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Chapter 311: The Ork Farming Plan
🕑 Added 2025-09-20 11:52:35 +0000 UTCChapter 311: The Ork Farming Plan
The fact that the WAAAGH! energy could affect the Synaptic Lathe was a good thing, but it also worried Lucan. If a large number of Orks were inserted into the Lathe, would their combined "Ork know-wotz" cause a catastrophic failure, or even allow them to seize control of the machine? Or could this massive collective consciousness be focused into a single Ork, creating an unprecedented Warboss?
When Lucan expressed his concerns to Pavian, his words put Lucan's heart at ease.
"My Lord, that is not something we need to worry about, at least for now," Pavian explained. "Through the knowledge within the Synaptic Lathe's own servo-systems, we have learned that it creates a special 'dream' for its biological consumables. This is both to prevent them from trying to escape and to maintain the usability of these 'bio-chips' for a longer period. A relatively stable psychological state is better for maintaining their vital signs.
"This is also why you saw a smile on their faces. Of course, if the machine is run at full power without regard for the cost, their pleasant dreams will be shattered, and they will show the expressions of agony you saw earlier. Conversely, if it is run at a normal power level, they will be immersed in a false and beautiful dream. Even as the Lathe's extraction causes their physical bodies to collapse, they will not feel a thing. Even for Orks, we can create a dream for them that is within a controllable range."
Pavian led Lucan to the control system to show him the interface.
"But," Lucan said, "that still doesn't seem to solve the problem I mentioned."
"I understand what you mean, my Lord. The most important thing is that this dream does not originate from their own imagination. It can be guided and designed."
"You're saying we can shape their dream?"
"Precisely. At least with the current power of the Orks' 'know-wotz,' they cannot break the limitations of the dream. If we were to follow the Orks' desires, their dream would be a vast, endless battle. But we can control the scale of the battle in their dream, ensuring that this scale cannot produce a sufficiently powerful individual.
"As the number of Orks increases, we can also use the equipment here to closely monitor the life status of every single Ork. If a particularly powerful individual does appear, we can destroy it at a moment's notice. Through interference with the dream, we can limit the intensity of their mental fluctuations, ensuring that an overly powerful WAAAGH! energy does not emerge.
"In fact... I even have a bold idea." Pavian had a look on his face as if he wasn't sure if he should say it.
"Pavian, go on," Lucan encouraged. "You know I encourage you to speak your bold ideas!"
"Since we can guide the Orks' dream, could we try to replace the image of their gods, Gork and Mork, with your image? We could make the WAAAGH! energy act directly on you, making you even more powerful! Even if it doesn't act on you, it could be directed onto other individuals."
Lucan was astonished by Pavian's bold idea. Pavian was talking about artificially creating a god.
If Pavian thought this was an experiment with an unknown outcome, Lucan knew that it was actually very likely to succeed. The Imperial legend, Commissar Yarrick, known to the Orks as "Old Bale Eye," had, through his powerful command and combat prowess, defeated and killed countless powerful Orks. Even the Orks had come to fear him. And as his legend spread among the Greenskins, the WAAAGH! energy had begun to affect him, granting him combat power and a lifespan that surpassed mortal limits.
"It seems that in your time studying with Cawl, you've learned more than just technology and knowledge," Lucan mused. "You've also learned his boldness for exploring new fields."
"If you do not agree, my Lord, I will certainly not attempt it!" Pavian said, thinking Lucan was displeased. "You have said that becoming a god in this universe is not a good thing."
"Who said I don't agree?" Lucan replied. "Your idea is very constructive. However, this matter must be handled with caution. We will try it slowly. We absolutely cannot rush it. Right now, we need more Orks. I will tell Rebecca to post a bounty for live Orks on the trading platform. To breed a sufficient number of Orks, we first need a batch of 'seeds'!
"Pavian, I need you to draw up a feasibility report for the 'Scientific Breeding of Greenskins' as soon as possible. I remember there are several barren planets in the adjacent system with no resources, but they should be sufficient to breed Orks. The life force of those creatures is terrifyingly strong.
"Remember, all captured 'seeds' must be killed, and we will use their spores to breed a new population. We must strictly control their access to any technology. All we need are biological wetware. Also, to avoid accidents, the wetware can only be from ordinary Ork Boyz and Gretchin! Do not, under any circumstances, use Mekboyz or Warbosses."
To obtain a sustainable supply of these expendable Ork wetware, Lucan envisioned turning an entire planet into an Ork assembly-line breeding farm.
With Lucan's orders given, it wouldn't be long before a large number of bounties for live Orks appeared on the trading platform. Although many people would wonder why the Dynasty needed such useless and troublesome creatures, the generous rewards would still attract a swarm of bounty hunters. Under normal circumstances, humans would not go out of their way to provoke the Greenskins, even scattered ones. But now that they had value, they had suddenly become a hot commodity. The scattered Ork clans and pirates wandering the Expanse would never have imagined that humans would suddenly start actively hunting them, and that they themselves had become the prey.
"I will have someone design the plan immediately," Pavian said. "However, in addition to the good news, I have one piece of bad news to tell you."
"Bad news?"
"Yes. The computational power generated by the current number of biological wetware is still too small. It is not enough for us to make a technological breakthrough. But based on the current energy consumption, as the number of 'consumables' increases, the demand for energy will reach a terrifying level. I have checked the Dynasty's current energy output. Even if we build an entire energy production system here, it will be difficult to keep up with the consumption."
"Energy... energy..."
According to the data Pavian provided, even Agathos, Lucan's most developed and highest-output world, could not produce enough energy to sustain the Lathe's future consumption, let alone the system they were currently in.
But as he looked at the two stars in this system, Lucan thought of his options. He could either spend time and research points to build a Dyson Sphere, a technology that could cover an entire star to draw its energy, or he could unlock the "Bio-Reactor," a special tech building from Stellaris. The vast numbers of Zerg would be a qualified source of organic matter.
But both of these options would consume time and research points. The latter would also consume a large number of Zerg units, and Lucan preferred to use his Zerg for war.
But then he thought of a faster way. The operation in the Cryptus System was imminent. And there, there was something that could help him and save him a massive amount of research points.
A Necron construct, called the Grand Prism.
It could, like a Dyson Sphere, draw energy from a star. This very construct was currently powering all the worlds in the Cryptus System. It could even be used to guide a massive amount of energy to detonate the star. It could not only serve as a qualified power supply but also as a weapon.
He would go there, disassemble it, bring it back, and the SCVs could reassemble it. He had enough time to complete this plan before the Ork farm was fully established.
"Pavian, the Synaptic Lathe is to be the Dynasty's greatest secret. Do not let anyone else know about it. Not even Cawl."
"Rest assured, Lord Lucan. My lips are sealed!"
