1 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:06,399 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:11,400 Speaker 2: Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and this is the 3 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:14,800 Speaker 2: Monster Fact, a short form series from Stuff to Blow 4 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:19,720 Speaker 2: Your Mind, focusing in non mythical creatures, ideas and monsters 5 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:26,920 Speaker 2: in time. On this special omnibus episode, we'll be sharing 6 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:30,720 Speaker 2: the three previous Monster Fact episodes dealing with the Great 7 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:35,160 Speaker 2: Zenos threat to the imperium of man, the Tyrannis. Now. 8 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:38,200 Speaker 2: I want to stress that since these were originally published, 9 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:41,199 Speaker 2: Games Workshop has put out a new edition of Warhammer 10 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:45,720 Speaker 2: forty thousand and some new lure regarding the Tyrannic Wars. 11 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:48,920 Speaker 2: The new material is not reflected in what's to follow, 12 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:51,280 Speaker 2: but I believe most of what is discussed here still 13 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:55,560 Speaker 2: holds true, so please enjoy, especially if you're currently painting 14 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:59,200 Speaker 2: up your new Leviathan miniatures or simply awaiting the release 15 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:04,200 Speaker 2: of the new video game Space Marine two upburst. Let's 16 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:11,520 Speaker 2: cover Tyrannid basics. In the fictional world of Warhammer forty thousand, 17 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:16,759 Speaker 2: the entirety of the Milky Way Galaxy is consumed by warfare, destruction, 18 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:24,040 Speaker 2: and decline everywhere you look. Militant spacefaring civilizations wage crusades 19 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:28,399 Speaker 2: of brutal expansion while fighting off doom and corruption from 20 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:33,600 Speaker 2: without and within. With war raging on every front, one 21 00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:40,000 Speaker 2: final threat presents itself an invasion from beyond the galaxy itself, 22 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:46,640 Speaker 2: the Tyrannid high Fleets. As related in Games Workshop's ninth 23 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:51,040 Speaker 2: edition of the Tyrannid's Codex, the Tyrannids are an entirely 24 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:56,120 Speaker 2: biological threat. They take many physical forms, ranging from foot 25 00:01:56,160 --> 00:02:01,280 Speaker 2: soldiers and walking tanks to enormous hive ships and biotitans, 26 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:04,919 Speaker 2: all of it under the sway of the unified hive mind. 27 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:09,400 Speaker 2: Their weapons, too, are biological. They cleave into their enemies 28 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:13,520 Speaker 2: with sights and bone swords, and their ranged weapons blast 29 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:18,919 Speaker 2: a vast array of squirming, writhing, and piercing bio munitions 30 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 2: in addition to venom and bioplasma. High Fleet after high 31 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 2: Fleet enters into the galaxy were told conquering planets and 32 00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:32,400 Speaker 2: harvesting the entirety of each planet's biomass, which is then 33 00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:36,880 Speaker 2: incorporated into the next generation of Tyrannid Hordes. They advance 34 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:40,720 Speaker 2: continuously like a viral infection of the Milky Way itself. 35 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:47,200 Speaker 2: In the forty first millennium, a time of interplanetary fascist empires, 36 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:52,000 Speaker 2: chaos gods, and robotic resurgencies. The Tyrannids seem to pose 37 00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:56,280 Speaker 2: the greatest and most monstrous threat of all. But why 38 00:02:56,400 --> 00:03:01,080 Speaker 2: is this? Author Ben Woodard explos the question in his 39 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:07,560 Speaker 2: twenty twelve biological philosophy books Slime Dynamics, Generation, Mutation, and 40 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:11,839 Speaker 2: The Creek of Life. The answer, he explains, may be 41 00:03:11,919 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 2: found in the entirely biological nature of the Tyrannids. Widard 42 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:20,200 Speaker 2: argues that, unlike with human beings of our world and 43 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 2: