Reincarnated

"Where am I?" I thought, enveloped in a milky, wet substance. Discomfort gave way to freedom as I slowly emerged.

Long ago, a tiny figure, Royal Queen Arta 1, scurried across the damp earth. Freshly mated, she sought to lay her first eggs and establish a colony. Alone, she couldn't dig a nest before the sun-baked earth hardened.

Fortunately, she encountered another mated queen, and together they collaborated, soon joined by others. United, they labored, decreasing individual effort. After tireless work, their nest was complete, hidden from daylight forever.

An uneasy royal alliance formed, necessary for the colony's inception, but ultimately, each monarch's survival depended on her own strength.

The Colony

Each queen carefully laid eggs, knowing the first generation's fate would shape the colony's future. Weeks later, the initial brood emerged – female workers destined to serve, not reproduce.

As the colony expanded underground, a power struggle began. Queens communicated through pheromones, vying for control. The strongest queen's signals rallied workers, leading to a brutal purge of rival queens.

The losers were dismembered, often by their own daughters, and their corpses fed to the next generation. The Supreme Queen emerged victorious, hailed and exalted.

The Empire Expands

With her dominance secured, the Supreme Queen directed her loyal workers to gather nectar, braving dangers like antlions, giant predators, and harsh weather. Many foragers perished, but those who returned fed special workers, creating bulging honey pots to sustain the colony.

The queen's ambition drove her to expand, seeking new territories through conquest. She dispatched scouts to gather intelligence and prepared her army for war.

War and Conquest

Upon discovering a neighboring colony, her scouts called for backup. A swift, coordinated attack ensued, with her raiding party overwhelming the smaller colony.

Victory yielded spoils: stolen larvae and pupae, either consumed or enslaved. Honeypots were dragged back to be drained, fueling the empire's expansion and new colony foundations.

A New Perspective

Our focus shifts from imperial ambitions to a singular, trembling drone ant – a fifteen-generation male, wings intact, awaiting mating. Suddenly, he froze, bewildered.

"What's happening?" he thought.