Chapter 596 Where the hell are they?!
As the Colony expands and grows, it's becoming increasingly difficult to get the Council together. The members are needed all over the place. Victoriant and Antionette have their regular egg-laying duties, which takes the bulk of their time. When they aren't laying, they usually have a ridiculous amount of Biomass they need to consume, as well as accruing experience from the monsters the Colony brings to them for last hitting. Evolving the Queens is still one of the top priorities of the Colony after all.
Needless to say, Burke and Wills have covered an unbelievable amount of territory over the last week. I don't think I've ever seen either of them look tired, but their legs are definitely hanging a little lower as they rest on their chairs. Coordinating the scouting expeditions throughout the literally thousands of tunnels and branches in every direction must have come close to frying their brains. Turns out when your territory is largely spherical, it's harder to manage than a nice flat piece of land.
The Soldiers have all been fighting in the many, many battles of expansion taking place all throughout the second strata as we strive to soak up as much space and resources as we possibly can before the attack begins. Chief amongst those resources is Biomass and experience. Our troops need to be fighting fit and as strong as they can get, as fast as we can get them there. Needless to say the Generals have been heavily involved in this activity. Organising the logistics of it all must have been a nightmare.
The worker classes have all been busy running support in the meantime, not to mention the constant research and development that goes on. Nest building, manufacturing, testing, experimenting and pushing the boundaries of possibility in all areas. They are the scientists and engineers pushing the Colony forward. Which reminds me of something.
"I understand you had something of a breakthrough recently?" I ask Ellie and Bella, the two core shapers as they settle into their chairs.
The two of them perk up immediately, delighted to talk about their work.
"Oh, we sure have! We've been testing with that core combination technique you brought back to us from the Sophos, geez I'd love to meet them. Anyway, since we've evolved to tier four, along with many of our fellow researchers, we've been making a lot of headway in utilising the technique. Our first 'folded' pet core design was completed yesterday!"
"Oh? What did you manage to fuse?"
"A centipede and a garralosh infant…"
Holy heck. I do NOT want to see that.
"How on Pangera did you manage to get those two to go together?"
Their antennae twitch wildly.
"It … wasn't easy. Extensive modifications were made to both creatures before the cores were able to merge. We don't believe the resulting creature will be useful, at all, but it's an important milestone!"
"Agreed… you didn't actually reconstitute one of these did you?"
"We did not."
Phew. Such a monstrosity should not be called into existence, even in the name of progress.
"This is really good news. Keep it up you two! I have high hopes for you. If we can develop more powerful and useful pets, it can have a positive impact in all aspects of the Colony."
The two core shapers happily salute me and prepare for the council proper to begin. I sincerely believe what I said, the Sophos have shown the raw power that pets can hold. The core shapers have already proven that their pets can be useful, but with time, and as their Skill levels rise, their creations will become more and more deadly. The Colony will be able to pour enough resources into those pets that they can become truly powerful.
"Alright then," I address the gathered council members, "where the hell are they?"
"What do you mean, Eldest?" Victor asks.
"We're expecting an invasion from multiple fronts! Where are they?! Have they just given up and gone home? Are we safe? I mean, has anyone seen any sign of the golgari invading us?"
There's an awkward moment around the table as the ants look at each other.
"We haven't seen anything," Burke admits, "we've been expanding our zone of control in every direction and our scouts have pushed hard toward golgari territory, but so far there hasn't been any sign of them."
Wills backs her partner up.
"It's true. We've set up relays of scouts to bring word as soon as they spot anything approaching through the tunnels. Right now, we just haven't found evidence of the invasion."
"That doesn't mean they aren't coming though," Advant warns the table, "we are still expecting a large enemy force to approach us, possibly from multiple directions."
"Our expansion has been going according to plan," Tungstant chips in, "the next two second strata nests are active and we've begun to develop surface nests to complement them. The new Queens are in place and the Biomass has begun to flow."
"Egg production has reached a new high at a touch over five thousand per day. It's going to put a strain on the academy as we attempt to graduate these larger classes. Our territory will need to continue to expand if we want to secure the experience and cores necessary to ensure our standards are met," the Brood tender, Florence informs the table.
"Also, we estimate that the total number of members in the Colony at around a hundred thousand," she adds.
"Five thousand a day?! A hundred thousand?!?!" I shout.
*THWACK!*
"Eldest! What was that for?" Leeroy complains.
"Sorry, I was shocked there for a second."
"But I didn't do anything!"
"You have a helmet on, you probably didn't even feel a thing. Shush."
"That's right," Theresant affirms, "it's become quite stressful, trying to keep up. A problem which will only get worse when the hatchlings from the two new nests emerge. We actually want to take this opportunity to ask for more resources to be dedicated toward the academies and rearing the brood."
"Done," every member of the table immediately agrees.
Regardless of the situation, the Colony does not hesitate to invest in the next generation. Sacrificing the future to preserve the present is not a trade any ant is willing to make. Everything is for the brood.
"I suppose that means that we need to rush the construction of the surface nests in order to provide training grounds," Cobalt muses. "That might mean the defences for the new nests are left unfinished for longer than we anticipated."
"It might be necessary," I say, "if the war against the golgari drags on, we'll have time to shore up our defences, but those hatchlings will be necessary reinforcements down the line."
A heavy silence falls around the table as the council is forced to confront the idea that a protracted fight will leave many ants dead. It's not something that the Colony has had to deal with so far, extended war against a superior foe. Which leads me to believe that there's another thing I need to say which they may not have considered.
"We need to think about what will happen if we lose this fight," I announce.
Each member of the council goes perfectly still, their antennae frozen with shock as they process what I said.
"We don't know what is coming, we don't know when they're going to get here, and we don't know that we'll be able to defeat this enemy. In the event that we lose, there needs to be a plan that will allow the Colony to survive. They'll try and hunt down every one of us if we can't push them back, so we'll need to be clever, hide Queens in faraway places, build disguised nests on the surface and place tier one and two ants there who can rebuild from scratch, given time. It's important that our family carry on, even if we should fall."
The council digests my words for a few long moments. I can tell they aren't happy about it, but they know it makes sense. No matter what happens, the Colony must survive.