[Story Spoilers!] Origins of Zerg

The Xel’Naga were more successful with
their second venture than they could have
imagined. They labored to advance the
evolution of the most insignificant life form
on Zerus, a race of miniature insectoids known
as the Zerg. Through Xel’Naga proto-genetic
manipulations, the Zerg survived the torrential
firestorms of their world and thrived. Although
extremely small, worm-like, and possessing
no ability to manipulate their physical
surroundings, the Zerg adapted to survive.
They developed the ability to burrow into the
flesh of the less vulnerable species indigenous
to Zerus. Feeding off the nutrients contained
within the spinal fluids of their hosts, the Zerg
learned to parasitically merge with their host
creatures. Once they became capable of
controlling the metabolic and anatomical
processes of their hosts, the Zerg used their
new bodies to manipulate their surroundings.
As the Zerg incorporated more and more
host creatures into their fold, they began to
assimilate their various genetic strains and
processes. Zerg chemistry began to mutate and
adapt according to the volume of new genetic
material being processed. However, as diverse
as the range of host creatures became, there
was always the undeviating drive to consume
only the most evolutionarily advanced species
encountered. The Zerg were innately selective
as to which species they consumed, ensuring
that at every stage of their development they
STARCRAFT
Zerg History
The Grand Experiment52 Blizzard Entertainment®
were at the top of the proverbial food chain.
Any race that the Zerg came across that was
deemed unworthy of assimilation was
eradicated to further purify the strains.
The Xel’Naga soon made an alarming
discovery. The original races assimilated by the
Zerg were hardly recognizable after only a few
generations of their inception. Somehow the
Zerg had developed the ability to supercharge
and steer the latent evolutionary processes
within their host creatures. The host creatures
fell prey to the effects of gradual physical
mutations that caused all of the various strains
to grow armor piercing spines, razor-sharp
limbs, and ultra dense carapaces. Over a
surprisingly short amount of time, the strains
grew to resemble a terrifyingly ravenous and
unified race.
overmind
The Xel’Naga, remembering all too well that
their failure with the Protoss was a result of
pushing the sentience of the fledgling species
too quickly, decided to follow a different path
with the burgeoning Zerg. Attempting to
waylay the potential hazards of differing egos,
the Xel’Naga structured the collective
sentience of the Zerg into a unified,
amalgamated ‘Overmind’. The Overmind
coalesced into a semi-sentient being that
represented the primary drives and instincts
of all of the Zerg strains. As time passed, the
Overmind developed the rudiments of
personality and advanced intellect.
Although the Overmind directed the actions
of every creature within the swarm, it did so
through the use of secondary agents. The
Overmind created a new strain of Zerg that
could facilitate the communication of its
whims. These Cerebrates were massive
versions of the original Zerg insectoids and
were engineered to process and carry out the
various objectives of the Overmind. Each
Cerebrate had a unique objective, such as
‘defend the Hive’, ‘scout for potential strains’,
‘produce more warriors’, or ‘eradicate all life
forms’. The Cerebrates were then empowered
to build their own Hive clusters and carry out
their intended agendas. Over time they
developed personalities that corresponded to
their primary drives. However, the Cerebrates
were still genetically incapable of ignoring or
overriding the commands of the Overmind.
The Zerg chain of command lengthened as
new races were incorporated into the swarm.
Cerebrates began to use secondary agents to
communicate their orders as well. For the
defense and productivity of the immediate
Hive, the Cerebrates turned to Queens to
further extend their control over the swarms.
The Queens oversaw Drone activity
throughout the resource lines of the Hives and
kept a vigilant watch over the budding spore
colonies of the collective. In times of battle,
Cerebrates called upon the Overlords to
directly relay their commands to the myriad
warriors of the swarm. Overlords not only
transported Zerg warriors into the fray, but also
directed their attacks against their enemies.
Just as the Cerebrates followed the Overmind,
the Queens and Overlords were incapable of
disobeying the commands from their
Cerebrates. This rigid system of command kept
the swarms at peak, savage efficiency.
As the swarms continued to grow and
strengthen, the Overmind turned its thoughts
towards its own future. It realized that within
a few short centuries its race had assimilated
all of the indigenous life upon Zerus. It knew
that to further evolve the swarm, the Zerg
would need to leave Zerus. The Overmind
began to reach out with its senses, looking for
something - anything - which would provide
them with transport from this world. That
opportunity soon arrived. A race of
gargantuan, space-faring life forms passed
through the Zerus system, and the Overmind
called to them. Drawn to the barren world by53 Blizzard Entertainment® 53
and began to incorporate the energies of these
Crystals into its own. Through the intimate
knowledge of evolution and proto-genetic
physiology gained from the Xel’Naga, the
Overmind was able to increase the level of
sentience in many of the higher Zerg strains,
while still keeping them fully under its control.
Through dissecting the memories of the
Xel’Naga, the Overmind was made aware of
the myriad races that had at one time or
another been influenced by the ancient race.
The Xel’Naga had kept a detailed genetic
history of each race, giving the Overmind a
clear understanding of their respective
strengths and weaknesses. Most importantly,
the Overmind learned of an exceedingly
powerful race that lived near the galaxy’s fringe
known only as the Protoss. The Overmind
knew then that the Protoss and the Zerg would
eventually be caught in an inevitable,
apocalyptic conflict.
