Chapter 143: (Dreams) (2/2)
Curious, she brought up the timelapse of the estimated effects of the glaciers on the Pacific Northwest and watched them. Pushing down from the Arctic Circle, pushing the dirt and boulders ahead of them all the way down the continent. Then withdrawing, leaving behind dirt and boulders after completely remodeling the landscape.
That's how they do it, she thought, slowly scraping the bladearm through her mandibles. Slow, steady, just a relentless advance then they slowly pulled back.
Bringing up the Lanaktallan vital statistics she took a good look at their birth/date rate, life expectancy, infant and child mortality, and all the other factors.
Their population doubled every eighteen thousand years.
The statistics from the medical databank showed that a Lanaktallan female could give birth once every three years. She looked at the hologram of the female Lanaktallan carefully. No udders. She nibbled on the tip of her bladearm and considered the female. No mammary glands on the upper torso, no udder structure on the lower abdomen. Children were fed through mechanical means.
Looking at the hologram she wondered just how far they had modified their genome.
She knew it was next to worthless but she brought up Terran bovine stats. A heifer could have eight easily, some as many as 20 over their lifetime.
A Lanaktallan female normally had between six and twelve over a five century lifespan. They were paired up by a computer system and either six to twelve years of breeding or six children to exempt them from their breeding requirements.
Dreams brought up a tray of treats and began nibbling at the synthetic food.
Prey often use breeding as a defense mechanism. The first thing they would do to reduce resource consumption is to lower the birth rate. If it's artificially lowered maybe what my people, and what other races soon afterwards, faced was just endless waves of Lanaktallan. They show little to no concern for others of their species, another herd trait where individuals didn't matter compared to the herd, she thought. Even the warriors would get tired. Endless waves of Lanaktallan with body armor, neural weapons, steadily advancing.
Their tanks and aerospace fighters were build strangely due to Lanaktallan body design, requiring three pilots for aerospace and six for armored vehicles.
They haven't been challenged in a hundred million years. The Terrans haven't been really challenged since they managed to start cheaply and easily colonize other planets,Dreams thought to herself. Unlike the saying, the Terrans aren't the immovable object. The Lanaktallans are both the irresistable force and the immoveable object.
Bringing up what she could access on her secure terminal she called in 117 and Speaks, changing the parameters of the simulations to examine multiple scenarios.
117 arrived first, flashing icons of curiosity. When Dreams had explained her scenarios and how she needed his help he flashed icons of eagerness. Speaks just nodded slowly and sat down, applying his knowledge and practiced eye.
Dreams knew she was banking on 117's years as a Terran Marine Combat Engineering Technician. He made adjustments that Dreams would have never thought of, moving the Terran military to full swappable loadouts. She kept trying to get 117 to change several parameters until Speaksthe Words We Fear reached out with a bladearm and pushed Dreams hand down from where she was pointing out that 117 had added a chaos generator seed that made the Terran commanders slightly intoxicated.
”This kind of simulation is how people end up losing wars,” Speaks said quietly. ”Let 117 do his work.”
Dreams sighed and leaned back, looking up and watching Mr. Rings swing back and forth on the branches.
--you won't like this is ugly ugly ugly shows Terrans how they are in battle take sedatives before start the sim-- 117 flashed.
Neither of the other two Mantids argued, just tabbed up anti-anxiety tabs and took them.
--ok computer run no Terran strings just numbers numbers numbers-- 117 flashed.
The scenario assumed unlimited Lanaktallan reinforcements and no reinforcements for the Terrans with the Terrans making a forced landing onto the planet.
It took less than 100 simulated days before every last Lanaktalln icon on the planet vanished.
No matter how Dreams suggested the simulation be changed, the Terrans won every time in two years or less.
--ugly ugly sim next very ugly ugly-- 117 said after the last of Dreams simulations went through.
This time the Terrans took horrendous casualties, often attacking each other, with supply dumps being ignored as groups of Terrans roamed the countryside. The Lanaktallan won, but after several years. Time after time the Terrans lost after several years, with an additional part showing Terran worlds going black.
”What was that?” Dreams asked.
Speaks leaned forward slightly. ”Bioweapons. Diseases and genetic alteration. It's assuming that the Lanaktallan crack the human genome far enough to figure out how to weaponize it against the Terrans without the Terrans being able to counter it and strike back.”
Dreams sighed. ”Now run what happens if that causes the Terrans to go MAD.”
117 flashed a few icons.
”No, not angry, their theory of Mutually Assured Destruction,” Speaks said quietly. ”With both sides using planet crackers and other forbidden weapons. Factor in Terran aggressiveness and lack of concern with preserving resources.”
117 made some adjustments to the programming.
”Now add all the Confederacy backing them, including us,” Speaks added.
117 made a few more adjustments then leaned back, flashing icons of pleasure. He moved the view from a single continental battlefield to show the entire Orion Army Stub.
Stars vanished with little flashes, other ones went dark, still others were marked ”Life Extinct” as it slowly spread out.
At the end of it, the entire Cygnus-Orion Arm Spur was nothing more than scattered pockets of stars here and there that all had life extinction tags on them.
Millions of stars.
Just gone.
With a flourish 117 stepped back, flashing pleased icons.
For once, Speaks was speechless.