Chrysalis

So... I mean.. It’s a little odd...

I was a human before after all. I may not have lived what people would call a ... normal life ... but hey, I went to school, a bit, I saw people, I ate human food.

Now I have a giant ant Queen staring down at me and insisting that she and my many siblings are my family now.

...

For some reason I’m surprisingly ok with that.

I had a pet ant colony as a human, I kept them contained and fed them, watched the colony grow and cleaned out their spaces for them. In some ways they were the most constant members of my household, I certainly saw them every day, which wasn’t really true of anyone else.

Perhaps that is why I don’t really mind being an ant.

If I’m going to be a member of this family then I have to do my best to save them!

I start thinking out loud.

"Ok then, Queen, I don’t think we are uh, strong enough to survive the wave. If our nest is invaded from the outside as well as the inside, we could be completely wiped out!"

The Queen looks concerned and taps me with her antennae, urging me to continue.

"I think we need to move the colony! We have to get somewhere ... else. Somewhere safer".

"Do you know where we should go child?"

Err.... No?

We live in the Dungeon, and from what I’m told the entire place is going to become a death zone for up to a week!

I don’t even know that the surface will be safe from the impending danger!

...

may be safer

actually be better. Of course that doesn’t mean running headlong into the humans, that would be suicide, but with my Tunnel Map I can clearly see where the entrance

...

a chance that we all get killed by those powerful human soldiers, burnt to

will the outcome be any

think we have to take a

inside my head. My resolution firms as I see her commitment to waiting on

have to dig a new tunnel to

bombshell, taking time to

Then she responds.

the ’surface’?"

...

she possibly

new tunnel upwards, that bypasses the existing Dungeon passages and if we can dig

that is simple enough that she can understand

pauses for another moment, her monster intelligence mulling over this suggestion. I wait nervously for her to puzzle

surprise

do as you suggest child. Where should

been cleared! If the Queen has agreed to my plan then I might have a chance of getting the workers to cooperate. I’m not exactly sure how the pecking order works in a monstrous ant colony. In a normal ant colony on earth, the Queen doesn’t actually ’rule’ over the rest of the ants, in fact, she is basically dragged around by the workers, almost an egg

of democracy system. For example, if one worker finds a good place to move the nest, they’ll lay down a trail and start moving the brood. If other ants find the trail, they will go and check it out and if they agree with the first ants opinion, they will join in, eventually when enough workers have agreed on a course of action, it will happen. It isn’t always so smooth of course, sometimes the workers don’t agree with each

a mindless egg laying slave, and she is far from a helpless creature at the mercy of the workers. If anything, she is probably closer to what most humans

that they can understand my pheromone language to some extent, perhaps she

shake these thoughts out of my head and address

Once that is done I’ll start digging the tunnel, if you can help get the rest of the ... family ... digging, then we can make faster progress.

spoke to Formo, I’ve already noticed the brightness of the forest has diminished. The mana is continuing to recede, just as the Sophos had predicted. The forest is going to grow even dimmer,

gives a few more friendly taps on the head with her antennae before retreating back to the security of the nest, leaving the workers to do what they do best and

that, continued to comb over the battlefield and collect the spoils of war. As more times goes by the number of ants showing visible signs of mutation is increasing, here and there a worker with longer antennae,

news! If the workforce becomes stronger then we will

have any brothers or sisters that I knew of in my last life, going from that to having hundreds is a bit