She slapped the desk in front of her for emphasis.
Jonathan watched her antics with an air of resigned amusement. It was far from the first time he’d heard this rant from the mayor, and it wouldn’t be the last.
“This wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact you yourself were amongst the first to enjoy their hospitality?”
“Of course not,” Enid snapped. “This is about the wellbeing of the people.”
In truth, she’d felt more than a little embarrassed at being abducted from her home when trying to get some extra paperwork done. She’d been operating on five hours of sleep a night for weeks up to that point. If they were going to grab anyone, it was almost certainly going to be her. A warning would have been nice, though! She doubted that Anthony had to put up with this sort of treatment within the Colony.
Her assistant sighed and began to roll out the same arguments he’d employed the previous day.
“It’s hard to describe what’s taking place as ‘an attack on the wellbeing of the people’ when they are literally being forced to sleep. Productivity is up. People report being happier and more content. Crime is down, which I didn’t think would ever happen, given how low it was to start with. The number of couples falling pregnant has risen. Even the orphans are performing better in school. I have to say, the Great One was clearly onto something when they decreed people sleep more. The effect it’s had is incredible.”
Despite the litany of benefits that people had been experiencing, Enid’s scowl only grew deeper.
“But the abductions are causing people to be afraid. How secure can someone really feel when they are terrified of vanishing from their own home!”
Jonathan strolled over to her desk and dumped another handful of papers in front of her.
“Yes. People are scared of being abducted,” he agreed, “but it’s not nearly as bad as you say. You make it sound like they’re getting murdered, when in fact they are getting a good night’s rest, a cup of tea, a massage, and a haircut. If it weren’t for the disorienting experience of being nabbed, people would probably be lining up for the service. The plushies of the Great One are also proving to be exceedingly popular.”
He flicked his eyes to the bookshelf in the corner where a plush and fuzzy ant with a fierce look on its face stood pride of place in the centre of the shelf.
The mayor shuffled in her seat defensively.
“It’s fluffy,” she said.
“Of course.”
“But that’s beside the point!”
“I’m not convinced that it is.” Finally cracking, Jonathan placed his hands on his hips and levelled a weary glare at his stubborn boss. “The only question that really matters is this: do you want to live with the support of the Colony, or not?”
“With,” Enid replied immediately. “We wouldn’t enjoy anything like the prosperity we have today without them. Forget that, we wouldn’t even be alive.”
“Right. Then you have to be prepared to adopt some of their values. This sort of stuff happens amongst the ants all the time, and they seem to operate just fine. In fact, they probably push the boundaries harder than we do, which is likely why the Great One insisted on this rule in the first place. It was only a matter of time until they applied this rule to us as well. In their minds, they’re helping us. And they are!”
Taken aback by her usually mild-mannered assistant’s direct speech, Enid slumped in defeat—a pose she was little accustomed to.
“I just wish they would have consulted us. At least given us a warning. There are so many things I have to deal with, and then I had a hundred missing person reports show up in a week, after I got abducted myself!”
“I think it just goes to show they really do think of us as part of them. This is something they live by, and therefore so should we.”
“I have to admit, that worries me slightly,” Enid admitted. “Do we really know what it means to be part of a monster society? Are we really ready for everything that they will decide is good for us? They have been so, so good to us thus far, and I trust them, but I worry about the future and what might happen after I’m gone. This time, it was something small, sleeping requirements, but what about next time?”
Now, finally, the true concerns of the mayor were brought to light. Her assistant shouldn’t have been surprised that she was worried about what would happen in her absence. She always worried about that.
“It’s too late now to worry about integrating with the Colony,” he reminded her gently. “We are already a part of them. We just have to ride it out as best we can.”
Enid sighed and looked out the window at the young orphans playing so happily in the street. At least they were free from such concerns, and the fear of vanishing overnight. As long as they were content and growing strong, then everything else was fine.
99. Tolly Tours
I must say, my dear readers, that I was positively giddy at the prospect of being able to interview the most celebrated individual member of the Colony. I had thought speaking to Elizabant would have slaked my curiosity, when instead, it only inflamed it!
For a Queen to be so deferential to this Eldest, the Great One that the common people of Renewal held such reverence for… I have to say that the possibility of meeting such a creature set my heart positively aflutter!
I hadn’t looked forward to a meeting so much since my much-celebrated sit-down with the Satrap of the Brathian Island conglomerate, a most influential and secretive individual!
Yet, my enthusiasm had to be tempered, dear readers, as my guide was only too quick to tell me.
“I must warn you, Miss Tolly, an audience with the Great One will be all but impossible to arrange,” Emilia said. “The Great One hasn’t been seen by anyone from Renewal in years. I couldn’t even tell you what layer of the Dungeon they are on.”
“Then who can?” I ask.
Always be problem-solving, reader, that’s the key to moving forward, no matter the project!
Emilia hesitated before she sighed and adopted a lecturing tone.
“Beneath Anthome, in the second stratum, lies the first and largest of the Colony’s deeper nests. It’s a very important site to the ants for historical and cultural reasons, and to the followers of the Colony like me, it’s practically holy. There are frequent pilgrimages to visit the nest that thousands attend every year.”
Well, this all sounded positively wonderful!
“And there, we will be able to find more information on the Eldest?”
“Perhaps. But we will need to follow protocols if we want to visit. The Colony insists that all visitors to the deeper layers undergo a mana-saturation process to minimise the chance of sickness.”
“How thoughtful! I don’t suppose there is any way to skip it?”
I have delved deeply into the Dungeon over the course of many years, as you well know, dear readers! But alas, there was no slipping through the regulations of the Colony. Who would one even bribe?
My delightful guide stepped away to discuss arrangements with a nearby ant whilst I took a moment to speak with my guards. Neither of the two strapping lads were particularly fond of the idea of pushing yet farther into the land of the Colony, but alas, the terms of their contract required that they accompany me. The poor dears. I wasn’t unsympathetic to their position, and a promise of increased compensation was enough to assuage their fears.