most of the civilizations of the forty K universe, the 44 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:29,760 Speaker 2: Tyrannids have no separation between technology and the body. He writes, quote, 45 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:34,240 Speaker 2: the horrible extended internalness of the tyrannid, that is, the 46 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:38,120 Speaker 2: revolting extension of the biological to the level of what 47 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:42,960 Speaker 2: is commonly thought of as removed from US technology, war machines, etc. 48 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 2: Becomes only a natural extension unquote. So while the robotic 49 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:53,880 Speaker 2: necrons of forty K have lost all organic being, all 50 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:58,840 Speaker 2: organic drive, and organic origin to technology, the Tyrannids are 51 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:02,680 Speaker 2: the reverse. The Tyrannids are the advancement of the biological 52 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 2: beyond all perceived limits, while the factions of the Milky 53 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:12,160 Speaker 2: Way are driven by nationalistic, xenophobic, religious, and expansionist ideologies. 54 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:16,720 Speaker 2: The Tyrannids seem driven by sheer biological hunger, divorced from 55 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:22,120 Speaker 2: any semblance of rational intent. They lack all individuality, save 56 00:04:22,279 --> 00:04:27,640 Speaker 2: the unfathomable individuality of the extragalactic or perhaps transgalactic hive 57 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:32,120 Speaker 2: mind itself that commands its every movement. It is pure 58 00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:38,440 Speaker 2: organic impulse, unchecked by individual free will, culture, or traditional technology. 59 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:42,440 Speaker 2: And for the strife ridden denizens of forty K's Milky 60 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:46,800 Speaker 2: Way galaxy, the Tyrannids are something else, entirely alien. They 61 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:51,159 Speaker 2: are absolute unity. Their home universe is conceivably a realm 62 00:04:51,279 --> 00:04:58,920 Speaker 2: of absolute peace and order, albeit an entirely inhuman one. Next, 63 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:02,560 Speaker 2: let's take a deeper book at the Tyrannic wars themselves. 64 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:08,800 Speaker 2: Last week on the Monster Fact, I discussed the Tyrannids 65 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:13,039 Speaker 2: of the fictional Warhammer forty K universe, an extra galactic 66 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:17,560 Speaker 2: invasion fleet of biological horror and hunger that seems posed 67 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:21,920 Speaker 2: to consume all the biomass in the Milky Way galaxy. Indeed, 68 00:05:22,279 --> 00:05:25,440 Speaker 2: this might well be the ultimate doom awaiting the various 69 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:29,120 Speaker 2: civilizations in forty K. But that doesn't mean they're going 70 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:32,480 Speaker 2: to go down without a fight. Heck, as Game's Workshop 71 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:35,000 Speaker 2: is quick to remind us, quote, in the grim darkness 72 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:39,920 Speaker 2: of the far future, there is only war. The Imperium 73 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:42,960 Speaker 2: of Man is especially well suited for such a conflict. 74 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:47,640 Speaker 2: This interstellar human empire covers a great deal of territory 75 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:50,960 Speaker 2: in the Milky Way and commands vast legions of military 76 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:55,840 Speaker 2: might the Imperial Guard, a powerful imperial navy of starships, 77 00:05:56,080 --> 00:06:00,160 Speaker 2: the Almighty Space Marines, and various other militant orders and 78 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:03,760 Speaker 2: planetary defense forces. By the time of the forty K 79 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:07,160 Speaker 2: game setting, the Imperium has fended off two separate high 80 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:11,760 Speaker 2: fleet incursions and are struggling with a third. The Imperium's 81 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:15,600 Speaker 2: tactics are worth discussing here, especially as they reference real 82 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:20,120 Speaker 2: world military tactics and scenarios. Both examples I'm going to 83 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:23,200 Speaker 2: discuss here involved. According to the forty K lore in 84 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:28,400 Speaker 2: Games Workshop's ninth edition Tyranids Codex, the Machinations of Imperial 85 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:33,320 Speaker 2: Inquisitor fight as