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Bermuda Chapter 133
🕑 Added 2024-06-04 09:53:11 +0000 UTCChapter 133
To summarize Alec Siles's words, the root of the problem was that although the queen had awakened, her energy had weakened due to being asleep for too long.
Since her power had weakened, the control over the monsters using pheromones and ultrasonic waves wasn't as strong as before, and as a result, the egg-laying functions of other females that should have been suppressed when the queen awakened were still intact.
Afterwards, Alec said that the egg the two of them had seen was not laid by the queen, but by individuals possessing genes closest to the queen's, close to the 1st generation.
"Since ancient times in human society, when the king dies or disappears, or can't perform his functions, fellows who act like kings in his place are bound to appear. It's the same in the society of monsters living on this peninsula. If the queen can't fulfill her functions, fellows who aren't the queen lay eggs in her place."
He tapped the ground where the drawing was spread out with a branch and continued his explanation.
"But this fellow acting like a queen isn't the real queen, so it can't control or gather other individuals. Then the colony will scatter and gradually weaken."
"..."
"That's why, in this group, they took an egg from the individual with genes most similar to the queen's, coated the existing egg with a highly concentrated acidic mucus, and surrounded it with a hard shell to create a new egg. Then the eggshell inside will slowly dissolve in the acid and disappear, and the young inside will eat the concentrated nutrients and grow into a new queen individual on a different level from ordinary individuals."
"...So you're saying that fellow created like that can perform the queen's functions even though it's not an individual directly laid by the queen?"
"I couldn't be sure of that until recently either. So I conducted an experiment to find out, and through that outsider you mentioned, it was proven that dermocas chase after the egg, right? It at least performs the function of attracting colony members."
Leonardo nodded his head slowly in agreement with his words.
So the creatures created a new individual to become the next queen to replace the current queen who couldn't perform the function of laying eggs. That was the large, white egg, and because the next-queen individual was inside it, the dermocas had chased after it so desperately to retrieve the egg.
And such behavior soon proved that an interaction was occurring where the individual inside the egg was attracting the creatures, and the creatures were trying to protect the queen.
Kenis, who had been listening to the story, slightly frowned as he recalled the fact that Alec had experimented on the outsider. However, he soon composed his expression and said, recalling the final fate of the egg he had seen at that time,
"Then at least the elimination of the next-queen individual was successful? Because the egg broke and the individual inside died with it at that time."
However, at Kenis's words, Alec shook his head once again.
"It would be nice if it could be resolved that easily, but that egg isn't the only one. There are probably several eggs distributed throughout the peninsula."
"...Pardon?"
"The reason I was able to discover the egg by chance without entering the nest was precisely because of that."
Alec explained that there were two main reasons why the monsters of the peninsula moved and dispersed the eggs.
The first was when a mutant was growing inside the egg. Since mutants had a low probability of survival from birth, if they died near the nest, the location of the nest could be exposed, so to prevent this, they were discarded far outside.
Then, the mutants that recognized each other as the same species would pick up the discarded eggs and move them to their own nests.
And the second case was when the egg was judged to be unsafe.
The creatures didn't create just one egg to become the next queen. The reason was that they were concerned the egg might be attacked and the next-queen individual would disappear. Alec argued that the creatures scattering the eggs all over the peninsula was in the same context.
And he said that the entities attacking the egg included not only humans but also other monsters inhabiting the peninsula and the existing queen.
It was unlikely that the queen, who had reigned as the one and only creator while preventing other females from laying eggs, would gladly accept the existence of a new next queen that didn't even come from her own womb.
Although weakened, that individual still occupying the position of queen would use pheromones and ultrasonic waves to control the monsters and try to find and eliminate the next-queen individuals threatening her position. In this process, the group that broke free from control to protect the next queen likely possessed high intelligence overwhelming their instincts to resist the queen's pheromones.
And Alec speculated that a considerable number of that group were dermocas, and ilaptors would be an extremely small minority among them.
Leonardo, who heard him, asked as if it was strange,
"Ilaptors are also highly intelligent, so why can't they escape the control of the existing queen?"
"From what I've observed so far, not all highly intelligent individuals can escape the queen's control. Even among the dermocas, there seemed to be quite a lot of individuals following the existing queen. But the reason why it's especially more difficult for ilaptors to escape control is because they perform the role of nurse bees."
Alec pointed to the drawing he had made earlier while giving his explanation with a nod.
"I said nurse bees are literally in charge of household chores like attending to the queen, right? For them, now that the queen has awakened, the nest where the queen is would be home, and the closer they are to the queen, the stronger they would feel the pheromones, so it wouldn't be easy to go against that."
Upon hearing those words, Kenis momentarily looked around with a tense face. All that was spread out in every direction were dense grass, huge trees with drooping branches, and rocks covered in moss and vines, but beyond the faint light coming through the gaps, the scent of those creatures was clearly wafting.
Kenis swallowed his saliva and stammered,
"Th-then, could the reason why the scent of ilaptors is all over this area be..."
