The benefits begin almost immediately, as I not only finish my first class 9 ECM jammers, but see hope of learning from the extraordinary Nexus computer designs to devise far more advanced battle computers than those already aboard my ships, another improvement to my robotic controls, or ... or......
I have always worked through my Klackons, and they through their machines. But there is a way to use this ancienct Psilon technology that neither they nor Nexus could ever have conceived. There is a way for a hive mind to interface directly with a computer, for instance to concentrate and coordinate a ship's beam fire. It can be done, and ... do you know Human mythology? It is not everywhere the same as ours ... and I do find some of Jimbo's stories surprisingly attractive, amidst all the seas of boring.
I'm going to call this new project Oracle Interface, for reasons I hope you soon shall understand if you don't already. And my friend, I have found the tomb of the Artemisians, deep beneath what we have come to call the Atlantis Reef ... and I am a descendant of the Maalorites, and I know what such a place would be used for, and what it means.
I learn to build Ion Cannons at the same time - I shouldn't have wasted time on them; I'd probably have gotten them from the Humans one way or the other anyway - and get to work on Plasma Rifles, one of the miniaturization possibilities made possible by certain tricks I discovered while developing Pulse Phasors (the other was a beam/missile hybrid called a proton torpedo). The computer skills I learned from Nexus also make my spies virtually unstoppable; I not only acquire near-insignificant insights from the Humans' pitiful ECM Jammer Mark II designs and the Silicoids' Hyper-X Rockets, but have an opportunity to frame another race for each theft. Instead, I elect to simply cover my tracks so neither knows that their tech was stolen at all; I have no desire to spread more strife than already exists in the galaxy.
OOC Note: Each time I was given the option to frame in 2445, I hit Esc instead of clicking on either option; this should make my future spying easier, as they don't realize anyone stole from them at all, and won't do a knee-jerk spy sweep in response. I should also note that whenever a Human fleet met my Maneaters and Huntresses over one of the Human worlds, I did more damage to the planet from the combat screen before the enemy fleet could retreat than I did in orbital bombardment on the same turn! This was not the case, of course, when the Cleanups arrived on the scene.I have no interest however in learning the technology the Humans are trying to develop on Uxmai. Instead of spies, I send in my Cleanups; as Zygot said...
...it's the only way to be sure!
Now my forces arrive at Denubius, to confirm that labs are under construction, and to deal with them by pincer. The Human troopers there outnumber mine almost two and a half to one, and theirs wear Duralloy combat armor ... while mine advance in powered Neutronium exoskeletons.
It isn't close. Among the factories and labs on the surface, I find detailed plans for Neutron Blaster, Duralloy Armor, and Improved Terraforming +30, all of which are interesting for the slight additional perspective they offer on my already-far-superior technologies ... but I also learn the secrets of the Humans' Enhanced Eco Restoration, which improves my worlds' net production immediately!
Oh, and Lasitus proves his sense of humor is fairly limited; the Silicoids told this joke ages ago, and it's just never as funny the second time.
No, Lasitus, I will not "end my dealings" with a race which has been up-front and friendly with me since the moment we met - in spite of some strains over my growth and the like - just to hear you babbling your schizophrenic idiocy. I'll tell you what, though: You end your dealings with your bioweapons laboratories, and we can discuss the possibility of letting you have a future.
_______________
Next: The Future of Humanity
