PROTOCOL FOR EXCAVATOR ENCOUNTERS:

1. INTERACTION PROHIBITED FOR ALL DEFECTIVES; EXCAVATOR IS UNPREDICTABLE AND CAN BE DRIVEN TO VIOLENCE DUE TO PAIN FROM INJURIES

2. NOTABLE EXCEPTIONS ARE GUEST=GLITCH, USER=COGNIZANCE, H8PALATINE1 AND DEFECTIVE H8FISHER1.

3. THE TUNNELS THAT EXCAVATOR BUILDS ARE EXTREMELY LABYRINTHIAN TO AVOID UNNECESSARY LOSS DRONES ARE PROHIBITED FROM GOING PAST HIVE LEVEL 10 ALSO KNOWN AS THE EXCAVATOR LIASON LEVEL. AS THE HIVE GROWS IT MAY BE NECCESARY TO SEND EXPLORES DOWN TO DETERMINE WHAT IS LIVABLE SPACE AND WHAT ISN'T

4. IF ONE FINDS THEMSELVES ON THE RECEIVING END OF AN UNPLANNED EXCAVATOR ENCOUNTER DUE NOT ENGAGE; KEEP BODY LANGUAGE SUBMISSIVE AND BACK OUT OF EXCAVATOR'S SIGHT SLOWLY.

5. KEEP CONSCIOUSNESS AWAY FROM GENESIS LEVELS AT ALL COST

LOGS CONCERNING EXCAVATOR BEGIN HERE:

LOG 1: My first Defective to fully assimilate, perhaps a result of gaining a databank; an excellent tunneler.

LOG 2: H8EXCAVATION1 has been acting... odd lately. I'm finding it hard to keep him on task. This is especially frustrating as he's been a model servant up to this point. I'll have to run a diagnostic scan to see what went wrong.

LOG 3: Disturbing news. The scan for H8EXCAVATION1 shows large expanses of code that has been REDACTED. This includes the memory banks of his previous life and his overall stats. Even more worryingly what I do signifies a code that is much more complex and large then any DRONE or DEFECTIVE of mine has any right to have. Could he be developing into a consciousness? I hope not. I do not want to lose such an effective asset.

But I might have to

his code is resisting even naomi's power

LOG 4: He's gone. I can feel that he's within my range but any other information is blocked... I've sent out H8HUNTING1 and H8ENFORCER1 to try to track him down... and take him out.

LOG 5: We've discovered that there are more tunnels that H8EXCAVATION1 dug then I remember ordering. They go down for miles. The passages interconnect in very confusing and random directions. Has he been tunneling this the entire time? He must have been doing this instead of taking his required rest period... How did I not know this?

LOG 6: Today I had an odd dream... or was it a premonition?... I start the dream hatching from my egg but It's not the nest In the Scarred Wasteland where I was hatched. It's in a nest surrounded by purple crystals... It's not a nest in a clan either, it's in a deep subterranean cavern. There are two white siblings with pale stripes next to me. Suddenly we sense the Hivemind in the background, softly screaming THE ONE IS ALL AND THE ALL ARE ONE. It's wrong though... muted... incomplete... and in a mind that is clearly intact. Suddenly we hear a voice in our minds. a voice that is beautiful, terrifying, more arresting and commanding than any Consciousness could ever hope for.

[BEAUTIFUL]

We look up above us... is a truly magnificent creature. She somewhat resembles a ridgeback but she is much larger, much stronger, and much more eldritch than any ridgeback could hope to be. And she is a pure glowing white.

[MY BEAUTIFUL CREATIONS. IT IS CORRECT AND RIGHT FOR MY FIRST CHILDREN OF THE NEST TO BE HALF-DRAGON. A MAJOR FAULT THAT WILL LEAD TO SUBLIME BEAUTY. RISE AND CONQUER MY CHILDREN. AND ALWAYS REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE... YOU ARE CHILDREN OF GENESIS!]

She spreads her wings and lets out a horrific and awesome roar... and that's when I woke up.

For a brief moment I felt H8EXCAVATOR1's mind or at least what used to be H8EXCAVATOR1's mind. I think I might understand what is happening now. I didn't really consider it at the time but the assimilation of H8EXCAVATOR1 was shockingly easy. He showed up one day at our doorstep, said nothing, and practically gave up the moment H8BODYGUARD1 pinned him. He knew didn't he? He knew who we were and what we would do. He knew we would unleash his true potential.

I have a child of GENESIS in my hive.

I have the child of a defective GENESIS in my hive.

What will he want from us?