Chrysalis

"Are you really sure that this is going to be important?" the hatchling asks again as we munch down on some Biomass.

"Of course it is! Mutations are extremely important! Supremely important! Raw stats are only one aspect of the strength of a monster, and those are decided by evolutionary tier. Mutations give us access to all sorts of things that can completely change what we are capable of. Depending on the mutations you pick going forward, you'll become a completely different ant! You need to think harder about what you want to do with yourself from this point forward."

Obviously I made the hatchling evolve with maxed mutations for her first go through, not wanting to miss out on that sweet 10% bonus. The amount of evolutionary energy available going from tier one to two was piddly, and ten percent of piddly is, I think, piddly-diddly, but turning your antennae up at free evolutionary energy is a fool's game. And we members of the Colony are not fools!

Having said that, for the first time in her existence, the hatchling had struggled to be decisive when the time came to pick her first set of mutations, so I made some fairly generic suggestions and we went with those. My knowledge of the intricacies of the System has vastly improved since the early days, both from my own experience and from consulting with Granin and his triad. After considering the disposition of the hatchling, what I believed she might need in the future, and potential going forward, I made selections that I think will work out well for her.

I just wasn't going to do it a second time.

I'm not lazy! It's very important that each ant have a clear picture in their mind of the creature they want to be! I'm not going to stand here and imperiously dictate another's future to them. In this Colony, we have the right to self-determination! Not only is it a right, it's a sacred tradition!

"You have to max out your mutations, you need that bonus ten percent energy. And anyway, you're far more capable with mutations than you are without them."

"There's just so many options…" she looks a little blank and I can tell that she's going through the list. "I want them all!"

you've got a friend

havesssss them! I will havess

[I know, buddy.]

bluntly, "you have to pick. Think about the sort of work that you want to do. You want to fight? There's mutations that are great for that. You want to mine? There's

mutation help me cast magic?"

sensitive lenses, look

…

"Oh."

mutation that helps me absorb mana through my legs," I tell her, lifting a leg for emphasis. "helps keep my core topped off when I'm doing some serious spell slinging. There are all kinds of things you can do. Vibrant is obsessed with

"What does that mean?"

the air when she's moving quick. She's a good example actually. To become the kind of monster she wanted to be, she had to consider all of her mutations to that end. Her eyes have to be able to see at high speeds, her brain needs to function faster, her reactions have to be quicker, she needs particular musculature in her legs, she adjusted her carapace, she probably has a mutated metabolism and respiratory system to provide the level of energy she needs. On top of all that, she's a powerful soldier with strong jaws and tough defence. This is

asks shrewdly. "You don't

best of both worlds. It's good in some ways, I can cast magic pretty well, and I can fight up close and personal. But I can't cast as well as Invidia over there, since he is completely specialised on it, and I'm not nearly as physically