Well, it looks like the Swarm's screwed then. Damned if they do, damned if they don't. Assuming the Swarm was left leaderless (no more Infested Terrans like Kerrigan to boss things around), I'd assume that one of the more intelligent strains (Overlords, Queens, Defilers) would evolve to fill the gap.Whiplash! wrote:I think its the other way around: if Kerrigan dies then the swarm will fall apart. The cerebrates are dead and unless the zerg find a way to grow cerebrates like other buildings then they would just go rampant and eventually kill their selves off or slowly revert to their original formsBadManners! wrote:More human than not -- I think that's partly true. Zerg creatures are still killer instinct automatons. Kerrigan made them do 'human'-like things. Raiding colonies for resources, killing specific targets. The Swarm sans Kerrigan would never go at such lengths without consuming the entire planet, and thereby effectively expanding their empire. If Kerrigan were to die, the Swarm would evolve again (I actually have a story idea for something like that lying around) and restore their former hierarchy of power.Sodon wrote: Actually, you are probably right. The Overmind and the Zerg were weaker. This is why the zerg sought out the Terrans.
(Distance is so overlooked in StarCraft that it's easily confusing. The Zerg originated near our galaxy's core, which is many hundreds of thousands of light years away from the Outer Rim, which would include the Koprulu sector and the "fringe world" of Auir. Even if the humans and protoss lived at the edge of the galaxy, though, they are easily hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of light years apart. Stars are rarely much closer together than that. Which is all to say: people in StarCraft travel very fast. But it's also to say that the Koprulu Sector had to have been a detour. The Zerg went there very purposefully.)
Kerrigan was thus the missing link, meant to meld the two races into a force powerful enough to face the protoss, and effectively skip the arduous process of assimilating the entire human race. The latent psychic abilities of the humans is probably key here.
Curious. I'd like to explore the possibility that in assimilating Kerrigan, the Overmind overstepped. Rather than consume humanity, it has become consumed by it. Are the zerg now more human than not?
If anything, the zerg have gained human qualities (through Kerrigan): greed and whimsicality.
No more decisions based on calculations (i.e. nature's way), but decisions based on one mind's judgment. If Kerrigan's leadership remains intact, the Swarm will fall.
Although, if the Xel'Naga really are coming back like the previews claim, then they could just make a new Overmind. Although, considering that the Original Overmind ate, killed, and assimilated most of their species, I'm not sure why they'd do that.
@Omega20: I forgotten about Gorn getting the chop, it's been a long time since I last played the original Protoss campaign. I only replayed the Terran and Zerg campaigns when I started the ACMDs. Kerrigan actually states both possibilities though: that Daggoth ordered the merging, and that Daggoth was part of them merging at different times. They're really kind of vague on the whole thing. Heck, Kerrigan's a pretty unreliable narrator for the whole process anyway. She probably started the Brood War 'cause Daggoth didn't invite her to the Super Secret Cerebrates-Only Overmind Creation Party.
