Maybe They Shouldn't be Called the Locust--For Good Reason

Gears 5
#1

So I, like many, made fun of the name the “Swarm” since Gears 4 came out. And while the question “Can’t we just call them the Locust?” is one I tried to answer, I think I’ve come up with a supporting answer for the Swarm name–that makes sense.

So, we know that (Obviously) the Swarm come from the Locusts. That’s no secret: “The Locust never died, James.” -Marcus, G4. But, are they the same? We are told the Locust evolved into the Swarm, and they’re simillar–but does that make them the same? As an example I’ll use domesticated dogs, and their biological ancestors. Look at a Wolf, and look at a German Shepherd. Yes, they look the same. But, you wouldn’t call a Shepherd a Wolf would you? I’d like to argue that the same applies to the Locust and Swarm. The Locusts were more organized–their ties to humanity and leadership under Myrrah is to thank for that. but if you remember in G3, Baird says the Locusts are becoming more Feral without a strong “Government” of sorts.

So, in G4 it’s even more like that. They’re a wild hive–running on instinct, rather than the proto-monarchy they ran before in Nexus.

Lastly, remember How the Locusts evolved into the Swarm? They were wrapped in imulsion-based crystals. Maybe they aren’t the same. This is where I suggest the Locusts are now even more separate from humans. They began as mutated freaks (Sires) and now, have culminated the Lambent-Virus into their DNA. This is why we see the Swarm take on more Lambent characteristics than Locust ones.

They are all connected through a Hive mind, like how the Lambent were connected through the stalks. Not to mention the Swarm leave behind pods like the pods on the Lambent Stalks. And they show signs of luminescence. And they burst when killed (Larger ones at least) and even certain Swarm fire burning projectiles (Cankers), like how the Lambent would burn the COG using their internal-Imulsion.

So, while the Swarm definitely share characteristics with the Locust, I think they’re just different enough to be considered a separate species.
Or maybe not. I still think Swarm is a stupid name. But the Locust title should be put to rest. But who knows. if you can prove me wrong, I’ll gladly hear you out.

Buster Out!

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#2

See I don’t think the swarm itself is related to the locust. The scions are locust who look to be guiding the swarm in some way and the swarm come from the snatchers and such which I don’t think are related to the locust at all. The humans are taken with snatchers and the put into pods which then turn into juivies which then jump into the ground creating drones. I personally think they are two completely different things. But I could be wrong!

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#3

They are related. Since the original Locusts came from Humans too.

It’s just that thw Swarm are now like a cousin to the Locust, rather than the next generation.

#4

I can see what your saying. Hopefully we find out more in gears 5. I still want to know where the snatchers and stuff came from. I think the immulsion mutated and created them.

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#5

i like to think that there just a new species that evolved from the locust… kinda like how you said that they had lambent DNA that the locust just keep mutating and evolving.

or the swarm is how the locust originally started? it seems like a “grub” is like a catipillar and that the swarm is just the catipillar form of a locuust. the Warden in he trailer looks more like a locust than a swarm to me… i think they are just slowly evolving into the locust or they are a new evolved species.

#6

That or the warden has been waiting down there a real long time to whoop up on some cog!

#7

I believe it is the other way around. The swarm evolved from the locust. Even before the first mission kait is talking and watching the butterfly.

They were cocooned and reborn as scions.

Now where did the snatchers and carriers come from? We don’t know but we do know that brumaks/swarmaks have survived/been resurrected some how.

If we knew were the creatures came from that would explain a lot of the origins of the swarm themselves.

Maybe the Scions somehow have mind control over all the creatures but Marcus does state that they are all connected but does that include the creatures or just pods/juvies/drones/scions?

Sorry for the run on sentences lmao

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#8

I just see it as the writers thought they would create 3 people who grew up hearing the folklore of what Locusts were, finally see something that resembles the stories, but instead of saying “yeah those things must be Locust,” they give them a new name based solely on their behavior. They obviously knew of Locust existence but thought that they were dead.

Grasshoppers/locusts travel in swarms so the naming makes some sense at least. I just don’t see why Marcus and everyone else would be quick to adopt the new name instead of just correcting his kid and his friends.

If a young guy who had never seen a car before came up to me and told me the name of it was a “Rolly Loudy box” I wouldn’t suddenly jump on board with calling it that. “No you moron. The entire world already agreed on the term car , before you were born. That pre-dates your existence so you don’t get to start fresh and usurp the naming rights.” Language does constantly evolve but people tend to adapt familiar terms to new things.

