everything came to him then: who he was, a Zerg; the Zerg, one of the many shades of life-form in this galaxy; the Terrans and Protoss, other life-forms entirely different hues from the Zerg and their enemies; the Overmind, the collective consciousness of the Zerg; so much, so fast, like waking up from a heavy sleep into a busy day. It was more than he could comprehend or recall all at once.
Dril'zlip called to him again. "Hizlip! Do you understand me?"
It made sense now, it all did, everything. "Dril'zlip! How're you today?"
Warmth flowed from her. "I'm very well, Hizlip."
"Mind if I call you 'Mammy?' 'Mammy' is my favorite!"
"No, Dril'zlip will be just fine. How are you, Hizlip? Do you have any mutations or complications?"
He wriggled his long body, shelled like a wood louse. "Nope, looks just fine. Nothing weird or anything. So what unit am I gonna be? I wanna be something cool like an Ultralisk or something!"
"That's not for us to decide, Hizlip," she said. "The Overmind knows which unit would be best for each of us, including you. We have to wait for the Cerebrate to let us know what He wants."
Hizlip groaned. "We have to wait? What's there to wait for? I know, I'll just talk with him. You know, kinda speed the process up a little."
"No, Hizlip, we can't just talk straight to him. We have to show proper respect and follow procedure, which means we wait until-"
He ignored her. The little larva searched through the Swarm, trying to find the Overmind. It didn't take very long, though; the Overmind is very large.
"Hey, Overmind! I'm just waiting here, and I was wondering-"
"AWAKEN MY CHILD, AND EMBRACE THE GLORY THAT IS YOUR BIRTHRIGHT-"
"Yeah, yeah, I was just wondering. Can you turn me into a unit yet? I was thinking of a really cool unit, like maybe a Devouring One or something?"
"... AND THAT YOU HAVE BEEN CREATED TO SERVE ME." He hadn't stopped talking - not that Hizlip had noticed.
"O-kay, so anyway, back to the unit order..."
"YES, MY CHILD. BEHOLD, WE ARE IN NEED OF MY MOST USEFUL SERVANTS. GO, AND STRENGTHEN THYSELF, THAT YOU MAY BE BETTER SUITED TO SERVE ME. FOR AS LONG AS THE OVERMIND EXISTS-"
Hizlip turned him off. He was back to the real world now, sitting in front of Dril'zlip.
"Okay, so I got that taken care of. You should be hearing from him practically any time now. You can go ahead whenever you're ready."
"I'm sorry, I'm not getting anything."
"Really? I just talked to him. He said I could be a Devouring One."
"He? You mean you talked to the Overmind?"
"Sure, why not?"
A short pause followed. "Honestly, I don't know what to say. In any case, I haven't gotten the order from the Cerebrate to change you into a Devouring One yet, and until I do, I can't change you."
"Well, maybe it's just processing. So what do the Zerg do on this planet for fun? Swat flies?"
"First of all, there are no flies on this planet, and secondly-"
"Yeah, I don't need the whole story now, do I? Don't worry, I'll take care of it. I'll be back in a bit. I just have to, you know, find the hot spots, find out what's happening and everything. You let me know when you get that morph order."
He squirmed through the Creep toward the Spire he saw in the distance, but had only traveled a few meters before he lost control of his legs as they walked him back to Dril'zlip.
"Hey, what gives?"
"You're only a Larva, Hizlip. You can't leave my influence yet. You'll have to wait until you change into a stronger unit, and then you may leave."
More rules. "Figures. So, how's it coming?"
"Nothing yet, Hizlip. Wait, here it comes."
Hizlip felt himself curl into a crescent as his back swelled and created a leathery egg. His insides grew into it, leaving his hard exoskeleton to form the base of the egg. His head grew longer, his front legs merged into two long arms with scythes forming the forearms, and his back legs and abdomen grew into a long tail. Soon, after only an hour or so, his body was finished, and he scraped at the side of the egg to create a slit. After some small struggle, he squirmed out of it.
He looked at his new body in dismay. "Hey! This isn't what I wanted!"
He was a new Hydralisk.
Hizlip poked at his hardening carapace. "Man, this sucks. I wanted to be a Torrasque or something! Let's do a redo!"
Dril'zlip curled her soft, white tentacles around him. "Hizlip, we don't get to choose what unit we are. Only the Overmind knows what unit is best suited for us. You know," she said. "I didn't want to be a Hatchery, either."
"You didn't?"
"No, I didn't. The truth is, I wanted to be a Scourge."
"A Scourge? That's weird! They're so weak!"
"They're weak, yes, but they're very brave. And they get to tackle the biggest enemy ships because of that. That's why I wanted to be one." She caressed his face. "But you know, I'm glad I'm a Hatchery. I'm much happier this way than I think I would be if I were what I thought I wanted back then. The Overmind knows everything about us, and all we have to do is trust him."
Hizlip had to admit she did seem content, but he wasn't sure about that last part.
AN: What do you guys think of the chiasmus in the first paragraph? Is it too much?