Death comes to many in the relentless task of defending and sustaining Boldanthium. It is not considered tragic, and if those who die have done their job well, there will be many more to replace them. Achieving old age is rare. The only certain way to die is to disobey the orders of our Queen.
As soon as the age of participation is reached, it is our non-negotiable duty to join the army and seek out all that is required to maintain our colonial existence. We fearlessly venture across the vast forest, and for the lucky ones, return to Boldanthium with the spoils of our journey.
We are small in size, but strong and agile. Our sheer numbers help overcome and bring down some of the larger creatures occupying the forest. Many of them are simply too large and powerful. They pick us off one by one. But our army is large and we spread ourselves wide across the landscape. This helps reduce our losses and allows us as a group to continue our task.
The city of Boldanthium is our stronghold. It is well constructed and a relatively safe haven against attacking enemies. Communication is vital to our survival. All members of our society share intelligence regarding attacks on us, either in the forest or on the city itself. This knowledge helps us react and respond when such dangers are faced.
Sometimes nature itself is our most devastating enemy. Violent storms can result in treacherous floods capable of not only killing thousands, but completely destroying every structure in our city. The highest losses occur when storms strike during periods of darkness when the army is at home. At least during periods of light, the many thousands travelling with the army have a chance to seek shelter or higher ground.
Such events can result in the death of half our population. The worst catastrophes can even take the life of our leader. A brief period of instability follows. The struggle for power is quick and brutal in its violence. A new leader is installed, and if the city is irreparable, the surviving army leads the population to a new location where Boldanthium is quickly rebuilt and normality returns.
I have not endured such an occurrence in my lifetime. Only five periods of light have passed since I reached the age of participation. It was during the last light period of my fleeting youth that everything changed at Boldanthium. To all in the colony, it was always assumed the forest was so vast it had no end. To reach the edge of the forest would be to reach the edge of the world itself. The returning army shattered that assumption.
During the period of darkness that followed, Boldanthium became consumed with an excitement never experienced before. Word quickly spread through the city of the incredible story the returning army told. They reached the edge of the forest, but what they found was not the edge of the world.
The forest simply ended in an abrupt flat line. Beyond the massive trees and smaller vegetation lies a wide stretch of rock that follows the flat line at the edge of the forest. No plant life grew on it. The rock itself was like nothing seen inside the forest. The heat radiating from the unusual surface was stifling. Beyond the rocky stretch was a vast, flat grassland, larger than many of us could imagine.
Most remarkable of all was what the army found at the edge of the forest. Between the last of the trees and the rocky stretch stood a breathtaking structure. Nothing even similar to it had been seen before. It was huge in size. It had a dark and unusually smooth surface. None in the army could even hazard a guess as to what strange creatures constructed such a thing, or indeed, may dwell within it.
In fear of what the army may find inside the structure, they named it “The Tyrant’s Shell”. They cautiously moved around its circumference but found no way of entering. A small group scaled its side seeking an entry point. When they reached the top, they found one huge opening, as wide as the structure itself. The view over the grassland struck awe. An end to its vastness could not be seen even from that height.
What they saw inside the structure was incredible. Bizarre, almost alien objects of varying size and colour filled the cavity. As with The Tyrant’s Shell itself, the objects were constructed of materials never seen or felt before. Most importantly, they found a simply staggering amount of food. Some say, enough to feed Boldanthium for a lifetime. The army grabbed all they could carry and returned home to tell of their amazing journey, and of the strange structure that appeared to mark the boundary between the world they understood, and the new world they did not.
I first joined the army the following period of light, and ordered to return to The Tyrant’s Shell. We were to scout the surrounding area, establish what dangers exist and seek out a potential new location for Boldanthium. We would return home with as much food as we could carry. If the mission went well, and the news was good, the Queen would seriously consider rebuilding Boldanthium at a new location close to The Tyrant’s Shell.
My time to shine had arrived. Due to my lack of experience I was positioned in the middle of the marching army. Those who had endured many journeys through the forest lead the way. Many would have already been to The Tyrant’s Shell, salvaged as much food as they could carry and be returning to Boldanthium before I and others even arrived at the site.
As ordered, I followed the line without deviation. Those passing me on their way home reported no immediate danger. One after another they echoed a sense of accomplishment, triumph, and most importantly, safety.
As I moved forward, The Tyrant’s Shell finally came into view. It was just as the army described it during the previous period of darkness, yet so much more impressive when seen with my own eyes. The strangest part was seeing the forest come to an abrupt end. It indeed felt like I was approaching the edge of the world.
When I got a little closer I saw many fellow members of the army scaling the great wall of The Tyrant’s Shell and disappearing over the top. Others emerged from the structure and headed back toward the ground, all heavily laden with food. My task was to do exactly as those in front were doing.
I neared the base of the structure. There were only fifty or so on the ground in front of me when the devastating attack began. An incredibly loud rumbling, grinding, crunching sound came from behind The Tyrant’s Shell and off to one side. Then suddenly into view came another structure. It was enormous, at least one hundred times the size of The Tyrant’s Shell. But what I observed seemed impossible to me. Nothing in the realm of my knowledge or in my wildest imagination could explain what this structure was doing. It was moving.
It came to a halt just beyond The Tyrant’s Shell on the great rocky stretch. The sun reflected off it in an unusual way. The almost deafening noise it produced continued. A section at the side of the structure swung out leaving a gaping hole. A massive creature emerged. Previous generations within our society passed down stories of giants who moved across the land leaving a trail of death and destruction, but no living member of our colony had ever seen one.
The hideous creature, simply because of its enormous size covered a great distance with every step. Its strength was beyond comprehension. It swung out a strange, dangling limb and incredibly picked up The Tyrant’s Shell in its entirety with ease. It then carried it to the noisy structure, turned it up-side-down and began violently smashing it against an open section at the rear.
The speed the beast moved at left little time for the army to react. There were five hundred or so either inside The Tyrant’s Shell or climbing up and down the sides when the giant attacked. Those of us on the ground retreated as fast as we could.
Just as quickly as the enormous creature had taken The Tyrant’s Shell, it returned and crashed the entire structure back in the place it originally stood. A small number of survivors hurried down the side of the structure and followed our escape route. The giant returned to the great moving structure and re-entered. With another burst of grinding and crunching, it moved back in the direction it came from and the noise finally faded. The bodies of hundreds were somewhere inside the strange moving structure. It was a swift and brutal attack.
We never returned to The Tyrant’s Shell. Boldanthium moved, but in the opposite direction, as far as possible from the death and destruction encountered at the edge of the forest. No amount of food is worth risking the lives of so many.
When light is upon us again, my sisters and I will head into the forest in a new direction in search of food for the Queen and the colony. We will face death as many times as necessary. It will catch up with us at some point in time. I do not fear it. It is my lot in life. I will never be Queen. My sisters and I are infertile. The Queen saw to that. It not only stops us wanting to be Queen, but leaves the Queen to dominate the bloodline of the colony. It is a good system.
In the meantime, I will do all that is asked of me no matter what the risk. I will do it for the greater good of the army, the colony, and my mother, the Queen, because I believe she is the best ant for the job.