Royal Road
SomethingOtherThanRain
Re: Dragonize (LitRPG) by Kuiper
Chapter 56: Rogue Experiments
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"Now," said Anne, "Where were we?" The faint glow of the light overhead glinted off her shiny ant carapace.
"I'm glad to finally meet an ant queen face-to-face," I said. "It's not every day that you meet a queen with so many loyal subjects. That being said, I'd like to respect your time, so perhaps we should get straight to business. You mentioned that being an ant queen keeps you busy."
"Yes," said Anne. "As I said before, any nearby ants are easy for me to command directly." As if to demonstrate the point, a group of ants on the ceiling formed a swirling pattern, then dispersed. "I can move them as easily as if I were moving my own limb. However, whenever I need to send them on missions, I need to fine-tune things. And there is always a tradeoff between fine-tuning and the finite amount of time I have in a day."
"Sounds like a tough balancing act," I said. "But, uh, how exactly do you communicate with them, if not through speech?"
"Hmm," said Anne. "Actually, I was wondering if the same method might work on you. May I?"
"I…"
Before I could react, I saw a giant notification pop up.
Quest: 'A nod of agreement'
Description: Nod
Reward: 1 exp
Accept / Reject?
I paused, blinking at the notification, then glancing at Octavia. I recalled her doing something like this once before. "You see it too?" I said.
"Yes," said Octavia.
It seemed that Anne had the same ability. I accepted.
New active personal quest: 'A nod of agreement'
I dipped my head.
Quest complete: "A nod of agreement." Reward: 1 exp.
Anne tapped her two front legs together in delight. "You two both have the ability to be quest-followers. Most excellent."
Octavia nodded, this time in agreement rather than for instrumental purposes. "So you provide instructions to your ants by giving them quests?"
"Yes," said Anne, "though my ants are uniquely loyal to me. They'll follow any quest that I give them in the pursuit of even a miniscule reward. If I want specific behavior from them, all I need to do is stack up enough quests with greater levels of specificity."
"How specific are we talking?" I asked.
"A very good question," said Anne. "And precisely the root of my problem. I often encountered problems where I would give the ants instructions to find a specific item, but neglected to give them a quest that would reward them for coming back and reporting their finding. I can only presume that they found it and concluded that their servitude was over."
"Almost like programming a computer," I said, recalling my engineering classes. "The best part is that they always do exactly what they're told. The most annoying part is that they do exactly what they're told."
"Yes," said Anne. "It isn't enough for me to tell them to find a specific mineral. If I tell them to find something, they'll wander aimlessly. If I tell them 'go to a location that has these specific qualities,' and 'look for this specific item,' and 'report back with your findings,' and 'alert me if you encounter hostile creatures,' I can tweak each of those with a different level of reward to get them to prioritize certain tasks first. With enough fine-tuning, I can get them to cooperate on tasks, but it took a great deal of trial-and-error to reach that point."
Octavia asked, "Do they need permission to eat? Will they starve if you don't tell them to find food?"
"They don't only do what they're told," said Anne. "They still possess some rudimentary instincts that serves as their 'default behavior' whenever they're not following instructions. True to their nature, they will rest when tired, and eat when hungry. But they can only follow very narrow question prompts. And the problem is that they can only complete a quest once. Once they've received the reward, the quest ceases to be a motivation. I need to keep giving the same sets of instructions, over and over again."
"Sounds like a big time sink," I said.
"It was," said Anne. "It was the primary obstacle preventing me from expanding my domain to attain the grandeur that I aspired to. Ants can only do what they know by instinct, or what their quests compel them to do. I spent far too long stuck on that problem until I realized what should have been obvious from the start."
Octavia glanced from Anne to me, then back to Anne. "If what comes next is supposed to be obvious, then it's not obvious to me.
Anne laughed. "You need not feel shame. As I said, it took me far too long to realize it myself. If ants can only follow quest instructions, or follow their instincts, then what I had to do was rewire their instincts. Give them 'programming from birth' to behave the way I wanted. I could give them quest-like instructions that would never be permanently fulfilled. I could give them something like a quest that would refresh every day, or every minute. Like a hunger that could not be sated. The ants would be endlessly motivated to do whatever tasks I programmed them for. Rather than telling them to spend the day gathering a particular type of resource, I could tell them to spend an entire lifetime doing it. That was what I wanted: an army of mindless automatons requiring no maintenance. And…" Anne paused.
