Chrysalis



After thinking about it for a while, I decide I don't want to think about it anymore and get some sleep.

I mean, there's humans in there already, why not some demons? Who cares, the more the merrier. All that good stuff.

There's definitely some serious ramifications to something like this, but I can't work out what they are, so I'm going to stop trying.

When we wake up, we consume the second half of the Biomass, and then go back to sleep again. When I awake the second time, I see I'm the last to get up; Al has already taken off somewhere while Tiny, Invidia and Crinis have just been enjoying each other's company, or so I assume.

To my surprise, someone else has decided to show their face.

"Sloan? Didn't expect to see you here. Don't you have some stuff to deal with? Like… the wave and such?"

The general gives herself a little shake and lets out a small laugh.

"You don't think you're important, Eldest?"

What a ridiculous question.

"All I'm doing is sleeping. There's nothing important going on here."

"And what about the powerful demons you took down to save the Colony on this stratum?"

"Well, that was yesterday. Don't live in the past, Sloan, it's the future that we need to be concerned with."

Another little shake.

"Well, it's good that I came here to talk to you about the future then. There's something I'd like you to look into, Eldest."

"Really? I thought I'd be heading down to the fourth as soon as possible to help relieve the pressure there. Things must be getting nuts down in the deep."

The little general nods her head.

"Oh, they are, but I'd like you to head up, to the second."

"To the second?! Why?"

She leans forward a little conspiratorially.

"We think we may have identified another unique individual."

Ah, nards.

"She's not as crazy as Brilliant, is she?"

Sloan hesitates.

"Nnnnooooo?" she says, extremely unconvincingly.

I stare down at her.

"She's not like Brilliant," the general assures me, "but she's certainly not… usual."

"Elaborate."

"She's some variety of general. A great leader, with unique and unconventional strategies. She's been exceptionally successful. Her team is undefeated in every training exercise, including every Tunnel Ball match they've been part of. The fans are calling them 'the Endless' in honour of their win-streak."

Interesting. A general this time, huh? I'm not mad about that. There's something about the glint in Sloan's eye that I find a bit odd.

"What's the matter, Sloan? Not happy to be shown up in the strategy department?"

"Hmph," the general flips her antennae haughtily. "Her tactics may be unexpected, but her grasp of overall strategy is still lacking."

"For now."

"Y-yes… for now."

"So what do you want me to do, head up there and… what? Take her under my wing? Pass on my grand knowledge of warfare and how to lead armies?"

"No, of course not."

That's a little hurtful.

"I want you to beat her!" the general declares, clacking her mandibles with sudden passion. "Learning from failure is a key element in the Colony's education, but she refuses to lose! Someone needs to put her in her place — I mean teach her a valuable lesson."

I give her an even stare.

"You want me to go up to the second stratum to beat down on some ants barely out of training? And I should be doing this instead of going down to help our siblings on the fourth stratum?"

"You know it's valuable to the Colony to ensure these individuals are raised as carefully as possible. So far, you've been involved each time and, as a result of your training, they've made great strides and contributions to the family. I'm sure this time will be no different."

"Do you have any idea how painful it's going to be for me to go up there? Being in the third isn't exactly comfortable."

"Your core is starving here?" Sloan asks, genuinely surprised.

I can't be bothered explaining the Call. Who knows what the Colony will do if they think I'm under attack from the Ancients.

"No, it isn't. But it will be up there! Is there a reason I need to go to the second? Why can't you just bring this ant down to me?"

"Well… that's where the stadium is."

"The stadium?!"

"Yes, for Tunnel Ball."

"You mentioned this before, I thought it was a training exercise or something. Why the heck have we built a stadium?"

The general shifts a little uncomfortably.

"I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but the humans grew interested in Tunnel Ball, so we got more interested, and now the Colony has learned of the surface races' interest in 'sports'. So Tunnel Ball has been adopted as the Colony's official sport. There's a league and everything."

I mean… what do I even say? I know I told the ants to learn from the humans, taking their wisdom and culture and making it our own, but BALL SPORTS?! FOR ANTS?!?!?

I heave a sigh. No point worrying about it now, what's done is done. What harm can a bit of sport do anyway? If anything, it's nice for the ants to have developed a distraction, something they can engage in other than work.

"Right. So I'm going to the second stratum to beat down on a young ant at sports to teach them a lesson about… losing… or something. And I'm doing this mainly because you're sick of this new general winning all the time…."

"That's not the reason!"

I glare at her.

"It's… not… the main reason…."

"Fine. I'll guess I'll start making my way up then. The sooner I get it over with, the better. Might be nice to see the old nest again. This might be the last chance I get to head up there."

"Oh, we'll have Brilliant take you. That'll be faster."

"... Great."

"You don't sound very grateful, Eldest!" the little mad-scientist declares as she pops into existence nearby.

I'm going to have to find a method to prevent that from happening. I've no doubt there are monsters who could just teleport themselves inside my carapace. Yuck.

"I'm grateful for your help with the demons, that worked incredibly well. I'm not going to pretend that dimension-hopping travel is all that comfortable, though. It sucks! How far are we from a functional gate?"

"Closer than you think. Speaking of which, I'd like to get back to my lab, so let's get moving!"

"... Fine."