Cryptman during the Third Tyrannic War against 86 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:37,880 Speaker 2: high Fleet Leviathan. The authors of the codex tell us 87 00:06:37,880 --> 00:06:42,280 Speaker 2: that Cryptman, understanding the needs and aims of the Tyrannids 88 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:46,280 Speaker 2: devised a horrific means of slowing them down and weakening 89 00:06:46,320 --> 00:06:50,839 Speaker 2: their invasion fleet. Since the Tyrannids required living worlds to 90 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:55,880 Speaker 2: harvest in their path of conquest, Kryptman ordered the eradication 91 00:06:56,040 --> 00:07:00,679 Speaker 2: of life on multiple occupied planets in the enemy Fletat's path. 92 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:04,200 Speaker 2: If the Imperium was able to keep these planets devoid 93 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:08,200 Speaker 2: of biomass, Kryptman realized the enemy would have nothing to 94 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:11,040 Speaker 2: grow on in, no fresh biomass out of which to 95 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:15,360 Speaker 2: rebuild its forces. But of course this strategy doomed trillions 96 00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:18,920 Speaker 2: of innocent people on those unlucky worlds. It was apparently 97 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:23,480 Speaker 2: even too harsh for the Imperium, resulting in Encryptman's excommunication. 98 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:27,520 Speaker 2: The Tyranids, again, are entirely organic, and while they seem 99 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:32,280 Speaker 2: to boast amazing hibernation abilities, their voyages across the intergalactic 100 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:35,320 Speaker 2: void must leave them in a hungry state upon arrival 101 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:38,440 Speaker 2: in the Milky Way. Even if, according to the lore, 102 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:41,840 Speaker 2: they benefit from some manner of space folding travel during 103 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:46,160 Speaker 2: intergalactic travel, they're still traveling at the very least tens 104 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:48,880 Speaker 2: of thousands of light years to get here, and then 105 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:52,880 Speaker 2: tens of thousands more within the galaxy proper without the 106 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:56,800 Speaker 2: aid of space folding or faster than light travel. One 107 00:07:56,840 --> 00:08:00,640 Speaker 2: is reminded of real world accounts of invading Western during 108 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:04,080 Speaker 2: the Age of Sails. Upon arrival in new Lands and 109 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:08,040 Speaker 2: the New World, nourishment might not be forthcoming, and even 110 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:11,160 Speaker 2: if it could be stolen, scavenged, or bartered for it 111 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:14,200 Speaker 2: was likely somewhat different from what they were accustomed to. 112 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:18,600 Speaker 2: While the concept of eradicating worlds ahead of the Tyrannet 113 00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:21,960 Speaker 2: advance is a whole new sort of hardor the basic 114 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:25,600 Speaker 2: scorched earth strategy here has been used throughout the history 115 00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:28,640 Speaker 2: of war. In general, it is the punitive destruction of 116 00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:32,640 Speaker 2: enemy resources, and in particular it generally entails something like 117 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:36,280 Speaker 2: the wholesale destruction of agriculture, the destruction of homes, and 118 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:40,560 Speaker 2: the poisoning of wells. Anything to prevent an advancing army 119 00:08:40,559 --> 00:08:45,240 Speaker 2: from successfully foraging for resources, even if it means decimating 120 00:08:45,240 --> 00:08:49,160 Speaker 2: your own territory in the process. The Gauls used this 121 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:52,600 Speaker 2: tactic against the Romans during the Great Gallic War, and 122 00:08:52,679 --> 00:08:55,720 Speaker 2: the Romans use this tactic against the Carthaginians during the 123 00:08:55,760 --> 00:09:01,400 Speaker 2: Second Punic War. As ancient warfare expert doctor Devereaux discusses 124 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:05,480 Speaker 2: on his excellent A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry blog the 125 00:09:05,559 --> 00:09:09,760 Speaker 2: availability of food and water greatly influenced where pre industrial 126 00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:13,040 Speaker 2: armies could go and how long they could tarry in 127 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:15,880 Speaker 2: a given region. He also points out that while an 128 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:19,480 Speaker 2: army famously marches on its stomach, other resources were sought 129 