"And…?" said Octavia, prompting her to continue.
"And, you can see how things worked out," said Anne. "At first, things seemed to be going well. But at a certain point, they seem to have developed a mind of their own." She shook her head. "So, yet again, the time has come for me to wipe them out and start again."
"Yet again?" I asked. "This has happened before?"
"I've had many failed experiments," said Anne. "Such is the nature of experimentation. If we were certain of the outcome, there would be no need to experiment. Research is often the art of failing in new and unexpected ways. I have many failures, and I am not ashamed of that. But this was the first failed experiment to escape containment."
"How long ago did this happen?" Octavia asked.
"It's been years since the fire ants breached containment," Anne said. "It has been a significant hindrance to my own development, as I've had to divert considerable resources to the task of preventing the problem from growing more severe than it is already. We have been at a bit of a stalemate. And I'm thinking that you two are the key to breaking that stalemate."
"What's so special about us?" I asked.
"For one thing, I can talk to you," said Anne. "That's more than I can say for any of my ants, or any other creature below the surface. For another, our ideas seem to be aligned. And more importantly, you are capable of formulating your own plans."
"I see," said Octavia. "We have the ability to reason on our own."
"Right," I said. "So you could just specify a vague goal -- like 'go out there and bring me some food' -- and we'd figure out all the specifics of how to do that on our own without the need for you to micro-manage us with a long list of instructions."
"Yes," said Anne. "And let us remember how quickly a 'quest to obtain food' might involve unanticipated events, like being attacked by enemies. An errand to retrieve meat might involve encountering a new type of enemy and having to figure out how to defeat them. There are some goals that the ants can't complete with their own limited mental capacity. You two seem much better at weathering the unexpected. I expect you'll be much better at carrying out my instructions."
Octavia chittered. "We're here to receive and then carry out your orders?"
"Indeed," said Anne. "I presume you arrived here to join forces in the pursuit of our common goal."
"I did," said Octavia, "but I'm not sure that I envisioned it playing out like how you describe, with us following whatever instructions you give us." The spider's tone was defiant, as if challenging Anne.
"With all due respect," said Anne, "how did you envision this collaboration going? I offered you my plan. Do you have a counter-proposal? Did you arrive with a plan?"
"I…" Octavia glanced at me. "Did you have a plan, Drew?"
"Not exactly, no," I said. "I would need more information to formulate a plan."
"Then I'll save you the trouble," said Anne. "I do have a plan. If we follow my plan, the fire ants will be wiped out completely: if that's all you desire, the collaboration need not continue further beyond that point. After that, you may return to your lives without continuing to be menaced by the fire ants, and I can return to my own work. If you carry out your part of the plan, then I can offer you my personal guarantee that I will carry out my part of the plan."
"And what is your personal guarantee worth?" Octavia asked. Again, her tone was one of questioning defiance.
The ant queen took several steps forward. "It is worth approximately as much as your personal guarantee that you wouldn't attack me after I exposed myself to you. You arrived here talking about the spirit of collaboration and trust. I've now told you that I'm willing to collaborate, and explained what such a collaboration would involve. Why the sudden change of heart, my dear Octavia?"
"I see your point," I said, interjecting before Octavia could respond. "Of course, all three of us should do whatever's necessary to attain our shared goal. I think that maybe Octavia is resistant, because the way that you described it made it sound like it would be making us do the lion's share of the work, but of course, we understand that you'll be working quite hard as well. Right?"
"Exactly," said Anne. "In fact, I will be doing the the most important task involved with exterminating these rebellious fire ants, just as I have been for the past several years. I would like nothing more than to get back to work and continue executing my plan. But in order to do that, I need you to procure something for me."
"I think we can manage that," I said. "What is it you need?"
"I require an embercore," said Anne.
I glanced at Octavia, wondering if this was another type of mineral she had yet to introduce me to, but her face showed no sign of recognition. Octavia's face showed no hint of recognition at the term.
"Can you tell us more about these embercores?" I asked.
"Perhaps instead of telling you, I should show you."
A parade of ants followed from a previously-unseen hole on the wall, carrying an item. Behind them, a procession of ants followed, carrying what I realized was a separate item.
The ant thralls deposited a smooth orange rock in front of us, several inches in diameter, and not quite a sphere. "An embercore," said Anne, tapping it. "Albeit a very small one. May I test your recognition skills?"
"What do you mean by that?" I asked.
