〔Primitive Containers〕
Brainpower requirement: 7
Workpower: +0,1 per 1 thousand populace.
Logistics: +0,15 per 1 thousand populace.
〔〕〔〕〔〕
'This is so OP. Eh, the other technologies would improve my colony's stats too, I bet. But resource gathering is much more important at this stage of colony development! Too bad there weren't any lifespan genes, though…'
I added the gene to the growing list of my genes.
Suddenly, I knew how to put things into something appropriately shaped. And how to add some shape to things to make them appropriate.
Maybe… Maybe I was overestimating this technology a little.
'No, wait. I can feel it—an instinctual knowledge of what a natural container is! Wax is inconveniently soft for this, but bees with that gene will be able to make some cups out of wax to carry liquids.'
This was great—it fit perfectly with my plan.
First of all, I had to increase the effectiveness of resource gathering, so I could afford more expensive upgrades later!
While I've been making all those *fucking hammers* I've made schematics for my next technology.
〔Forager posts〕
Brainpower requirement: 9
Workpower: +0,2 per 1 thousand populace.
Logistics: +0,15 per 1 thousand populace.
Reduces rate of death for foragers and scouts.
〔〕〔〕〔〕
My colony's brainpower now was finally enough to implement it. But it wasn't just about clicking on a few buttons.
I had to do everything myself, as tiresome as it was.
So I again went to Ambrosia to pitch my idea.
The bees still listened to her first of all, not to me—just out of instinct. I really hoped this would change when they got smarter—smart enough for Ambrosia to give me some official authority.
Sadly for me, bees are naturally matriarchal. A good thing that none of them actually know what "matriarchy" means!
"It's very simple, actually—I even drew this scheme for you, Ambrosia. Right now, our foragers fly directly to the food source or back each time, making lots of long, dangerous trips. Instead, we should make temporary forager posts, where the foragers will bring their hauls. Then other forages can carry them all back to the hive."
Ambrosia listened with an inscrutable expression.
"It's still the same total amount of flying, isn't it? And it's still dangerous."
She really got *sharp* with 100 intelligence. Despite the lack of any education.
"But! Since the forager post is fixed in place, some guards can gather there. They will protect nearby foragers and the gathered supplies. Foragers are at their most vulnerable when they are head-deep in a flower and can't see what's behind them, isn't it? And we will give the guards hammers!"
"You must teach them how to use the hammers first, Drone. They don't know."
I sighed.
"Yeah… Teaching… Let me teach you to call me by name, huh? How about that?"
I wasn't going to teach the older bees anything. With 3 intelligence, it was a fool's errand! It would just make me cry at their stupidity.
I tried once, and that was enough.
"Ambrosia, tell our daughters to listen to me. I know they still have to clean the brood cells, but I only need as many as we have hammers."
Ambrosia frowned and raised four palms up to count on fingers. One, two, three… Even if she added feet, it wouldn't be enough to count all the bees.
God, she was so cute when she got puzzled by basic math. And hot, but she was always hot. I was gradually developing resistance to boobs in this bee tribe.
"We have… fewer hammers than young bees," Ambrosia finally said.
"Yeah. We have one hammer for ten young bees." I showed her the fingers. "Get it? One. Ten."
"Yes… Alright, just… Come here! I will mark you with my scent, so they will follow your commands."
When I came closer, Ambrosia suddenly hugged me and pressed me tightly to her body. She was rubbing all over me! My leaf skirt wasn't made to withstand the inevitable reaction of my dick.
"A-A-Amby!" I shouted in shock while my hands went to grab Ambrosia's behind.
"It's time to mate again, anyway," she said. Her breathing was making my ears warm. "You will do your teaching later. But make sure that the brood cells are clean by the time I will be laying eggs again, Nectus."
"Amby, if you don't let go for a moment, my own 'eggs' are going to burst!"
"Drone, you don't have any eggs. Now stop squealing…"
***
Ambrosia had really outdone herself that time. I was so soaked in her smell, her Attendants looked at me strangely.
Like that, I came to the brood cells, where the youngest generation gathered, and hovered in the air nearby. My daughters were already hard workers, scraping remains of pupa molts and dried out goo from the wax walls of the cells with their claws.
They threw it right to the floor, where other Cleaning Bees picked it up to throw it out of the hive.
"Hey! You! Yes, you—and you, and you! All of you—but not you, keep working!"
A dozen bees, most of them my progeny, but not all, turned their heads toward me.
"Yes, Queen?" a slightly older Cleaning Bee asked.
"Queen? But…" a younger Cleaning Bee next to her tilted her head. "Is that what a Queen should look like? I guess…"
I gasped.
Because of Ambrosia's pheromones, they even mistook me for her! Or, well, for any generic Queen Bee. That was one way to give me authority… At least I didn't grow any tits yet.
"A Queen? I'm not a girl! I'm—Oh, wait. Doesn't matter, everybody! Just do what I tell you. I tell you to stop cleaning and start training—but not you, the dumb one!"
The Cleaning Bees I picked obediently stopped cleaning and joined me. For a start, I only took 10 bees.
Then we went after our training hammers.