Alec, who grinned, straightened his waist and stood up, then looked at the sky that was sparsely covered by branches and answered,
"Because the queen is also nearby."
At those words, Leonardo also raised his guard to the fullest. Now that he heard it, it wouldn't be strange at all if those creatures popped out right away. Leonardo, who was looking around and checking for any presence in all directions, suddenly saw Alec's relaxed face as if he had come out for a picnic, and glared at him coldly. Then, he ground his teeth and thought,
'This bastard, he had planned to come to this damn place from the beginning. What did he say to me? That there would be quite a lot of monsters on the way?'
A few years ago, before the queen awakened, the creatures were seen even at the entrance of the peninsula because the queen didn't lay eggs and didn't need attendants, but after the queen awakened, they had all gathered around here to perform the role of nurse bees, so they hadn't been seen until now.
'Quite a lot, my ass. It means all the ilaptors on the peninsula are gathered here.'
Alec, who felt Leonardo's fierce gaze, turned his head to look at his face and just grinned at him. Leonardo's fist, unable to strike that face, made a thudding sound as if it was regretful.
Eventually, Alec threw the branch he had been holding into the bushes and patted his palms. Then, he took out the map and coordinate system from his backpack, compared them to gauge the current location, and opened his mouth.
"From now on, it's better to be a bit more tense. The fellows around here are especially more vicious and fierce because they are affected by the pheromones of the nearby queen. They are affected to the point of being almost pickled. The queen has been asleep for a very long time and is constantly hungry, and she must be in a very sensitive state because of the next queen. So even the fellows affected by her pheromones become sensitive."
Alec, who confirmed that they had entered the marked area, grinned. With his gaze fixed on the map, he said to the two,
"Moreover, you've seen the monsters on the peninsula devouring each other many times, right? To avoid being eaten by the hungry queen who can control them, the creatures must constantly supply food. They'll always be moving restlessly and in a highly tense state. Perhaps they've already noticed our presence."
Kenis, who had been concentrating on subtle sounds, turned his head at Alec's words and asked,
"Then, is the reason why monster appearances have become frequent recently and the frequency of attacks has increased also because the slumbering queen has awakened? Because they need to gather more food to supply it constantly."
"That's also correct, but there's another reason."
After leaving a small mark on the map he had been holding, Alec rolled it up and stuffed it back into his backpack. Then, as if revealing the core to the two gazes directed at him, he spread his index finger and said,
"It's to lure humans into the peninsula."
At Alec's answer, one of Leonardo's eyebrows furrowed and rose. Kenis also made a puzzled expression and asked back,
"Luring humans into the peninsula? Why?"
He added with an expression that couldn't understand at all,
"From the monsters' perspective, humans would be invaders barging into their home... Wouldn't they try to prevent humans from entering the interior in order to protect their home? In fact, we've been constantly fighting monsters while coming all the way here...?"
"To be precise, what seeks to block humans is the queen's will. And the monsters on this peninsula are controlled by the queen's pheromones and ultrasonic waves that carry that will, so it's natural for them to attack humans. But it has been proven that there are definitely fellows who resist that control due to the existence of the next queen, right?"
Alec said while slowly walking forward. His steps, which pushed through the leaves without hesitation, looked so bold and refreshing that it seemed as if he was giving a speech in a huge auditorium. Even so, Kenis and Leonardo also moved their feet to follow him at a pace that was by no means leisurely.
"But what I want to say is that, putting all those things aside, the instinct for the 'prosperity of the colony' is deeply rooted in the creatures, whether they are controlled or not. Their instincts are designed to be controlled by the queen's pheromones like honeybees for that purpose."
Alec, who had been walking quickly, suddenly stopped and turned around.
"Now, think about it. Would the fellows who sense the queen's pheromones and are affected by it not know that the queen's body has weakened to the point where she can no longer lay eggs?"
Leonardo and Kenis, who had been following him, also stopped in their tracks. Alec's face looked extremely excited and joyful, as if he had discovered a secret in an unknown world.
"The monsters on the peninsula have succeeded in constantly attacking and stimulating humans to drag them into the interior of the peninsula. And at this very moment, the great army of the Council is advancing southward every day, gradually approaching the queen's nest."
"..."
"The society on this peninsula is a kind of dystopian society where, unlike humans, the concept of emotion is thoroughly excluded. All the members are interlocked like cogwheels, silently performing their roles and living organically."
Alec grabbed Kenis's hand in front of him.
"In such a place, what do you think would happen to a queen who had monopolized the role of creator while suppressing the egg-laying functions of other females, if she can't perform her own function for the prosperity of the colony?"
His eyes and hands were trembling slightly as if filled with madness, so Kenis instinctively took a step back in fear.
"The creatures are telling humans like this, even while enduring bloodshed."
His breathing and expression were filled with rapture. Soon, Alec spread his arms wide and shouted at the two as if he were a scholar who had realized the truth.
"On behalf of us who are controlled by pheromones, for the prosperity of our colony. Kill our queen!"
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Yudrain
wha-
Jesse Gibson
Can’t decide if this is a good or bad thing…