"An embercore has a distinctive appearance," said Anne, "but it is not always easy to know for certain whether you're looking at one, or just a very round and very smooth rock of a particular hue. Under low light, orange does not look so different from most shades of brown.. I would like the ability to send you out into the world and be able to recognize an embercore. To that end, please allow me…"
Quest: 'Locate an embercore
Description: Touch an embercore
Reward: 1 exp
Accept / Reject?
I accepted.
New active personal quest: Touch an embercore
"Go ahead," said Anne, gesturing to both me and Octavia. I looked at Octavia, who raised a claw poised over the embercore before gently tapping it. "Oh," said the spider. Octavia turned to me. "Now you try."
I tapped the embercore.
Quest complete: "Locate an embercore." Reward: 1 exp.
My claw lingered on the embercore for a moment as I felt its texture. Surprisingly, it was cold to the touch. With a name like 'embercore,' I had half expected it to burn me.
"You can stop touching it now," said Anne.
"I know," I said. "I'm just getting a feel for it. May I?"
"You may," said Anne.
I tapped the embercore, and let it roll several inches. Anne quickly snatched it up. "Careful with that," she said.
"Sorry," I said. "Is it fragile?"
"An embercore is not easily broken," said Anne. "But it is not an item to handle carelessly. If dropped from a high distance, it can become very hot."
"Interesting," I said. "That would explain the name. What is it about being dropped that causes it to heat up?"
"The embercore can absorb many types of energy," said Anne. "It converts them into heat."
I nodded. "And strikes are a form of kinetic energy."
Anne set the embercore down, gently placing it before us.
Anne looked to me, and then to Octavia. "I need you to understand something very important. Do not allow an embercore to come into contact with glowstone. Understood?"
"I understand," said Octavia.
"Is there a specific reason?" I asked.
"It will cause a chain reaction," said Anne. "Leading to an explosion."
"We'll try to avoid that, then," I said.
"Is that why you want us to carry out this errand?" said Octavia. "You don't want risk your own ants?"
"It is not a matter of danger," said Anne. "I don't expect this retrieval mission to threaten your lives. After all, I can tell you about the dangers of combining embercore and glowstone, and you will act accordingly. My ants, as I've said, are not quite as skilled at converting intent into action. I have done my best, but it has led to accidents in the past."
"Not your worst mistake, I'm sure," said Octavia.
"But still one I'd like to avoid, nonetheless. Are you willing to do this for me?"
I looked at Octavia, and gave her a slight nod. Octavia nodded back. "I think we can oblige," I said. "Though I'm not sure exactly where we should be looking for it. Could you tell us where to look?"
"Of course," said Anne. "To be clear, I don't know precisely where they are located. If I did, it would be much easier to send my ants out to find them. But I do know the location of several areas that seem promising based on what my scouts have reported. Would you like a visual?"
"That would be helpful," I said.
"Excellent," said Anne. "Would you care to follow me to my map room?"
I asked, "You have a map room?"
"Yes," said Anne with a chuckle, "though not all of the mapping that takes place there is spatial mapping. It is a place for me to map out my thoughts when I wish to present things visually."
"Yes," I said. "Lead the way, Anne."
A procession of smaller ants surrounded Anne, lifting their queen off the ground and carrying her to the edge of a room. A larger group of ants parted, revealing a passageway, and Anne's royal procession disappeared into the gaping hole.
I began following after Anne, when I heard Octavia's voice behind me. "Wait."
I glanced back at Octavia. "Yes?"
Octavia hesitated, then whispered to me. "Can we go?"
Anne reversed her march forward and returned to the audience chamber with me and Octavia. "What's the problem?" said Anne.
Octavia shifted. "I…didn't realize we were going to be spending so much time here," she said. "I'd like to tie up a few loose ends and make sure that our home is sufficiently barricaded with webs to prevent any intruders from paying us an unexpected visit. That would give me the peace of mind to focus completely on whatever plan you have for us."
"Alright," said Anne. "I'll be here waiting for you."
"Thank you," said Octavia. "We won't be long."
Without saying anything, I allowed Octavia to lead the way back to the tiny niche not to let my annoyance show as Octavia repeatedly glanced over her shoulder, as if scared about being chased by something. Every time I opened my mouth to speak, she hissed for me to be silent.
Back at our niche, I watched as she webbed up the entrance, then looked at her quizzically as she beckoned me down. I followed her without a word, and she raised a web above us.
"What are you doing?" I hissed.
