“Grandad’s science guys say the bugs wear a breathing apparatus. That makes sense. There wouldn’t be enough oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere to support them at their size. There used to be much larger insects on Earth. Perhaps the oxygen level was higher on Earth when the very large insects were around.”
Roll agreed. “Sounds about right. They’re obviously an advanced civilization. I suppose they could also have done some genetic manipulation to become more ... formidable.”
Yeah, formidable. Soldier bugs have oversize mandibles and two sturdy pointed horns on their heads. They have sharp serrated claws on all their sturdy legs, well designed to hold prey. One of Grandad’s military friends gave me the creeps when he described the oversized curved claw located on their two hindmost legs. He said those would certainly be efficient for eviscerating prey. The abdomen is narrow, smaller than might be expected, more like that of a wasp. It does have a stinger. Their legs are thicker than would seem normal, to support their solid exoskeletal frame. The exoskeleton also serves as substantial armor.
In battle they seem to limit their use of high-tech weapons. It’s as though they enjoy using their physical strength to prevail. We think it is their disposition that drives them to a more direct means of combat rather than relying on tech. I know, it’s still early on in the invasion. So, we’ll see. Bugs are extremely focused, do not surrender in a fight, and show no mercy. They are ferocious.
Perhaps the bugs are combining terror along with their concept of military practicality. They have mostly focused on military bases. That’s practical. But they also want to intimidate the general public. Terror. Or, as I’ve intimated, they may just enjoy hurting people. They want to get their jaws on a nice soft human. Or have a nice sting. It’s blood sport for them. That’s what invaded us.
Finally, here are a couple more observations that are, if nothing else, interesting. Bugs don’t have a static color. They seem to be able to shift the color of their shells. I have seen vids of them colored jet-black with glowing red eyes. The look is sinister. Terrifying. Powerful. At other times they have iridescent hues like a shiny copper with red tones. Evidently the outer surface of their shells has angular plate-like layers. I hate to say it, but the colors can be beautiful. They also have patches of ... chitin ... below their horns that seem to help them express mood. The effect may be similar to human eyebrows.
***
+ BEGIN TIMELINE DROP.
Bugs refer to their normal iridescent color schemes, which are mostly determined by mood, as the Colors of Ahaam. Their colors shift throughout the day as determined by their mood and ambient lighting. Singing causes a particularly dramatic shift in color scheme and perhaps, as subjectively reported, color intensity. The only time their colors become what they term “washed-out” is when they have been dosed with the battle rage drugs, the berserker formulas. Their overlords developed that formula.
END TIMELINE DROP. +
***
*COMMUNAL: We can confirm the invading alien bugs structurally resemble a blending of certain aspects of the Earth insect order Hymenoptera which includes wasps, bees, and ants. While there are definitely wasp-like characteristics, the bug family resemblance to Earth insects most typifies Formicidae, the common ant, in particular the Carpenter Ant. Behavioral responses suggest a caste system with a large winged female queen, smaller wingless female workers, and male soldiers with oversized heads and mandibles.
General appearance does not necessarily reflect any actual relationship. Form tends to follow function. There are anatomical similarities between the invader bugs and Earth insects. At the genetic level there will be little similarity between the invaders and Earth insects. Their color shifting ability is particularly puzzling.
Each bug ship will have a queen ant. The queen will exercise control over all aspects of the ship colony, her nest. The colony ships together would function as a superorganism, ultimately acting as a unified entity. There could hardly be a more perfect organism to accomplish long interstellar journeys at sub-light speed. Most of the ants could merely enter a period of static hibernation, which would require minimal life support. A medically induced stasis would also be used for the long voyage between stars.
This just coming in, straight up from the guys in Emotive Synergy. Haven’t heard much from you over there yet. Liking the new clock-speed, are you? Excellent. What’s your bug comment? It would be far better to induce sleep and not have to listen to all those antsy bugs saying, are we there yet? Are WE there YET? ARE WE THERE YET?
***
Uhhh, thanks Communal. Good information. You’re wound up pretty tight, aren’t you?
The DARPA lab was not the only high-tech facility destroyed by the enemy. Other secret labs and bases all over the world were attacked at about the same time. Bugs. The invasion started shortly after. Even though Grandad found out bugs have a large base on Mars, the invasion force came from outside the ecliptic. The ecliptic is the orbital plane of objects that circle the sun. You know, planets, most asteroids. Those sorts of objects. They tend to circle around the sun in a tight orbital plane. That’s the ecliptic.
The bugs understood we watch the ecliptic closely, to spot asteroids that might be on a collision course with Earth. That scrutiny has only increased over the years as the means to interdict smaller asteroids became a real option. They tried for a surprise entrance but their method actually backfired. So, it’s possible
