Locust (Sword of Stars)

The Locusts are an alien race in Sword of Stars.

Physiology
The Locusts are a transcarbon race, that voluntarily chose to become self–replicating machines.

History
Before achieving their current form the race that would become the Locusts originally evolved from a mammalian race that existed in the cycle of life, death and rebirth as all other races. However the race decided that they would prefer to exist outside of this cycle after achieving the Space Age.

Culture
The transition to a transcarbon lifestyle, however caused the Locusts to lose a sense of connection to the needs and wants of any living thing. They have become totally indifferent to the state of overharvesting carbon biospheres which their entire civilization is based on.

Locusts are rater indifferent to the affairs of other races, and are not necessarily aggressive. The conflicts that emerge between contact with other races are coincidental, rather than deliberately instigated. The Locusts do not hate carbon-based life – they are just in the way. The Locusts feel entitled to take anything and everything they need from a system.

Locusts are not a Hive Mind but exist as an endlessly repeating city of transcarbon entities. A Locust hiveship itself is the residence of all the minds grown too abstract to be self–motivated personalities.