"Soundproofing." Octavia tapped the web. "It'll do. Who knows how much her ant minions hear?"
"Probably not much, if they can't understand speech," I said. "Now what's this about?"
"I know that you're annoyed with me," said Octavia. "But I need you to listen to what I have to say and take it seriously."
"What is it?" I asked. "You think we're walking into a trap?"
Octavia nodded. "I don't trust her."
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Royal Road
SomethingOtherThanRain
Re: Dragonize (LitRPG) by Kuiper
Chapter 57: Suspicion
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The silence hung in the air between me and Octavia.
"Alright," I said. "So you don't trust Anne. Care to explain?"
"The ant queen seems…suspicious," said Octavia.
"So you're uncertain," I said. "I understand. It's creepy when someone you've just met with legions of minions beckons you deeper into their lair. But we knew that's what we were getting into. In a world full of hyenas, assassin bugs, and other openly hostile creatures, I thought you would be happier to meet a new person. Or 'sapient creature,' or whatever it is that we're calling ourselves."
"I was, at first," she said.
"What changed?" I asked. "Why so hostile?"
"Why so hostile indeed," said Octavia, as if that was an answer.
I let several moments pass before I finally broke the silence. "Would you care to elaborate?"
"What's there to elaborate on?" said Octavia. "I don't trust her."
"Why not?" I said. "She seems fully willing to cooperate. She gave us a task to do, which means that, at a minimum, she finds us useful. That might not be the same thing as friendship, but –"
Octavia stopped walking and turned to me. "Do you really not get it?" she said.
I blinked. "I guess I don't."
"The entire reason we went to meet with her is because of the fire ants," said Octavia.
"Yes," I said. "I mean, that's part of the reason, but yes, the fire ants have been a big problem for us in the past, and will probably continue to be a problem in the future if we don't do something about them."
Octavia hissed. "Anne is the one who created the fire ants!"
I sighed. "Yes, she did create them," I said. "But I feel obliged to point out that Anne's also very interested in destroying the fire ants, just as we are. She's certainly not happy about the fact that her fire ants went rogue. I think she wanted them to be just as peaceful and servile as the armored ants, or any of her other ant varieties, which I might note have not harmed us at all."
Octavia's voice took on a sarcastic tone I'd never heard from her before. "So, she's got a pretty good track record of creating lots of peaceful ant variants, and very occasionally creating unstoppable murder ants. Very comforting."
"She made one mistake," I said. "And she's working hard to –"
"That 'one mistake' killed all my friends and everyone I knew," said Octavia.
I didn't have a response for that.
"She didn't apologize," said Octavia. "She knows what the fire ants are, and she didn't apologize. I didn't hear an ounce of contrition in her voice when we spoke."
I chose my words carefully. "It's true that she never said that she was sorry," I said. "But think about what an apology is. An apology isn't just the words, 'I'm sorry.' An apology is an admission of wrongdoing, and a promise to do better. And by that measure, I think that Anne delivered what sounded pretty close to a clear apology. She considered the fire ants to be a mistake. She didn't want them to escape containment, and she thinks it's a big problem that the fire ants are doing things that she can't control. By all accounts, it seems like she's doing everything in her power to prevent them from spreading further." I pounded the ground for emphasis. "She wants to destroy the fire ants, Octavia. I understand it may not have been exactly what you wanted to hear, but that's close enough to an apology for me."
"You're wrong," said Octavia. "An apology isn't just about promising to fix past mistakes. It's about promising to avoid doing the same things in the future. That's what's implied by contrition. And I didn't hear any of that. In fact, if anything, I'd say she told us the opposite."
"What do you mean?" I said.
"Don't you remember her speech about 'experimenting?'" said Octavia. "The whole thing about how the nature of experiments is that sometimes they fail, and you have to keep on doing them, even though you know that sometimes there's a chance of failure? She didn't know for certain that something like this would happen, but she knew it was a possibility. And that wasn't enough to deter her. And after we clean up this mess, she's going to go back to her experiments. She told us that."
"Octavia," I said, "there's no way that she could have expected –"
"Exactly!" said Octavia. "She was intentionally doing things that would lead to unexpected consequences. She admitted it! She said that the purpose of her research was to – how did she put it? 'Fail in new and unexpected ways.' She didn't inadvertently stumble into the unexpected. She was barreling toward it."
"That's what science is," I said.
