Chrysalis

I know I don’t always devote the most thought to my mutations, but I think I’d remember letting humans contribute Will through the Vestibule. Yeah, I’m sure I would remember that! And yet, here sits a little bubble of Enid, here within the Nave.

What the heck is going on here? Spiritually, I approach and poke at the bubble, but try as I might, it doesn’t disappear. Instead, it stubbornly sits there, existing, no matter how much I try to logic the darn thing from existence.

I bring up my menu and try to confirm the reality I believed I had been living in, only to find that I’d been wrong all along. The restriction on the Vestibule to Formica Sapiens is gone. Gone! Vanished into the mists! Like a smaller, less bat-like version of Tiny!

When in the name of all that is chitin and shiny did that happen? That’s a thorax scratcher. I double check my mutations, just to ensure I’m not completely lost and bewildered, and it turns out that I’m not. I can only assume that this occurred during the reset.

Which explains a few things, I suppose. There’s been a few times that things have popped into my head that I likely shouldn’t have known otherwise. And I mean, alongside the amount of ants I receive energy from, the humans who are able to provide me with Will can hardly compare, causing their thoughts to be lost in the mix.

That doesn’t mean they haven’t been there, chugging along, providing energy. The proof is in the pudding, or amorphous blob of Will, as the situation decrees.

Even here, within my own psyche, I feel a chill run over my carapace. Enid being here, I can deal with. I’ve spoken to her a bunch of times and always found her to be a good egg. In fact, Enid and I go way back to shortly after the Colony surfaced. She was one of the first people I ever communicated with! No, I have no issue with Enid being here. But… if she has been providing enough Will to end up in the Nave… that means….

Aaaand there he is. The mad priest.

Because of course he is! This moron takes every opportunity to declare his devotion, often screaming it directly into my head whenever I form a bridge with him. How could he not be here in the Nave?

Staring at the little ball of Will that was formed by Beyn, I can’t help but feel a little depressed. Then I feel bad about being depressed.

I also bit his arm off, only for him to turn around and start worshipping

a little more about what the Nave does, I should

represents the Nameless One. The first one. The first

…

approach the little glowing orb and… for want of a better term, poke my

approach, sinking back into the shadows as she felt a slight disturbance. After a moment of trying to determine its source, she shook it off and resumed. Soon,

what she’s doing

to the ball that represents Enid and stick

she lowered her cup down to the table. Even here, on the frontier of their territory, the hospitality of the Colony was not to be denied. Still, she was a little disappointed. She’d come all this way

would be back down here before too long. It

down there?! I guess I learned that; she wanted to see me for some reason. I’ll need to make sure I check

confused, I wander over to Beyn’s

GREAT ONE! PRAISE HIM! PRAISE HIM WITH

does he still manage to be so freakin’ loud!?

in here whenever I want to. I suppose it was already possible to do that, in a smaller way. As long as an individual is within range and providing me with energy, I can find them and work out what they’re thinking. It just takes… a long time. There’s hundreds of thousands of people in there most of the time! Picking out a specific one is a serious

that purpose, but I’m not sure that’s all it can do…. I mean, the purpose of the Nave is for

approach Beyn’s orb once