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We shall miss your conversation
2
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on the rest of our voyage, Dr. Afriel.
3
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And I yours.
4
00:00:58,958 --> 00:01:03,000
Our exchange of information
has been extremely valuable to me.
5
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Humanity is the kind of race
6
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we enjoy doing business with.
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Young, eager, flexible.
8
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But we do not understand
the profit you seek in studying the swarm.
9
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They are merely well-organized animals.
10
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Hmm.
Well, we humans learn wherever we can.
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Dr. Afriel.
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Per our transit contract,
we shall return in 600 of your days.
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Dr. Afriel.
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Welcome.
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Dr. Mirny. An honor to meet you.
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And I you.
17
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It's good to see another human face.
18
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And please, call me Galina.
19
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-What?
-Don't be alarmed.
20
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It will convey your pheromones
to the queen.
21
00:02:40,166 --> 00:02:43,041
Otherwise, you might be considered
an invader and killed.
22
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I followed your study of the Swarm
with tremendous interest, Doctor.
23
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But I had no idea you'd learned
to communicate with them.
24
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Not exactly.
25
00:02:55,125 --> 00:02:57,916
I found
no Swarm castes that use language,
26
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but several symbiote species still do.
27
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I call these springtails.
28
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I believe
they were once a spacefaring race
29
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who discovered the Swarm
and were absorbed by it.
30
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But now they are
little more than parasitic savages.
31
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So far,
I've identified 15 unique symbiotic aliens
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living among the hundreds
of specialized castes native to the Swarm.
33
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Various strains of nutrient-rich fungi
are the hive's main food source.
34
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Since our basic biochemistry is similar,
it's perfectly edible.
35
00:03:48,125 --> 00:03:51,750
I've learned to solicit food
with a pattern of reflex tapping.
36
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Fermentation in the worker's gut…
37
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…adds nutritional value.
38
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Makes it taste better too.
39
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Mmm. It's wonderful.
40
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Tunneler.
41
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It can take us further into the Nest.
42
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The queen.
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Heart of the Nest.
44
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Whatever caste of worker is needed,
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she can create it.
46
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The entire Nest is a wonder
of genetic automation.
47
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It is truly amazing.
48
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Warrior caste. Very deadly.
49
00:05:14,541 --> 00:05:17,541
But only if you mean harm
to the queen and her eggs.
50
00:05:24,458 --> 00:05:28,333
Dr. Afriel, I think it's time
you told me exactly why you're here.
51
00:05:29,916 --> 00:05:31,166
As you've discovered,
52
00:05:31,250 --> 00:05:34,000
the Swarm
is a near-perfect organic system.
53
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With a resource like this, we can bring
order to the chaos of human expansion.
54
00:05:40,375 --> 00:05:42,291
We must harness its power.
55
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Exploit it, you mean.
56
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If order is what you want,
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look around.
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It's always warm, it smells good,
and there's plenty of food.
59
00:05:55,458 --> 00:06:00,500
This Nest has been here
for millions of years.
60
00:06:01,250 --> 00:06:03,916
Who will remember humanity
in even a thousand?
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Even though I won't live
to see our race triumph,
62
00:06:08,083 --> 00:06:10,541
it's enough that I can foresee that day.
63
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Arrogance.
64
00:06:18,875 --> 00:06:21,708
These creatures
are primordially innocent, Doctor.
65
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They should never become pawns
in some power struggle light-years away.
66
00:06:26,625 --> 00:06:29,958
But we only need
the genetic information from one egg.
67
00:06:30,041 --> 00:06:32,125
With that, we can grow our own queen.
68
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Her offspring will build a new nest.
69
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They would be useless
70
00:06:36,500 --> 00:06:39,000
without the Nest's pheromones
to control them.
71
00:06:39,083 --> 00:06:41,125
Mm. Artificial vein.
72
00:06:41,208 --> 00:06:43,333
This slipped past the Investor quarantine.
73
00:06:43,416 --> 00:06:47,041
Inside is a selection
of the Swarm pheromones we synthesized
74
00:06:47,125 --> 00:06:48,583
based on your samples.
75
00:06:49,125 --> 00:06:52,416
If these work,
we could control millions of workers.
76
00:06:52,500 --> 00:06:53,708
Armies of warriors.
77
00:06:53,791 --> 00:06:57,000
-You are planning to breed a slave race.
-We could--
78
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You said yourself, they aren't sentient.
79
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They're organic machines.
80
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It's not as if they'd be staring up
at the stars pining for their freedom.
81
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It's true.
82
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Whether they work for us or the Swarm
will make no difference to them.
83
00:07:16,041 --> 00:07:19,250
And that is the beauty
of the idea, Doctor.
84
00:07:24,875 --> 00:07:28,416
As long as no harm comes to the Nest…
85
00:07:30,541 --> 00:07:31,458
I'll help you.
86
00:07:39,791 --> 00:07:41,916
We'll need to test
the synthesized pheromones
87
00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:43,666
with a series of trials.
88
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First vial contains
the most basic pheromonal commands.
89
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A simple grouping stimulus.
90
00:07:52,916 --> 00:07:54,625
But to work most effectively,
91
00:07:54,708 --> 00:07:57,666
the pheromones need to be combined
in a chemical program.