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:23,880 Speaker 2: after as well, including fodder for animals and firewood. Timber 130 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:26,960 Speaker 2: might also be desired in general in order to construct 131 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:32,559 Speaker 2: siege machinery upon reaching a fortified destination. Deny the advancing 132 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:35,880 Speaker 2: army this timber, and you might deny them their more 133 00:09:36,040 --> 00:09:42,600 Speaker 2: ferocious siege engines. For the Tyrannids, biomass provides everything their sustenance, 134 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:45,200 Speaker 2: as well as the material out of which their living 135 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:49,480 Speaker 2: war engines are born. Within the narrative of Warhammer forty 136 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:55,440 Speaker 2: k Kryptman's choice was horrifying, but perhaps strategically sound. Prevent 137 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:59,480 Speaker 2: an army, even a weird extragalactic one, from feeding and 138 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:05,319 Speaker 2: fueling itself, and you limit where and if it can go. Still, 139 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:08,760 Speaker 2: while the Tyrannid high fleet slowed, we are told it 140 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:13,320 Speaker 2: kept coming. Gripman's excommunication didn't stop him from fighting the war. 141 00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:16,520 Speaker 2: According to the Codex. His next act was to intentionally 142 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:20,200 Speaker 2: ceed a Tyrannid presence in Orc occupied space, drawing the 143 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:23,560 Speaker 2: Tyrannids into what would be known as the Octarius War. 144 00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:26,839 Speaker 2: This was also a decision that at best only bought 145 00:10:26,880 --> 00:10:30,880 Speaker 2: the Imperium time and at worst made both enemies, the 146 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:34,240 Speaker 2: Orcs and the Tyrannids stronger due to quirks of their 147 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:38,560 Speaker 2: individual biologies. Now, since the Imperium did not actually aid 148 00:10:38,600 --> 00:10:41,160 Speaker 2: the Orcs in their war with the Tyrannids, I don't 149 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:45,000 Speaker 2: think this would constitute a true proxy war, but there 150 00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:47,640 Speaker 2: do seem to be examples from Warhammer fiction in which 151 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:50,800 Speaker 2: Orcs and say the Imperial Guard find themselves in a 152 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:56,800 Speaker 2: shaky alliance against the Tyrannids. So perhaps either way, the 153 00:10:56,840 --> 00:11:00,320 Speaker 2: Octarious War eventually overflows and drags in army of the 154 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:04,320 Speaker 2: Imperium and other enemy factions. It is, after all, a 155 00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:09,080 Speaker 2: dark millennium. In closing, I think the Third Tyrannic War 156 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:13,440 Speaker 2: is a very smartly constructed Sci fi military scenario. I 157 00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:16,960 Speaker 2: do appreciate it when an author takes a fantastic warfare 158 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:22,080 Speaker 2: scenario seriously, and as long as they involve monsters, I 159 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:25,120 Speaker 2: would be happy to discuss them on future episodes of 160 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:29,839 Speaker 2: The Monster Fact. We have one more episode next week 161 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:32,560 Speaker 2: dealing with the Tyrannids on the Monster Fact, so tune 162 00:11:32,559 --> 00:11:35,560 Speaker 2: in for that. Also, if you want to hear Brett 163 00:11:35,559 --> 00:11:39,000 Speaker 2: Devereaux weigh in on the imperium of man itself, he 164 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:42,160 Speaker 2: was a guest on the February twenty twenty one episode 165 00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:46,480 Speaker 2: of Chapter Tactics number one ninety four how the imperium 166 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:50,400 Speaker 2: of Man compares to other empires in history. This is 167 00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:52,720 Speaker 2: a fun podcast. It's quite a good listen if you 168 00:11:52,760 --> 00:12:05,640 Speaker 2: are into either ancient warfare or Warhammer forty thousand. Finally, 169 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:10,320 Speaker 2: let's consider the infiltration efforts of the Tyrannic menace the 170 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:15,320 Speaker 2: Gene Stealer cults. Over the past two weeks, we've looked 171 00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:18,880 Speaker 2: at the Tyrannid invaders of the Warhammer forty k universe, 172 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:22,839 Speaker 2: biological armies and high fleets from beyond the limits of 173 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:26,000 Speaker 2: the Milky Way on an inhuman quest to consume all 174 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:30,480 Speaker 2: biomass in their path. They constitute an outer threat to 175 00:12:30,520 --> 00:12:33,640 Speaker 2: the imperium of Man like none other, but they also 176 00:12:33,800 --> 00:12:39,160 Speaker 2: pose a terrifying inner threat as well, as described in 177 00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:43,160 Speaker 2: the ninth edition Gene Stealer cults codex from Games Workshop. 