Created by Captain Michael Turlogh Kane on Aug 16, 2016 @ 4:32am

THE THAL HIVE MIND

There are presumably millions of Thal, but there is only one HIVE MIND. Federation scientists have only scraped the surface of this remarkable metaphysical entity that exists both separately from and within every Thal. Understanding this concept is the key to understanding these terrible aliens.

The Thal are thought not to have evolved emotions, but their cold intelligence is unquestioned. They are aware that concepts such as sympathy and honour exist in the species they harvest, but they view them only in the abstract, and dismiss them as evolutionary mistakes. The Thal see all organic life as food, and do not interact with it.

Each Thal is linked to the malevolent Hive Mind, no matter the distance, no matter the interference; individual Thal can reason, but they do so only out of immediate self-interest. Their intelligence serves only the Hive Mind – or rather, it serves the single great Thal instinct that drives them as a race.

The Hive Mind does not exist in the physical sense, but it does exist. It is the unifying drive of the Thal species; the cold malevolence towards biological life, the condescension at their achievements. Every single Thal warrior is one aspect, one face, of this malign intelligence.

The Hive Mind has been felt by species with extra-sensory perceptions; Betazoids and Vulcans, to name but two. Starfleet personnel of these races who are serving on the Outer Rim have reported an upsurge in psychic interference, which has manifested itself in what the Vulcan IDIC group has termed THE SHADOW IN SUBSPACE. This great shadow, which heralds the imminent approach of the Thal, cuts off subspace communications, and can be felt as an approaching, malign intelligence by psionic races.