"Then maybe science is bad," said Octavia. "Because the way you describe it, it sounds like science killed all of my friends." She let that statement hang in the air for a moment before she continued. "You know, I once watched a movie about science gone wrong – about scientists who were so obsessed with whether they could do something that they didn't stop to think if they should do it. I thought that was just a narrative device that the story was using as an excuse for the existence of a group of monsters that were trying to kill everyone. I never thought I'd actually meet someone like that scientist in person."
"You're right," I said. "Science has the power to take lives. Some of the deadliest weapons in history have been the result of people exploring the frontier of science. But science also has the power to save lives."
"Funny that," said Octavia. "I've often heard that used as a justification for creating newer and deadlier types of weapons."
"When you're on the frontiers of the unknown, you can't always know what the consequences are going to be," I said. "Some will be good. Some might turn out to be catastrophically bad. But Anne seems well-intentioned."
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions," said Octavia. "And even that might be giving her too much credit, because I'm not even sure she has good intentions. You're assuming that she's on the side of good because of her commitment to 'research,' as if that's automatically a good thing. But do you remember why she was doing that research?"
"She wanted more efficient ants," I said.
"Yes," said Octavia. "And she wanted more efficient ants so that…" She trailed off, leaving me to finish the sentence.
"So she could finish her goals," I said.
"And those goals were…?"
"I assume she wants to become stronger," I said. "Just like me, and just like you. You and I both have moved in the direction of making ourselves stronger so that we can more easily survive."
"That's very charitable of you to assume," Octavia said. "But we don't have to assume her motivations. She told us. She didn't say anything about survival. She wanted to 'expand her domain' and 'aspire to grandeur.' At best, this is a vanity project for her. At worst, she sounds like a megalomaniacal villain trying to conquer as much territory as she can."
"She wants to expand her sphere of control," I said. "Does that automatically make her a villain? I mean, you tried to claim as much territory underground as you could, didn't you?"
"She and I are not the same," said Octavia.
"Octavia, I–" I stopped and took a breath. "I'm sorry if that came across as an attack on you."
"You compared me to her," said Octavia.
"I know. I–" I sighed. "I wasn't trying to say that you're both villains. I was trying to say the opposite. Her intentions might be as benign as yours."
"You keep using the word 'maybe,' talking as if Anne and her ant dominance is this big uncertainty," said Octavia. "But she's already shown us who she is. She created the fire ants. And then, she told us who she is. She created the fire ants in the pursuit of power, and now that her 'experiment' has gotten away from her, she wants us to help be the cleanup crew."
"Isn't that what we were expecting to do from the start?" I said. "Being cleanup crew for the ants, I mean. Think about what our goals were when we followed the armored ants into that lair. If I told you at the start of the day that we would meet someone who had a plan for how to wipe out the fire ants once and for all, and that they needed our help to do it, you'd think that person was our ally, right?"
Octavia was silent. At least it wasn't an objection. After a moment of hesitation, I decided to take her silence as an invitation to continue.
"Octavia, when we started crawling toward that ant tunnel, if I had asked you, best case scenario, what we were hoping for, I think it would have been something like this: we encounter a sapient creature – another person, who we can converse and reason with – and who shares our goal of wiping out the fire ants, and who has a plan for making that happen. The entire reason we went into Anne's lair was hoping to make that introduction, and to offer whatever assistance and cooperation was needed to make that happen. And all of that happened! We got the good outcome!"
Octavia stayed silent, but she glanced at me in a way that told me she was still listening.
"Anne's not perfect," I said. "Far from it. A long time ago, she did something that had very bad consequences. Disastrous consequences. Consequences that…hurt you a lot. Anne didn't intend for any of that to happen. I'm not sure if Anne even knows. In fact, I bet that if she knew just how much the fire ants had taken away from you, she'd have been way more apologetic. She never said she was sorry, but she didn't know about everything that she had to apologize for. Or, surely she can't have known the full extent of it."
"She knows that we've been fighting the fire ants," Octavia said. "That's why she offered us an invitation in the first place. She could have apologized for that much."
"It's probably been awhile since she's talked to another person," I said. "You had your spider friends to talk to, right? Anne learned how to talk specifically hoping it would let her communicate with her ants, and apparently they can't understand a word she says. Maybe we can forgive her for having bad manners, because she hasn't had a chance to practice them. She doesn't have anyone to talk to. Imagine how lonely she must be."
Octavia got quiet again. It was a full minute before she spoke again. "That doesn't change who she is, or what she's done," said Octavia. "I don't trust her."