178 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:46,280 Speaker 2: The Tyrannids have a means of corrupting a host world 179 00:12:46,360 --> 00:12:50,319 Speaker 2: ahead of a high fleet's arrival, ripening it for the plucking. 180 00:12:51,559 --> 00:12:53,880 Speaker 2: We're told that a form of tyrannid known as a 181 00:12:53,960 --> 00:12:59,760 Speaker 2: gene stealer initiates this corruption, stealthily stowing away in cargo 182 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:03,680 Speaker 2: or aboard darylic spacecraft in order to reach a new 183 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:08,800 Speaker 2: human occupied world. Once there, the creature will begin to 184 00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:13,680 Speaker 2: infect members of a planet's agricultural or industrial workforce with 185 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:18,760 Speaker 2: its genetic material via an ovipositor in its tongue. This 186 00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:23,880 Speaker 2: act initiates a multi generational process that introduces a variety 187 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:29,840 Speaker 2: of human Tyrannid hybrids. While initial generations are monstrous and 188 00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:34,600 Speaker 2: remain below ground, later generations are essentially humanoid in appearance 189 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:39,000 Speaker 2: and can actively infiltrate different segments of the human society. 190 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:44,679 Speaker 2: Collectively the gene stealer hybrid stage and underground resistance and 191 00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:50,440 Speaker 2: eventual violent rebellion against imperial planetary rule, all of which 192 00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:53,520 Speaker 2: is time to converge with the arrival of an invading 193 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:57,000 Speaker 2: high fleet, which is drawn to the gene stealer cult 194 00:13:57,160 --> 00:14:01,560 Speaker 2: like a beacon in the vast night. This darkly fantastic 195 00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:06,319 Speaker 2: scenario invokes various accounts of natural world parasitism and mimicry, 196 00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:09,320 Speaker 2: but I think it especially mirrors the manipulation of use 197 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:14,359 Speaker 2: social insect communities by certain organisms. Ant colonies and beehives, 198 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:16,640 Speaker 2: after all, aren't too different from the notion of an 199 00:14:16,679 --> 00:14:20,920 Speaker 2: imperial forage world, where vast populations toil to supply the 200 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:24,720 Speaker 2: imperium with its armor and its weaponry. For ants, especially, 201 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:28,520 Speaker 2: their warlike nature is also reminiscent of the forty K setting. 202 00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:31,560 Speaker 2: But at heart, the main comparison is that we have 203 00:14:31,640 --> 00:14:36,000 Speaker 2: a complex social order within one species that is deceived 204 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:40,560 Speaker 2: and manipulated by another organism for its own ends. For example, 205 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:43,880 Speaker 2: there's the death's head hawk moth, a genus of moth 206 00:14:43,960 --> 00:14:47,400 Speaker 2: famous for both its skull like markings and its ability 207 00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:51,200 Speaker 2: to infiltrate and raid honeybee hives by mimicking their smell. 208 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:55,360 Speaker 2: For a similar ant world example, certain spiders also use 209 00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:59,080 Speaker 2: chemical mimicry to enter the colony unopposed and eat whatever 210 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:03,040 Speaker 2: larvae they desire. But these are both cases of rating 211 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:07,080 Speaker 2: and predation. What about bending the system to the outsider's will? 212 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:11,080 Speaker 2: I think we might well compare the gene stealer cult 213 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:15,040 Speaker 2: to many forms of brood parasitism. The classic example we're 214 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:17,960 Speaker 2: all familiar with is, of course, the cuckoo bird, which 215 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:20,240 Speaker 2: doesn't care for its own egg, but rather places its 