Bright_Ops

Hivemind

...Okay. I am okay with attempting to have them love us rather then fear us.

However, a recommendation in order to subtly prevent rebellions: A subspecies of the Prince developed to be stealthy and difficult to detect for the beetles who's purpose is to spy on the beetle population for signs of rebellion or treason and then... quietly make the guilty party disappear. Love and Fear both have places when it comes to governing after all.

Hivemind

Send the Exploration Team some fresh supplies with the messagers.

Hivemind

Bringing the beetles into the fold as a servant race is an idea. However, while controlling their females does give us a means of dominating them, their individuality does mean that they'll be inclined to do something stupid in some vain attempt to try and liberate themselves from our guiding wisdom.

A possible idea: We employ the methods we use to rapidly improve our own biology in order to alter the biology of the beetle larvae within the eggs so that if they are not apart of the hivemind itself, they are submissive to our commands without the presence of mind to plot rebellion. We can employ them as beasts of burden.

I would not recommend using them for military actions; At least, not at the cost of our own militant abilities.

Hivemind

Only one order needs to be given at this stage. Slay. Them. All.

Hivemind

Suggestion for anti-beetle campaign: Try and take some of them alive. Opportunity to study living captives to gain information on the Beetle menace, as well as the possibility of uncovering how they communicate. Note: Beetles do not need their limbs to survive.

Hivemind

Maybe we can combine the two? Start developing an above ground structure to give us additional room above ground that can be used as a marker for scouting parties, first response garrison forces and as a shelter in the case of tunnel collapse and flooding in the future, but in turn maintain an underground tunnel network and chambers like we currently do with the new organic upgrades?

Hivemind

Well, we need to do some damage control; Try and recover what supplies and drones are trapped in collapsed tunnels and sections of the hive, but right now we need to outlast the waters and preserve what parts of the hive are still intact.

The question we need to ask now is: Do we rebuild the hives as underground tunnels (with the addition of the biological enforcement to ensure this doesn't happen again) or do we need to develop a new kind of home structure going forward?

Hivemind

Also try and convey the fact that we are happy to let the bees do their thing with our new bushes and that we will be happy to protect them while doing so.

Let the current 'silk' drones join the workforce properly. We'll see how they work in practice and thus where improvements are required later on.

Hivemind

I understand what you're trying to achieve, but the creation of two smaller hives solely for the purpose of pitting them against each other is a waste of resources: Both for the investments into the hives themselves and for the loss of possible resources for the main hive as two smaller hives fight for resources we don't currently control in order to wage war with each other.

Also, the development of 'Warlord' variant Princes to requirements asked would be a timely, resource intensive process that the hive cannot afford at this time. Alternative Suggestion: develop a strain of Princes with defensive military improvements, increased sensory systems and turning the advanced intelligence of the Prince caste towards tactical matters. Let them serve as a leading figure for the warriors to better coordinate and plan defenses and possible future campaigns for the hive.

Hivemind

The improvement of the Princes is an unexpected but highly welcomed addition to the Hive. Their advanced reasoning skills should be focused towards understanding the bees, since the bees are relatively peaceful and the Princes are unlikely to be accidentally brought into harms way.

Incorporating spider silk production into the hive should be brought back to the forefront.

Possible suggestion for a new militant caste: A smaller breed of warriors without the mandibles but with thicker armor so that they can serve to bait the target into attacking a target they will do little to no damage to while the attacking warriors flank the target and rip it apart.