Chrysalis

Finally back!

In reality it probably didn't take that long, but leading these hatchlings around and making sure that they don't get themselves killed has been a royal pain in the global financial markets. Although they displayed surprising tactical acumen, organising themselves and operating as only a team of ants could, stamping out the remaining impulse towards sacrifice and martyrdom from their minds has proven to be difficult.

"It's the most efficient strategy" one of them protested to me at one stage.

THWACK!

"Efficient how?! Whilst having a decoy worker draw away the majority of the pack will allow the rest to engage the mature wolf hound in safer conditions, it's a suicide mission! One hatchling is no match for ten wolf hounds, even if they are cubs!"

The victim of my rage rubbed at their head with an antenna. "It's time efficient and makes use of the resources we have available to minimise losses!" they protested, "it's not the same as pointless self-sacrifice!"

"Time efficient is it?" I growled, "let's see about that."

I turned to the rest of the hatchlings. "Who volunteers for the suicide mission?"

Nineteen antennae went into the air. Turning back to the hatchling who had suggested the plan I found they had raised their antenna as well.

"So, how quickly and efficiently are you going to collectively decide who is going to go?"

The mastermind of the scheme looked a little dejected. "I see your point."

are still only seeing

THWACK!

my antennae to bring down a vicious double barrelled thwack, I smack the

the weight of your lives correctly! The amassed experience and resources, the investment the colony has made in you, the potential work that you can achieve in the future! You would throw all of that away over one hunt?! It's not worth it, not even for one of you!

all stare at me blankly. The thought

to run to in advance, prepare a hiding place, use a pit trap, connect the tunnels so they can loop back,

quite a few hatchlings to break out in a cold sweat on the inside of their carapace,

your own lives, we will go ahead with the diversion

"No!"

"Dammit!"

should have been

day is done I had planned to

them, "no dangerous jobs for you, just the clean

roundly boo me for taking

a way out for me, even though I didn't really need one. Following that extra preparation we executed the strategy flawlessly and the hunt was

the last hits. With their stomach

took only slightly longer than a full day of delving to get all the ants up to level ten. When I think about my own struggles in my early life and compare it to the silver spoon these

can take care of the colony

back into the nest, I get the ants to form up around me. I want to give them a little pep talk before the second evolution. This is a big

will determine the nature of your service to the colony. This is the system I designed to allow each individual to choose the path that they themselves believe is best suited to them. The drawback is that multiple specialisations are

the most out of every worker has been one of