On: An ant colony has memories its individual members ...

[dragonwriter]

> But my theory falls apart with the reproduction system. We don't really reproduce other 'countries'.

Sure we do. The UK has a whole lot of offspring, for instance.

[yesbabyyes → dragonwriter]

Offspring, perhaps. But kidnapping is not reproduction.

[dibujaron → yesbabyyes]

I'd say it's reproduction, it's just not voluntary reproduction. Every time a culture invades another, you can think of it as creating a new culture that has the "genes" of the previous two. Examples include the influence of the moors on Spain, the changes to the English language due to the Norman conquest, and the modern unique Afrikaner culture of South Africa.

[hutzlibu → dibujaron]

I'd say it is a mix.

Partly reproduction, partly conquering. As usual the place is not empty.

[UnFleshedOne → yesbabyyes]

Xenomorphs (or less exotically, parasitic wasps) reproduce just fine in that style.