Planet NERA-2 has no wind, no water, no viable atmosphere. Yet the ground constantly vibrates on a microscopic scale - as if it were vibrating inside itself.
There they discovered “distributed moving structures”—millions of tiny objects a few millimeters in size, irregularly shaped but often angular polyhedra. They oscillated very gently, very regularly, not due to magnetic fields, not due to pressure, but due to some unknown internal waveform.
Each particle—let's call it an "inorganic ant"—has no processing core, no power, no central controller. But when hundreds of particles come together, they self-regulate their vibrations to form a larger entity—a "swarm organism."
The creature moves by swapping the roles of individual particles: some vibrate vigorously to propel the group forward, while others vibrate slowly to maintain balance. The creature has no brain – but its collective behavior resembles thought.
Spectroscopic experiments have shown that when an ant colony is exposed to waves, the resonant response of the entire colony is completely different from the response of each individual. This indicates a temporary unification into an intelligent oscillator system.
They do not reproduce. When an ant “colony” disintegrates, the ant particles disperse. When the density and temperature are suitable, they regroup and form again.
It has been called a form of “brainless cyborg” – a demonstration that consciousness can be born from physical resonance, without biology, without nerves, without ego.
(Excerpt from "NOT LIFE AS WE KNOW IT - anonymous author")