I grimaced. "This is the first time I've seen you get upset."
She leaned forward. "What's that supposed to mean? Are you saying you want me to go back to being my 'usual self?' That acting like this way is inappropriate for me?"
"No," I said. "That's not what I mean at all. In fact, I think I mean the opposite. You don't take offense at small things. You're forgiving, and charitable. And that fact makes me think that if you're taking offense now, then this isn't some 'little thing' that you're getting upset over. It's a big deal, and you're right to be upset. And if you're worried about Anne, then maybe I should be too."
"I'm glad to hear you're still on my side," Octavia said.
"I think we might all be on the same side," I said. "I'm still not convinced Anne should be treated like an enemy. At the moment, she might be the best ally that we have against the fire ants. But I understand your concerns. They're all valid. I think Anne means well…but she's proven that she can be dangerous, even without meaning to."
"I'm glad we agree on that point," said Octavia.
"I think you're right to treat this situation with caution," I said. "But I don't think we gain anything by being hostile. For the time being, I think our best option is to play nice, but remain cautious. Does that sound alright to you?"
Octavia thought for a moment. "Yes," she said, "I guess you are right about Anne being our best option for dealing with the fire ants. I don't trust her on a lot of things, but I do believe her when she says that she wants to wipe them out as much as we do. So, for now…we can stay allies with her. But I'm not about to start treating her like a friend."
"Friends make life easier, but I understand if you don't want her as a friend," I said.
Octavia's voice took on a lighter tone. "Having her as an ally is good enough for now. Besides, I already have a friend," she said, tapping me on the snout. "Now, how about we go back and see that room Anne was about to show us?"
"Sounds like a plan," I said.
"Just one thing," she said. "I think that if either of us starts getting unsettling feelings about Anne, we should have a way to voice that without her knowing."
"You mean like some kind of coded language?" I asked.
"Yes," she said. "How about temperature? Hotter for positive, colder for negative."
"Sure," I said. "If I ask you how you're feeling, then you could respond with your general feeling about the situation."
"Yes," she said. "Cool for slightly on edge, chilly for suspicious, and frigid if I think things are about to turn sour."
"And," I said, "if you're feeling good about her, then you could describe yourself as feeling warm."
Octavia paused. "I suppose I could, if that was how I felt. What about when we need to discuss actual temperatures? That might become relevant as part of the embercore search."
"True," I said. "If you need to refer to actual temperature, then I guess we can just use the word 'temperature' in the sentence to qualify that."
"Okay," said Octavia. "And two more words to add to our vocabulary: 'Rabbit' means get ready to run, and 'hyena' gets ready to fight. And once I've said that word, 'go' means to actually run or fight."
"Alright," I said. "And same rule, in the unlikely event that you actually need to talk about rabbits or hyenas, say the word 'animal' as part of the sentence to indicate that you're talking about the actual animal."
"Fine," said Octavia. "Can I quiz you on all this, just to make sure we both remember everything properly? First: our temperature scale…"
* * *
Several minutes later, we were back at Anne's audience chamber. "Hello?" I called out.
"Ah, you've arrived," said Anne, emerging from one of the side tunnels. "Perfect timing. I've just finished preparing the map room for you two. Shall we?"
"Of course," I said, following as Anne and her ant retinue led the way to her map room.
"Oh," came Anne's voice from the tunnel ahead of us. "Just one thing. When you enter, don't touch anything. Understood?
"Yes," I said.
Octavia cocked her head to one side, as if expressing hesitation, before replying. "Understood. We won't touch any of your things."
"Very good," said Anne. "I would hate for anyone to get hurt."
Anne's receding form was now barely visible, and I called to her. "Wait, what's this about getting hurt? Is this place dangerous? I thought you said we were going to the map room."
"Do not worry." Anne's soothing voice carried a note of reassurance. "There is no need for concern. As long as you do not touch any of my things, there will not be any problems."
Octavia and I exchanged a glance.
As we entered the tunnel, the ants behind us started moving. I glanced behind us, looking at the row of smaller ants that now separated us from the audience chamber where we'd first met Anne.
"What's the matter, Drew?" Octavia asked. "Are you feeling a bit of a draft?"
I grimaced. "I am feeling a bit cool," I said. "But it's probably nothing to be worried about."
Octavia nodded "Me too. Hopefully it will be warmer inside."
I nodded. "Hopefully."
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