Sure! Could’ve had my leg cut off.
[Didn’t that happen too?]
Well… a bit.
[A BIT?]
Fine! Sheesh! So what? I still had my pets at least.
[Ah yes, your pet colony of ants. You fed them everything you had, didn’t you? Until you starved to death.]
Can we stop talking about the death and such? I’m more of a forward-looking person…
[Would you describe it as sane for a person to feed a colony of ants above themselves to the point they died because of it?]
Not everyone has my sense of responsibility and devotion, Gandalf. What can I say?
[That is the reason I reincarnated you as an ant, by the way. I thought it would be a… comforting form for you.]
It really was pet ants equals ant rebirth? Dammit!
[You don’t like it?]
Well, I mean… it worked out ok in the end. But I have to say, Gandalf, it was quite a shaky start!
[Yes, many don’t make it past the first few days, despite my best efforts.]
What happens to those who… don’t make it?
[Death, of course.]
Yikes!
[I hope you can continue to succeed, young Anthony. Who knows, perhaps I’ll see you in person one day.]
In person? Like… you’re not a spirit or something? Where the heck are you?
[If you go down far enough, you should find me.]
I just might, you know! Not in a million years.
[You may not have a choice… Good luck!]
With that, my mind is again manipulated by a power beyond its control, flung out of wherever the heck I’ve been, and up, up, up through the tendril and slammed back into my core.
Whoa!
From my core, my consciousness settles inside its rightful house. Before I can even begin to process the bizarre conversation with He of the Floppy Hat, I sink into sleep as the evolution process properly takes hold of me.
Dangi…
64. The Low Rider
Gradually my mind begins to resurface. It’s a strange feeling, seeing as I don’t actually get to sleep as an ant, but rather go into the stasis-like rest of torpor. I’m not used to properly blacking out like this.
The memory of what had taken place when I evolved still boils away in my mind. Gandalf? Is he actually down in the Dungeon somewhere? I push away the bad memories of my previous life that had been dragged up during the conversation. No sense wasting time focusing on that stuff. I have plenty to focus on in the here and now. I’ve got a new family, pets, and a brand-new mother to look after. No point suffering by thinking of things that are long gone.
Sensations bubble up in my awareness until the light comes on in my eyes and then—BAM, I’m awake!
HAH!
HOOGABAH!
I’m here! It’s action stations, people!
Why is my face full of fluff?
Flexing my legs and body, the familiar appendages are in their proper places: six legs, two antennae, the junk in my trunk. All seems good.
The real problem I have is all this damn fuzz in my face! What the heck is going on?
[Tiny! Tiny, is that you!]
Not the time to ignore me, you dumb ape!
[Get the hell up, Tiny! I need to move about in here!]
[…Sleepy.]
[Go sleep on the surface or something. I can’t even see with all this fuzz in my eyes!]
[…Tired.]
[That’s the same thing as sleepy. Get the heck out of here, you lump!]
I can sense an exasperated sigh over the mental link, as if I’m the one being unreasonable. Just who does this ape think he is? And why the heck is he so damn fluffy now!
Gradually, the fuzz begins to shift and move and I can see a little better. A wall of long white, fuzzy hair rolls away from me toward the entrance where there’s grunting punctuated by frustrated growls.
[Do you not fit?]
[…No.]
Dangit! I shouldn’t be too surprised since the entrance and chamber was a little squeezy before he evolved. Knowing Tiny and his general species, I can only assume he’s gotten even more powerful and large after evolving. If I’d properly thought ahead, I would have recognised this possibility and made proper preparations.
[You’ll have to dig your way out, buddy. Try digging straight out that way, and you should come out the side of the hill, near the top.]
Our chamber is usually dug the closest to the top and off to the side somewhere, out of the way of the rest of the colony, so there shouldn’t be a problem if he starts digging his way through. Even if the side of the hill collapses, it won’t take down any chambers other than ours and we can dig out easily enough.
I hear a deep scraping as the ape starts to dig. The only visible evidence I have of that is the shifting white hair pressed into my face.
Eventually he finally breaks through. Grunting happily to himself, he hauls himself out into the light and I finally get a good look at his new size as he moves.
He’s big. That’s a big ape!
He was already large enough to put any earth-sized gorilla to shame, but he must have increased in size by thirty percent with this evolution. If he were to stand up to his maximum height, he’d probably crack ten feet, easy! His thick, powerful arms are covered in long white hairs. The shorter hair on his torso is also mostly white. On closer inspection, he isn’t pure snow white like a polar bear, more of a burnished silvery colour.
Is he a silverback now?
[What species are you now, Tiny, do you remember?]
Out on the side of the hill now and basking in the sunshine, Tiny turns to look at me. His bat face is now completely black, rather than the dark grey it used to be. His eyes, however, are a deep, glowing red.
[Your species? What kind of monster are you now? Do you know at all, bud?]
He stares at me blankly.
[Did your Cunning actually go DOWN!]
Nothing. Holy moly! Just how muscle-brained is this guy going to get as he keeps evolving? If he gets any dumber than this, he’ll forget how to eat! Looking at his bulky form that practically radiates strength, I can only imagine how potent those massive fists have become. This species clearly prioritises physical strength above all else, even having a brain.
In some ways he makes the perfect pet, but I wish he had a bit more going on in the upstairs department. I want him to be able to have independent thoughts and to think for himself, rather than rely on me to point him in the right direction and make sure he has what he needs. Ah well. Maybe I can do something about that down the line.
Now that I have a little more space in the chamber, as well as a snazzy new natural lighting, I can get a handle on what’s going on in the room. Where’s Vibrant? She doesn’t seem to be over in her corner. So she must have woken up by now.
“Vibrant?”
“Hi-Hi!” I hear her chirpy response.
Did that come from…
Using my antennae, I feel around on the top of my head, and sure enough, something is there. Shifting my head position back a little I can clearly see her beady little ant eyes staring back at me. She looks almost exactly the same!
“Have you evolved, Vibrant?”
“Yup-yup!”
DANG.
“Do you remember what species you chose?” I grate out.
“Of course! Vibrant took one of the special options, just like senior said! Superior Hatchling Worker!” she declares proudly.
So, still a hatchling.
I slump to the ground, defeated. I’m going to have to put up with this helpless little freeloader until she reaches Level ten, then craft another special core for her, then maybe she’ll become useful after that.