Chrysalis

The ants of the Colony didn’t invent universal education on Pangera, but they were, perhaps, the first to pursue it with such rigour. The citizens of the Silver City, for example, are entitled to learning until they turn ten. For the Colony, things are obviously very different due to their monstrous nature. It doesn’t take years to elevate a monster, as they are effectively born ready to fight and as intelligent as they are going to get until they evolve.

But the ants approached this situation with the maddening dedication and patience they poured into everything. Even more so, in fact, due to the reverence they hold for their young. Each grub is as well reared and pampered as a princess, as well fed as a festival hog, and as carefully cleaned as a king’s cutlery.

After they are born, this treatment continues as the hatchlings are put through the most comprehensive and extensive training program in the history of the world.

- Excerpt from ‘Antucation: Teaching and Learning, Pedagogy among the ant’ by Karliet Magron.

“Ready yourselves, hatchlings.”

The pheromones of the Brood Tender, Poppant, were as soothing and warm as always, washing over the antennae of her charges like a calming wave. Twenty small forms roused themselves from torpor, twitching as they regained control of their limbs one by one.

“Good morning, teacher!” the hatchlings chorused as they fell into two neat lines of ten.

Towards the back, Solant, as the three day old monster had begun to think of herself, slapped herself about with her antennae, trying to sharpen herself for the day ahead.

Exactly eight hours had passed since they’d fallen into torpor, she was confident of that, and sixteen hours of vigorous training and learning lay ahead of them. She intended to extract every ounce of benefit she could. The Colony demanded no less!

When they were ready, Poppant clacked her mandibles happily and turned to lead her charges out of their chamber. Through the narrow entrance they filed, then out into the wider tunnels, other groups falling into lines alongside them as they went.

“Work hard!” one of her broodmates greeted Solant as she fell in beside her.

intend to,”

more and more tunnels connected to it. Eventually, it was twenty metres in diameter and every inch of that surface was covered in hatchlings following along behind their teachers. There were ten thousand broodmates in the current class

the vast meal hall, a vertical structure with ten floors, each seating a hundred hatchlings and ten Brood Tenders. They filed in,

put before us, and ensure that we

her head. That silly ant had succumbed

too had nearly done the

thousand young ants munched down on the Biomass, clearing the tables before they were led away, out of

time for

about yesterday,” Poppant reminded them gently as the twenty members of her group stood perched outside of the farms. “We must

teacher ran through several drills that they had practised extensively the previous day. How to advance as a unit, how to fall back, how to smoothly operate a firing line, alternating shots between the ranks. Only when

hatchlings,” she reminded them, “I am here to protect you. There is no need for anyone,”’ she paused and eyed them all,

“Yes, teacher,” they chorused.

on either

from the previous day. That had been an

ready. Time

front line along with her. She set a brisk pace and

came the call from the flanks of the

and the twenty shuffled themselves

“Fire!”

followed by half the second, then the other half of the first. Staggered firing in this manner had been the first thing

received the barrage could only collapse in a heap as the deadly fluid ate into