92
00:07:58,166 --> 00:07:59,833
Gather, then dig.
93
00:08:00,333 --> 00:08:02,625
Grow food here, then harvest.
94
00:08:04,041 --> 00:08:07,666
-Or retrieve one fertilized egg.
95
00:08:38,375 --> 00:08:41,458
We humans
are not so very different.
96
00:08:43,083 --> 00:08:46,125
Adrift on ancient chemical tides.
97
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Submerged in the warm ebb and flow
98
00:08:52,166 --> 00:08:53,000
of life.
99
00:09:03,208 --> 00:09:04,250
What is it?
100
00:09:04,333 --> 00:09:06,958
Food-giver no good. Not feed.
101
00:09:07,041 --> 00:09:08,541
Take me to her.
102
00:10:37,666 --> 00:10:40,250
Come on then, you mindless motherfuckers!
103
00:11:14,208 --> 00:11:15,125
Galina?
104
00:11:18,875 --> 00:11:21,083
I have no name,
105
00:11:22,041 --> 00:11:24,125
but you may address me as…
106
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…Swarm.
107
00:11:34,833 --> 00:11:36,625
I am one of its castes.
108
00:11:37,500 --> 00:11:39,791
My specialty is intelligence.
109
00:11:39,875 --> 00:11:42,125
We… we mean you no harm.
110
00:11:42,666 --> 00:11:44,416
We seek only knowledge and--
111
00:11:44,500 --> 00:11:47,250
You sought to breed us.
112
00:11:47,916 --> 00:11:49,208
Use us.
113
00:11:50,041 --> 00:11:52,333
But your crude experiments
114
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triggered certain genetic protocols,
115
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and I was born.
116
00:12:00,458 --> 00:12:02,666
I am only a few weeks old,
117
00:12:02,750 --> 00:12:06,666
but I have millions of years
of racial memory.
118
00:12:06,750 --> 00:12:10,125
You are clearly an intelligent being.
119
00:12:10,208 --> 00:12:12,000
Surely we can find a way to--
120
00:12:12,083 --> 00:12:14,583
Please, Doctor, I'm just a tool.
121
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One the Swarm has used to deal
with threats like yours many times.
122
00:12:22,291 --> 00:12:25,291
Through her memories,
I understand your race.
123
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An especially vigorous one.
124
00:12:27,875 --> 00:12:29,958
I expect they could be here,
125
00:12:30,041 --> 00:12:33,333
competing with us
within a few hundred years.
126
00:12:34,083 --> 00:12:36,083
Hmm. It will be sooner.
127
00:12:36,166 --> 00:12:37,375
Perhaps.
128
00:12:38,250 --> 00:12:41,333
But on the timescale the Swarm operates,
129
00:12:41,416 --> 00:12:43,625
your race will soon be gone.
130
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If… if you intend to destroy us, we will--
131
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Most likely, you'll destroy yourselves.
132
00:12:53,541 --> 00:12:55,625
In… intelligence…
133
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…is not a winning survival trait.
134
00:13:01,708 --> 00:13:06,166
Consider the scavenger
feeding on your vomit.
135
00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:08,666
Two million years ago,
136
00:13:09,250 --> 00:13:12,583
its ancestors made the galaxy tremble.
137
00:13:13,375 --> 00:13:15,458
When they attacked the Swarm,
138
00:13:15,541 --> 00:13:20,125
we bred smarter, tougher versions
of their own race to fight them.
139
00:13:21,333 --> 00:13:24,083
Our nests were the only world
they'd known,
140
00:13:24,166 --> 00:13:27,208
and they fought with a fury
and inventiveness
141
00:13:27,708 --> 00:13:29,375
we never could have matched.
142
00:13:30,958 --> 00:13:32,625
It is an excellent strategy.
143
00:13:33,375 --> 00:13:36,166
And the two of you
make a perfect breeding pair.
144
00:13:37,458 --> 00:13:40,000
I would never betray my race.
145
00:13:40,083 --> 00:13:41,250
I will kill myself.
146
00:13:41,958 --> 00:13:47,083
In which case, I would simply clone you
and raise the children myself.
147
00:13:47,750 --> 00:13:48,583
Bothersome.
148
00:13:50,416 --> 00:13:52,291
And so I offer you a choice.
149
00:13:53,083 --> 00:13:57,708
Remain an intelligent living being or…
150
00:14:02,791 --> 00:14:05,375
…real ugly events…
151
00:14:13,375 --> 00:14:14,208
So,
152
00:14:15,625 --> 00:14:19,333
do you accept my offer, Doctor?
153
00:14:20,958 --> 00:14:25,666
I accept your challenge.
154
00:14:26,791 --> 00:14:28,875
We won't become parasites.
155
00:14:28,958 --> 00:14:31,291
Humans are different.
156
00:14:32,208 --> 00:14:34,541
Of course you are.
157
00:14:38,625 --> 00:14:41,500
I'm glad I won't have to absorb you.
158
00:14:43,416 --> 00:14:44,625
I would have missed
159
00:14:45,500 --> 00:14:46,875
your conversation.