Biters!

I've realized that for all the logs I have written I haven't really touched on my research into the bugs, there are way to many bug variants to list them all, and with the ever changing nature of the bugs any list I actually made would be out of date within a week, so this list is just going to be over how the bugs adapt, and known ways the grow and spread.

So for a start I'm going to go over how biters would adapt to a theoretical threat.

If biters are dying to induced heart failure they will go through a series of adaptations to reduce or eliminate the threat. And if they aren't aware or can't eliminate what's causing the heart failure they will be forced to adapt beyond just killing the threat.

The first adaptation would be a strengthened circulatory system, this is relatively simple and would presumably happen within a few hours to days.

If the first adaptation failed to stop biter deaths a second adaptation would begin, with further strengthening of the circulatory system along with the development of one or more secondary hearts, these would presumably not be enough to keep the bug alive for a week or so.

If the secondary hearts and strengthened circulatory system are still failing to fix the problem, a third and more drastic adaptation would begin, a complete redesign of the bugs circulatory system, entirely removing hearts from the equation. Either moving blood via pressure differences or a blood capable of moving itself through the biters veins.

If the complete removal of the heart still fails to stop biter deaths a fourth adaptation will begin, leading to the bugs completely forgoing blood, with alternative methods designed to supply their cells with oxygen, or simple removing their cells need for oxygen all together, though the later would be more likely if other threats also targeted the respiratory systems.

This is where it gets more theoretical, as I have been unwilling to force a bug to adapt to this point, if all the prior adaptations still fail to stop the bugs from dying, and If the bugs have not been driven extinct by the threat, a fifth and final adaptation will begin. The bugs would move beyond flesh that can die, either becoming inorganic machines or creatures of pure energy, either way without a ture physical form to fail the bugs would presumably stop dying from whatever theoretical threat was attacking them.

Without further threats the bugs would have no need for additional adaptations, and would either stay at their new heightened level or begin to devolve into a less costly form. Though this is once again unconfirmed as I haven't stopped being a threat to the bugs, and as such none of the bugs have yet had the opportunity to stagnate or devolve.

Unto the second important talking point for the bugs, how exactly they produce unending numbers.

You may be thinking "unending" is hyperbole, it is not, bug gestation periods range from hours for the larger bug variants, to seconds for the smallest, and bug hives can each produce dozens of bugs at the same time. Additionally I have never seen a hive fail to produce more, whether through a max amount of bugs it can produce or a lack of energy or nutrients.

Now every single plant and animal on Nauvis possess a highly efficient metabolism, each capable of surviving on surprisingly little food or water, the bugs however take this to a new extreme. The bug hives themselves are highly adaptable, just like the bugs themselves, but rather than adapt to survive any danger they adapt instead to produce more bugs. And to do this they need nutrients and energy.

Now doing intensive research on a bug hive is a difficult prospect, what with over protective bugs and the hive itself producing static defenses, so most of what I have was found via passive scans. We will be going over a few hives and how exactly they produced energy.

One hive located in a thick forested region had dug mycelium like tendrils through the forest, strengthening the plants root networks while siphoning the additional energy its modifications helped the forest produce. And with the already absurd plants of this world the excess energy was not insignificant. There were more adaptations specifically to spread the forest, along with bug variants to tend to the trees. But the root network was the bulk of it.

Another hive was located on a geothermal vent and produced rudimentary steam turbines within itself along with a series of root "pipes' ' to route steam through the turbines. The hive had specialized organs that then turned the current into sugars, and more advanced organs that turned the sugars into other materials needed. (if I didn't have relatively justified fears that incorporating bug bits into my tech would lead to bug cyborgs I would probably have stolen those organs once I figured out what they did)

A third hive was located in a relatively sparse field, but one with a fairly high water table. The hive had dug into the water table and had begun pumping water through its roots into organs that broke the water into its component parts, where it then burned the resulting gasses to generate more power, and through the same organs as the previous one, turned said power into the needed biomass.

A hive on a metal rich patch of exposed stone developed the ability to eat metal, developing tendrils to harvest the metal along with stomachs capable of digesting the stone. Another hive near a uranium deposit had similar abilities, but considering uranium is just another metal that isn't all too surprising.

With the frankly absurd ability the bugs have for adaptation I doubt an environment exists where they would fail to produce biomass, and that's including the void of space. At least if they are gradually introduced to the environment, just putting a bug hive in a vacuum would presumably kill the thing.

there are a nearly infinite variety of ways a hive can gather energy, so never assume they will starve or stop producing bugs if you wait them out, if you want the bug attacks to stop you need to kill them at the source, the hives.

AN-

I feel like that's an okay explanation, if there are any new questions or if I failed to adequately hand wave something away say it, this like the tank and drone guides are something I am fully willing to change and modify.

also writing a if the emperor had a text to speech device omake, it probably won't be long but hopefully it will be funny.