Chrysalis

“Congratulations,” Enid smiled down on the still recovering young woman.

“Thank you mayor,” Lilin replied, radiantly happy despite what she’d just been through.

“We’re very happy,” her husband Phillip said as he stared lovingly down at his wife.

“And how has the care you’ve received been?’

“Oh, just perfect,” Lilin said.

“We couldn’t be happier, mayor. Thank you,” Phillip said.

“That’s good. After the effort we put into building this place, I’m glad it’s all come together.”

[We told you it would be fine,] the on-rotation ant-medic said. [I still don’t understand why you doubted us in the first place. When is the Colony anything but first-rate?]

[I should have believed in you,] Enid admitted, [but even I wasn’t sure how well you would be able to run a maternity ward. You don’t know anything about human reproduction.]

[Bah,] the ant groused, [our queens give birth hundreds of times every day. You think we can’t heal someone who has given birth only once? Don’t be ridiculous. Now get out of the way, I need to check the patient.]

Healers, medics and doctors always managed to be rude and ill-tempered. Even the non-human ones! In some ways, Enid took comfort knowing that this fact of life was even more universal than she’d thought.

quite reach, the antennae certainly did. The recovering mother was lightly tapped and brushed by those curious

glowed brightly as they imparted

the ant backed up and began to make

fine,] she said, [the baby has been cleaned up and checked. It will return to this

was, nestled in the mandibles of another healer ant. For a moment, Enid was forced to confront just how bizarre it was that she could see

cheerfully, and Enid could only assume it was a younger, less evolved healer. She hadn’t had

both, Enid brushed a tear from her eye. Such a touching scene, one that she would never tire of. How long had

you to

and she smiled at

was less than a year ago that they had fled the

out of everyone’s way. She stepped out into the streets of Renewal, and finding herself in a reflective mood, began to appreciate just how well built

formed stone, with deep drainage ditches along both sides, they were the sort of roads only the wealthiest lived on in Liria. This sort of mage-work was laborious, and expensive, which made it rare, at

even there, the influence of the Colony was felt. Traffic flowed so smoothly, it was rare to see someone waiting

as she made her way to her destination, the citizens pleased to see her and unafraid to approach and ask whatever questions were on their minds. She welcomed it. Where not long ago these

the people were thriving. Renewal had more than delivered

own office situated in the same building. She walked behind her desk and sat with a weary sigh, her old bones creaking as

so stiff these days, and

overly long, but she carefully pondered each word, which dragged

to place it in an envelope and seal it, but decided against it. A waste of paper. Too inefficient, as the