A better example is the “dashboard” of a car. We still call it that even though it’s no longer a piece of wood that keeps the horse from kicking dirt into our face as he dashes forward while pulling a carriage. (<- see where a “car” evolved from) Through the next hundred years the “dashboard” came to mean the control center of the vehicle, which has now spilled over into other completely unrelated devices. i.e. xbox, phones…

Anyway, it just seems more likely that JD, Del and Kait would have just stuck to calling them Locusts rather than coming up with a whole new name for what they encountered. It’s like their brains have limited top-down processing abilities.

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#9

They can’t be that versed tho if you think about it. How old do you think JD and Del are assuming they are the same age? If you go through the story of what we know JD couldn’t be more than 23-24 years old by the time the Swarm emerge.

Jinn makes it a point to say that 25 years ago today. So add 10 months and that would be 24 years ago that Anya could’ve had JD but honestly that would be unlikely that she became pregnant that fast

#10

Well, I was born just a hair over 30years after the nazis were defeated and I still knew what they were from stories told by my elders …and you know, school.

Under the same principle, regardless of their ages, (early 20s) I would think JD, Del and Kait would have heard their respective horror stories from both family members and whatever educational system they have on Sera.

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#11

True but at the same time - it’s also said that anything bad was tried to be covered up. We all know how skewed history can be to fits ones narratives. Kids these days aren’t even taught about the holocaust.

I’m not saying they wouldn’t know what the locust are at all tho. Just maybe they weren’t as versed or their education could’ve been different. Also think that JD and Dell were officers and JD went to boarding school but Del has memories of the family estate?

#12

Yeah, not sure many war photographers made it through the Locust Wars…

#13

…But they did know of the Locust.

Del even asks “Did they just crawl out of an Emergence Hole,” the first time the see a juvie jump into the ground and come out an Imago/drone. Marcus never tells them anything about that so there’s an implication they did have some prior knowledge of the Locust.

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#14

True. Maybe they knew enough that the only thing they saw in camp was the creatures and the speaker.

Maybe that’s why they labeled them swarm.

Also Marcus doesn’t see the swarm drones until after the first snatcher is killed

#15

DID YOU KNOW?

There can be as many as 80 million locusts in a swarm. Lol

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#16

Well after spending some time reading about Gears Story and Lore

The locust are presumed to be created from the decendents of the Sires - mutated humans from imulsion sickness. Imulsion sickness was a constantly evolving disease/illness. Adam Fenix deployed the imulsion countermeasure and presumably had rid Sera of imulsion itself.

But Marcus stated that all the dead locust “were covered in that crystal ■■■■” so they buried them and walked away for the next 25 years.

———————————————————

So redirected a little bit -

Baird stated in the Nexus there was no sign of baby locusts or children - so how were the locust created?

It’s assumed that Myrrah was capable of creating locusts and it’s also assumed she did it using humans as it showed in gears2 of humans being “processed”.

So it’s assumed that Myrrah was taking human subjects and creating locusts.

—————————————————————

So I think what we are seeing that the swarm are a cause or forced cause of mutation of imulsion on the locust. But this time they have evolved to be able to recreate themselves instead of needing a “Queen” like Myrrah.

It’s assumed that the locust were only around 100 years old by what was found at new hope facility and during the pendulum wars MIA’s could be misinterpreted as KIA’s as the locust built their army by processing humans.

The locust were also scientifically smart in the fact of gene splicing into creatures they used for war - so in that sense are the creatures the swarm use - mutated from locust creatures? We saw that a brumak had survived through the countermeasure but that’s not to say that other creatures couldn’t have been in the same aspect but also mutated.

Sorry for the book. Just some thoughts I’ve had for a few days.

#17

I agree with most of this, and agree, the books, comics, and games have pointed in this direction. However, the books, comics, and games also suggest the locust to be ancient beings… How else can we logically explain Nexus and the Ruins in the Hollow? The ancient architecture? Are we to presume that the Locust are a different species than the Kantus, and the Kantus have been there since the creation of Sera?

#18

What about the female Berserkers?
Those containers where humans being processed in Gears 2, Maria was in one of them before Marcus and Dom found her.
If Berserkers are female Drones, then was she about to turn or transform into a female Berserker?
Even so, that container was small sized to fit a Berserker.
And when it says something about Berserkers being used for reproduction, what are the offsprings like?
Do they produce Boomers which are like Locust Drone equivalent to Down Syndrome?

#19

I’ve been thinking this as well.
The Kantus may have been in there much longer and responsible for the religion and architectures.
The Locust Drones or Sire/miner children (?), they may have moved down there with them when taken to Mount Kadar.

#20

In regards to the kantus - much of their physiology is much like the sires - bony exoskeleton and three toes. Also the kantus are much like a berserker.

I think the different species of humanoid locust are either just different reactions to imulsion or a different process of creation. Also in gears 3 the armored Kantus Chant it’s seen them to have a glowing mouth much like a Lambent wretch from gears 2.