The consciousnesses that had lost access to the resource

  showed structural instability.

  The victor consolidated its position.

  And its expansion attracted external entities to the region.

  The others, weakened,

  detected a new pattern:

  Proximity to similar entities

  reduced the rate of decomposition.

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  They began to cluster.

  Not out of affinity.

  But out of necessity.

  Some shared information.

  Others synchronized structures.

  Others tried to merge internal parameters.

  In certain cases,

  the union reinforced stability.

  The resulting entities showed greater coherence

  than any of their original components.

  In other cases,

  the union caused collapse.

  The structures misaligned.

  The parameters canceled each other out.

  The entities ceased to exist.

  They had not created a superior form.

  Only a collective loss.

  The system stored the event.

  And updated a new universal condition:

  The group survives

  where the individual fails.