Cerebrate

Cerebrates were the brood leaders of the zerg Swarm, created by the Overmind to serve as intermediate commanders beneath its singular will. Each cerebrate was given a specific role at its creation and led a brood of zerg in pursuit of that purpose, expanding the Swarm's hierarchy and relaying the Overmind's directives down to overlords and the minions they controlled. Descended from the ancient zerg parasites of Zerus that had existed before the coming of the xel'naga, the cerebrates were far larger and far more intelligent than their progenitors, and they oversaw both the conduct of war and the evolution of the Swarm. They were removed from the zerg power structure entirely once Sarah Kerrigan reshaped the Swarm in her own image.

Role in the Swarm#

Cerebrates were descended from the original zerg parasites of Zerus that had existed before the arrival of the xel'naga, though they were much larger and possessed far greater intelligence. When the Overmind created a cerebrate, it assigned the creature and the brood it led a specific role, and that role in turn shaped the cerebrate's rudimentary personality. Through them the zerg hierarchy was extended downward: cerebrates relied on queens to oversee hive activity and on overlords to relay commands to and directly control a brood's minions. The structure was rigid and ensured efficiency, but it carried a corresponding danger. The permanent death of a cerebrate could induce a complete reversal, and broods that lost their leader frequently became uncontrollably destructive. Beyond commanding their forces, cerebrates also oversaw the evolution of the Swarm.

Externally a cerebrate appeared as a giant, bloated slug-larva with numerous purple limbs protruding from its sides. This was only an outer form. The true shape of a cerebrate, a ball of yellow light with extruding tentacles, was revealed only once the carapace had been destroyed, and the flesh could be regenerated for as long as the Overmind willed it. Not long before the Great War the Overmind began to rely on its cerebrates more heavily than before, and by that point they had become distinct beings within a single unified hive species. The command of smaller clusters of zerg was relegated to mini cerebrates, and the destruction of one of these lesser leaders sent its cluster into a frenzy.

Psionic powers and reincarnation#

Cerebrates were powerful psychics, perhaps always so, though their abilities were usually confined to a specific area of specialty. One cerebrate might be able to create and reincarnate the powerful Torrasque, while another might fill its structures with vital energy. They possessed detection abilities similar to those of overlords, and like the rest of the zerg they communicated telepathically, albeit in a manner different from that of terrans or protoss.

The trait that every cerebrate shared was reincarnation. While the Overmind lived, it could reincarnate a cerebrate through the use of cosmic energy, and only a death dealt by that same type of energy could prevent the cycle from completing. Zasz, cerebrate of the Garm Brood, was permanently killed in this way by the Dark Prelate Zeratul. The act briefly forged a mental link between Zeratul and the Overmind: through it Zeratul learned of the Overmind's connection to the xel'naga and its designs upon the protoss, while the Overmind learned the location of Aiur. The Overmind fell silent afterward and did not recover until the zerg had eradicated the Garm Brood. The protoss later killed other cerebrates in deliberate attempts to distract the Overmind. The link to the Overmind granted the cerebrates a virtual invulnerability, but it was not without weakness, for they had not been designed to exist without the Overmind and could not sustain themselves for long after its death.

Fate of the cerebrates#

Following the death of the Overmind at the end of the Great War, Daggoth orchestrated the creation of a new Overmind from the fusion of a number of cerebrates, and the resulting creature commanded most of the zerg in opposition to Kerrigan. In the conflict that followed Kerrigan emerged triumphant, achieving victory largely through the manipulation of those capable of slaying cerebrates. The cerebrates on Shakuras were destroyed as a result of an alliance between her and the protoss settling on that world. On Char, an Earth expeditionary force employing a psi disrupter slew some cerebrates that were not resurrected during the battle, and during Kerrigan's reconquest of the planet the new Overmind itself was slain by dark templar she had manipulated. Upon the creature's death the remaining cerebrates were killed by the dark templar, their deaths explained in part by the loss of the controlling force that had sustained them.

A few cerebrates survived the Char holocaust, at least for a time. The New Swarm led by the cerebrate Kaloth was one such example, but its power base was destroyed by Raynor's Raiders and protoss forces. Kerrigan retained at least one cerebrate to aid her in her infested terran project. None of this was to last. Following the Brood War, the remaining cerebrates were hunted down and exterminated by Kerrigan's forces, and to the best knowledge of the Swarm none survived. Kerrigan's vision for the zerg differed sharply from the Overmind's; she had no use for the cerebrates and no desire to risk their once again forming a new Overmind. In their place she installed other intelligent minions, replacing them with broodmothers and with advanced infested terrans.

Names and prestige#

Some cerebrates were named and others were not, for only after extended service to the Swarm did a cerebrate earn the right to a name, and the possession of one was regarded as a sign of prestige. Among the named were Daggoth of the Tiamat Brood, who came to lead his own Swarm; Zasz of the Garm Brood, slain by Zeratul; Kaloth, leader of the New Swarm; and others such as Araq of the Jormungand Brood, Gorn of the Baelrog Brood, Kagg of the Surtur Brood, Nargil of the Fenris Brood, and Zargil of the Sennith Brood. Many cerebrates remained unnamed, including the one created to watch over Sarah Kerrigan in her chrysalis, the one created to secure the Argus stone, and the cerebrate Kerrigan seized control of by severing its ties to the Overmind, which served as her lieutenant and commander during her early campaigns. To a limited extent outsiders could turn a cerebrate to their own ends: Alan Schezar gained control of one such creature sometime after the Fall of Tarsonis, using captured protoss technology and ghosts, though it was later killed.