The idea that hive minds in sci-fi have queens or some other central apparatus like a mother ship makes no sense at all. That completely defeats the purpose of a hive mind, which is decentralization.
It speaks to kind of society we live in where it’s generally assumed that unity is achieved through domination only.
The way we talk about bees and ants suffers from this too. The queen in an ant colony or beehive plays an important role but doesn’t do Any actual leadership. All the coordination bees and ants do is completely decentralized. I’ve always thought it was funny how much people project our society onto nature.
It’s always hilarious when media try to report on a leaderless organization. I’ve heard interviews that were basically like:
Reporter: So you’ve successfully occupied this space. What’s the next plan? Activist: There’s no consensus yet. Reporter: So when is your leadership going to decide? Activist: There’s no leadership. We will form a consensus. Reporter: So there will be a vote? Activist: No, we form a consensus. We do things with the agreement of everyone involved. Reporter: All 6000 of you? Activist: Yes Reporter: So there’s a system of representatives speaking for groups? Activist: No, small decisions are made by those working on them and directly impacted by them, big decisions that effect everyone are made by everyone. Reporter: All 6000 of you? Activist: Yes Reporter: So you gather with all 6000, you talk and then you vote? Activist: No, there’s no voting involved, everyone agrees. Reporter: …. i don’t get it.