The Determinant
The Zerg left the lifeless, burning world of
Zerus and laid waste to every planet they
found along their path towards the Protoss
Homeworld. As they progressed slowly
through the trackless dark between the stars,
the Zerg assimilated only the strongest of the
races that they came across. The swarm
continued to build steadily, ever-increasing in
size and power. As they progressed, the
Overmind sent out numerous deep-space
probes that scouted ahead of the swarm,
searching for new worlds to plunder.
Despite innumerable victories, the
Overmind was greatly disturbed. The
Overmind was aware that the Protoss had
become a highly psionic race, able to bend
and warp the very fabric of reality to their
whims. It sought a way to counter the
awesome might of the Protoss, but found no
answers among the genetic strains it devoured.
this beacon, they were quickly assimilated by
the swarm. The inclusion of super-dense hides
and the ability to exist in a vacuum bolstered
the genetic pool of the swarm. Soon the Zerg
warriors were conditioned to survive the
harshness of space.
This pivotal moment in the development of
the Zerg was not lost to the Xel’Naga. The Zerg,
despite having an extreme physical handicap,
had succeeded in not only surviving, but in
retaining the purity of their terrible overriding
essence. The Xel’Naga knew that they had
achieved their goal.
The Fall of the Xel’Naga
The pride in their achievements proved to
be the fatal downfall of the Xel’Naga. The
Overmind, while slowly expanding itself into
the void of space, became aware of the mighty
Xel’Naga world-ships hovering ominously
above the skies of Zerus. The Xel’Naga, having
kept a constant watch on the Overmind, were
horrified to find that it had actually severed
their psychic link, effectively hiding itself from
their view. With its need to consume driving
its minions into a lustful frenzy, the Overmind
launched the now space-faring Zerg swarms
at the unsuspecting Xel’Naga. The ancient race
did what they could to stem the tide of the
ever-advancing Zerg onslaught, but in the end
their efforts were in vain. Wave after wave of
Zerg swarms hammered the reinforced hulls
of the Xel’Naga’s ships with no signs of
abatement. Within only a few hours the Zerg
overran the defenses of their creators and laid
waste to the Xel’Naga fleet.
As the greater whole of the Xel’Naga race
was consumed by the raging, genetic
whirlwind of the Zerg, the Overmind gained
the knowledge and insights of its masters. The
Overmind processed thousands of sentient
beings into itself, causing it to grow far more
powerful than it had ever imagined. It learned
the secrets of the sacred Khaydarin Crystals,54 Blizzard Entertainment®
On the verge of despair, the Overmind
made an amazing discovery. One of its deepspace probes had relayed the location and vital
statistics of a race that occupied a series of
nondescript worlds, right under the shadow
of the Protoss.
The new race, called Humanity, was mere
generations away from developing into a
formidable psionic power. But the Overmind
also knew that Humanity was still in its infant
stages, hardly capable of defending itself
against the ravenous Zerg. Although a shortlived and seemingly frail species, the
Overmind knew that Humanity would be the
final determinant in its victory over the Protoss.
If it could assimilate the psionic potential of
Humanity, the Overmind would have the
ability to combat the Protoss on its own terms.
Thus, the Zerg swarms slowly made their
way towards the burgeoning worlds of
Humanity. The journey lasted for sixty years,
but eventually the massive, extended Zerg
Swarm reached the outskirts of the Terran
Sector of Koprulu. Sending in a scouting
Brood, the Overmind soon discovered that the
Humans dwelt on over a dozen different
worlds within the Sector. Seeding the
atmosphere of the planet called Chau Sara
with rudimentary Hive-spores, the Overmind
began to unfold its master plan to enslave
Humanity. The Hive-spores gradually drifted
down to the surface of Chau Sara and saturated
the ground with their denuding, alien toxins.
Although the Human colonists had no idea
that the Zerg had subtly infested the topsoil of
their world, Zerg minions began to descend
to the planet’s surface and construct their
bizarre structures and Hive clusters. Once the
infestation of the colony was well underway,
the Overmind sent its voracious children to
the other nearby worlds. Insidious and elusive
in their tasks, the agents of the Overmind soon
infested the colonial worlds of Chau Sara, Mar
Sara, Brontes, and Dylar IV, unnoticed by the
denizens of those colonies.
Yet, from out of the cold void of space, a
mighty fleet of Protoss warships emerged to
combat the Zerg invasionary forces. The
Overmind, anxious to learn what it could
about the enigmatic Protoss, decided to let
them hamper the initial infestation process.
Holding its ravenous warriors at bay, the
Overmind watched as the Protoss razed the
colony of Chau Sara. Apparently, the Protoss
were aware that the Hive Spores had already
despoiled the planet and seeking to prevent
further infestation, incinerated the planet.
Such decisive action pleased the Overmind,
who could only marvel at how the Protoss
wrought absolute devastation with such grace
and power. Knowing that the coming conflict
would be the greatest challenge of its
existence, the Overmind pulled its forces back
to observe how the Protoss, and Humanity,
would react next.