There’s an awkward moment around the table as the ants glance at each other.
“We haven’t seen anything,” Burke admits. “We’ve been expanding our zone of control in every direction and our scouts have pushed hard toward golgari territory, but so far, there hasn’t been any sign of them.”
Wills backs her partner up.
“It’s true. We’ve set up relays of scouts to bring word as soon as they spot anything approaching through the tunnels. Right now, we just haven’t found evidence of the invasion.”
“That doesn’t mean they aren’t coming, though,” Advant warns the table. “We are still expecting a large enemy force to approach us, possibly from multiple directions.”
“Our expansion has been going according to plan,” Tungstant chips in. “The next two second stratum nests are active, and we’ve begun to develop surface nests to complement them. The new Queens are in place and the Biomass has begun to flow.”
“Egg production has reached a new high at a touch over five thousand per week. It’s going to put a strain on the Academy as we attempt to graduate these larger classes. Our territory will need to continue to expand if we want to secure the experience and cores necessary to ensure our standards are met,” the Brood Tender, Florence, informs the table.
“Also, we estimate the total number of members in the colony at around thirty thousand,” she adds.
“Five thousand a week? Thirty thousand!” I shout.
THWACK!
“Eldest! What was that for?” Leeroy complains.
“Sorry, I was shocked there for a second.”
“But I didn’t do anything!”
“You have a helmet on, you probably didn’t even feel a thing. Shush.”
“That’s right,” Theresant affirms. “It’s become quite stressful trying to keep up. A problem which will only get worse when the hatchlings from the two new nests emerge. We want to take this opportunity to ask for more resources to be dedicated toward the academies and rearing the brood.”
“Done,” every member of the table immediately agrees.
Regardless of the situation, the colony does not hesitate to invest in the next generation. Sacrificing the future to preserve the present is not a trade any ant is willing to make. Everything is for the brood.
“I suppose that means we need to rush the construction of the surface nests in order to provide training grounds,” Cobalt muses. “That might mean the defences for the new nests are left unfinished for longer than we anticipated.”
“It might be necessary,” I say. “If the war against the golgari drags on, we’ll have time to shore up our defences, but those hatchlings will be necessary reinforcements down the line.”
A heavy silence falls around the table as the council is forced to confront the idea that a protracted fight will leave many ants dead. It’s not something the colony has had to deal with so far, extended war against a superior foe. Which leads me to believe there’s another thing I need to say which they may not have considered.
“We need to think about what will happen if we lose this fight,” I announce.
Each member of the council goes perfectly still, their antennae frozen with shock as they process my words.
“We don’t know what is coming, we don’t know when they’re going to get here, and we don’t know that we’ll be able to defeat this enemy. In the event that we lose, there needs to be a plan that will allow the colony to survive. They’ll try and hunt down every one of us if we can’t push them back, so we’ll need to be clever, hide Queens in faraway places, build disguised nests on the surface and place tier one and two ants there who can rebuild from scratch, given time. It’s important that our family carry on, even if we should fall.”
The council digests this potential reality for a few long moments. I can tell they aren’t happy about it, but they know it makes sense. No matter what happens, the colony must survive.
64. Creeping Doom
In this world.
All things.
Flow.
To the Colony.
—Spoken by Cobalt at the seizure of the lightning mines of Al’Razza.
The plan has to have a name, of course. What is it with these ants and their insistence on stupid names? I shoot down a few of the more obnoxious ones, like “Omega Seed Shield” and “Phoenix Ant Flames.” I mean… why? What the heck does flames have to do with anything, even if they are phoenix flames? That’s just stupid and I administer a few THWACKS to drive the point home to these thickies.
In the end, I manage to sell them on “Slow Grow.”
“There’s a chance that through some unknown magical means, the enemy may be able to interpret our pheromones,” I tell them. “So any reference to seeds or phoenixes may lead them to uncover the plot and immediately know what it means. From this point, Slow Grow will be used to refer to this concept, and any pheromone messaging related to it will be scrubbed as thoroughly as possible. Acid wash the whole room if you have to.”
The council readily agreed. No measure is too extreme when the survival of the colony, and indeed, our entire species may be on the line.
“Make this a priority,” I inform them. “For my part, I’m going to get myself back out into the tunnels, scouting and fighting. I’ll make sure not to get too far away, and I’ll keep a scout relay between me and the nest at all times. Vibrant, you should get your team back out into the field as well. Skills and Levels are going to win us this war, we need to get ’em.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to go with Vibrant again, eldest?” Sloan asks. “Your last expedition was very fruitful, as I understand. The Expanse you conquered is certainly one of the largest we’ve yet seen.”
“Be careful in there,” I warn her. “The big spider mother wasn’t defeated and I get the feeling she holds a grudge. She’s a sneaky so-and-so, don’t take any risks. If she’s still in there, we’ll need an extensive digging project to get her out.”
Leeroy looks like she’s about to volunteer something, but her fellow soldier, Brendant, puts a claw on her back and she quiets. Sending her and her squad after a large, powerful monster would be exactly the sort of thing she’d be looking for to enact her ‘glorious sacrifice’ plan. That’s not happening.
“Which reminds me. I’ve seen the work Smithant has done for Leeroy and the group, and after talking to her, it’s become clear she isn’t getting the help she needs. It seems that most carvers don’t feel that making armour is worth their time.”
Both Tungstant and Cobalt shift in their seats, uncomfortable with the topic.
“It’s true there isn’t much enthusiasm when it comes to creating armour or weapons for ants,” Cobalt admits. “Most of the artisans feel it’s a waste to pour their effort into making things we get naturally. If we want tougher defences, just mutate the carapace, if we need stronger weapons, mutate the mandibles. So far, our bodies have proven to be more capable than the things we can make.”
It’s clear from their words that they, in part, seem to agree with this sentiment. Sheer stupidity, in my opinion.
“Look, the reality of the situation is that for most members of the colony, tier four or five is the highest they can expect to go in terms of evolutions. Particularly in the short-term. If we manage to continue to expand and we exist as a stable family for the next hundred years, that’ll change, but for now, it’s not. If a soldier has maxed mutations for carapace, mandibles and whatever other organs they have which are combat related, they are no longer able to get stronger until they evolve, which may be a long time coming. How can that ant possibly improve?”