216 00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:23,200 Speaker 2: egg in the nest of another bird species, an act 217 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:26,960 Speaker 2: that is both stealthy and violent. The gene stealer cult 218 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:30,480 Speaker 2: certainly grows within a civilization on a given host planet, 219 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:33,280 Speaker 2: but it's of course a bit more complicated than that, 220 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:37,800 Speaker 2: so they also remind one of particular examples of social 221 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:42,480 Speaker 2: parasitism in the world of ants, termites, and bumblebees. The 222 00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:47,240 Speaker 2: bumblebee Bombas bohemchis, for example, the species neither builds its 223 00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:50,520 Speaker 2: own nest nor produces its own workers. Instead, a queen 224 00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:55,320 Speaker 2: invades a host nest of another Bombas species and defeats 225 00:15:55,400 --> 00:15:59,680 Speaker 2: the existing queen. Afterwards, the workers identify her as the 226 00:15:59,760 --> 00:16:03,680 Speaker 2: queen and they raise her young. This is an example 227 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:08,320 Speaker 2: of mass usurpation, which is at least thematically fitting when 228 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:12,560 Speaker 2: compared to the revolutionary gene stealer cults. But here's another 229 00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:15,600 Speaker 2: thing to think about. As the gene Stealer Codex points out, 230 00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:20,080 Speaker 2: the whole gene stealer hybrid enterprise might begin with monster 231 00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:23,760 Speaker 2: attacks and end with the arrival of a world consuming 232 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:26,880 Speaker 2: high fleet. But before the uprising and the so called 233 00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:30,960 Speaker 2: Day of ascension, third and fourth generation gene stealer hybrids, 234 00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:34,520 Speaker 2: who again are humanoid enough in appearance to fully infiltrate 235 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:39,640 Speaker 2: human societies, may contribute greatly to the host's civilization. They 236 00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:42,440 Speaker 2: work hard, and they perform their duties to the imperium 237 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:45,960 Speaker 2: quite well, at least until it's time to rise up. 238 00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:50,120 Speaker 2: During that pre revolutionary period, we might be tempted to 239 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:54,200 Speaker 2: think of the gene stealer hybrids as inkoline parasites, in 240 00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:57,560 Speaker 2: that they're not actively harming the host civilization while residing 241 00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:00,560 Speaker 2: within it. Again, members of the cult might well be 242 00:17:00,560 --> 00:17:04,240 Speaker 2: beneficial to the host civilization, at least in the short term, 243 00:17:04,600 --> 00:17:07,760 Speaker 2: though I think we'd be pushing it to call his mutualism. 244 00:17:08,080 --> 00:17:10,520 Speaker 2: After all, if the gene Stealer Cult has its way, 245 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:13,720 Speaker 2: the rebellion will be bloody and the arriving high fleet 246 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:20,040 Speaker 2: will consume everything, including the hybrids themselves. Biologist EO. Wilson 247 00:17:20,080 --> 00:17:23,840 Speaker 2: famously described parasites as quote predators that eat prey in 248 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:28,479 Speaker 2: units of less than one quote. The cult's desired end 249 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:33,399 Speaker 2: meal is somewhat larger. For a more thematic introduction to 250 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:36,160 Speaker 2: the gene stealer cults, I highly recommend the short story 251 00:17:36,359 --> 00:17:40,960 Speaker 2: The Child Foretold by Nicholas Kaufman. It's a mild spoiler 252 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:43,359 Speaker 2: to reveal that it's a gene stealer story, but it 253 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:48,240 Speaker 2: still packs a horrific punch. Tune in for additional episodes 254 00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:50,480 Speaker 2: of The Monster Fact each week. As always, you can 255 00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:53,680 Speaker 2: email us at contact at stuff to Blow your Mind 256 00:17:54,040 --> 00:18:02,119 Speaker 2: dot com. 257 00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:05,520 Speaker 1: Stuffed Blow your Mind is production of iHeartRadio. For more 258 00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:09,320 Speaker 1: podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or 259 00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:11,080 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.