Written by-Silver crown
Ch - 17 An ant Story
Beta sat down in a corner, watching Jinn doing his job. Ant Beta stared at the human who saved her life with her two large red insect eyes.
She then looked at herself. Although her size is smaller than that of an adult giant ant, she is a full-fledged ant who's already past her adulthood. Her carapace is giving a dark metallic luster, reflecting the light coming from the moonstones. Her legs are short yet, thick and powerful. Four of her front legs have a human-like hand with three fingers that can be used for both grabbing and tearing things.
She walked toward a basin of water that Jinn had collected through distillation.
The calm water surface was reflecting a vague picture of herself.
A giant ant head with pair of red compound eyes, short antennae, and two pairs of pitchers. Her appearance became more fearsome in a dimly lit environment like this. Beta wasn't admiring her beauty through the reflection but checking the transparent wings on her back.
She flapped her short wings on her back. She moved her wings slowly at first, then gradually increased her speed. However, no matter how much she tried, her body didn't lift from the ground. Her wings are too small compared to her body. Specifically, her big abdomen.
Beta didn't stop trying. She will continue to flap her wing until she gets exhausted.
The hardworking ant, named Beta has a story of her own. Like any other giant ant that could be found in Serb city, she was raised by a group of humans and ants starting from the day she hatched.
Beta grew up together with many brethren and became a guardian ant for the colony. It might be presumptuous of herself. But unlike other ants, Beta was favored by the mother Queen.
Beta got reverence and admiration from others. She didn't have to hunt for food or nurse the hatchlings. She only has one duty. That was to protect the queen and the colony. And eventually, to become a queen herself.
Beta had a straight future than any other ant. Yet, an unexpected event changed her destiny.
One day, while Beta was patrolling, she sensed a commotion from the pheromone sensing. When she got closer, she saw many ants tearing apart another ant.
The victim was a normal worker ant from the same colony, with no finger on its arms. But, it had unique features, a pair of thin transparent wings on its back.
It wasn't uncommon to see an ant killed by others inside the colony. If an ant got an infection or contagious disease, its body released a unique pheromone. When another worker ants sensed that pheromone, they disposed of the victim immediately before it started affecting the colony.
However, the ant got slaughtered in front of her eyes hadn't released any strange pheromones. Beta was confused about why they killed that worker ant. When she inquired about the reason, they told her it was Mother Queen's order.
Beta went to the Queen and asked for the reason. Mother Queen said
"My child, do you know why we could stand toe to toe or even stronger than other species?"
"It's because we have one will."
"Those with wings may have the ability to fly but they don't have the same will as a colony."
"We don't need any elements that will jeopardize our order."
Beta wasn't convinced about it. If wings are not necessary, why didn't she order just to remove that part only? Why does Mother Queen keep the wings on her back?
She personally searched for the answer from the Murals inside the colony. It was just a simple interest at first. Slowly, she began to understand more detail about flying and Mother Queen's decisions.
Those who can fly will never forget the happiness of flying.
The Queen herself once has the ability to fly. But it was all in the past. After becoming a Mother of all ants, she was shackled by her duties and locked inside the deepest underground of the colony. Her body became bigger and bigger. Her wings became a mere ornament on the back.
Every time she sensed those can fly freely, she started to feel extreme jealousy and irritation. Since she couldn't fly, no one shall fly. She took away wings and lives from them.
Knowing the truth, Beta got extremely interested in wings and flying. As for the idea of opposing Mother Queen and giving others ant liberation to have wings.
It didn't appear in her mind.
Ants have a straight hierarchy system. The descendants of a worker ant will always be worker ants. Even though giant ants evolved bigger and more intelligent than the previous, their societal order didn't change too much.
There are no revolutionary ants that have compassion for the masses.
The only reason why Beta can think independently is that she's a queen candidate.
Beta's obsession with flying didn't get unnoticed by the Mother Queen. However, since Beta was being a powerful echelon, a queen candidate of the colony. Mother Queen couldn't do anything but wait for the right time to give Beta a punishment.
Mother Queen didn't have to wait too long. She struck as soon as Beta hibernated to evolve into a greater life form.
Beta's power and strength got siphoned away into another queen candidate. Due to an abrupt interruption during evolution, her body became smaller. The wings that Beta always wanted, end up growing in incomplete form.
She was thrown into the swamp mercilessly with only a bit of consciousness left in her body. It was quite a horrible experience.
The more she struggles, the faster she sinks. Since her exoskeletons are tougher than normal ants, the teeth from the death worms couldn't penetrate them easily. It was not only prolonging her death but also making her suffer more. The discharged electricity from their body was keeping her awake throughout the ordeal.
Pain, suffocation, and fear of death all well up in her mind.
Beta stopped moving her wings and watched back at Jinn.
It was this human child that saved her from unavoidable death. Although this child was rude and treated her like a normal ant, he still offered her food and water worthy of her status.
'Don't worry child. This queen will protect you till the very beginning.'
Beta shook her head.
Queen?
Since her power got stripped away, she was neither a queen nor a guardian anymore. She was just a shell of her previous self.
A shell queen with a rude human child in a two-man colony.
While Beta was lamenting her pathetic life, her antennae sensed strange signals from Jinn's body. At the center of Jinn's chest, there was an ethereal Gem releasing a massive amount of signals that Beta couldn't comprehend.
From her compound eyes, she saw Jinn's chest was releasing blinding light rays radiating in various frequencies.