Chapter 1126 - Within the Self

I know I don't always devote the most thought to my mutations, but I think I'd remember letting humans contribute Will through the Vestibule. Yeah, I'm sure I would remember that! And yet, here sits a little bubble of Enid, here within the Nave.

What the heck is going on here? Spiritually, I approach and poke at the bubble, but try as I might, it doesn't disappear. Instead, it stubbornly sits there, existing, no matter how much I try to logic the darn thing from existence.

I bring up my menu and try to confirm the reality I believed I had been living in, only to find that I'd been wrong all along. The restriction on the Vestibule to Formica Sapiens is gone. Gone! Vanished into the mists! Like a smaller, less bat-like version of Tiny!

When in the name of all that is chitin and shiny did that happen? That's a thorax scratcher. I double check my mutations, just to ensure I'm not completely lost and bewildered, and it turns out that I'm not. I can only assume that this occurred during the reset.

Which explains a few things, I suppose. There's been a few times that things have popped into my head that I likely shouldn't have known otherwise. And I mean, alongside the amount of ants I receive energy from, the humans who are able to provide me with Will can hardly compare, causing their thoughts to be lost in the mix.

That doesn't mean they haven't been there, chugging along, providing energy. The proof is in the pudding, or amorphous blob of Will, as the situation decrees.

Even here, within my own psyche, I feel a chill run over my carapace. Enid being here, I can deal with. I've spoken to her a bunch of times and always found her to be a good egg. In fact, Enid and I go way back to shortly after the Colony surfaced. She was one of the first people I ever communicated with! No, I have no issue with Enid being here. But… if she has been providing enough Will to end up in the Nave… that means….

Aaaand there he is. The mad priest.

Because of course he is! This moron takes every opportunity to declare his devotion, often screaming it directly into my head whenever I form a bridge with him. How could he not be here in the Nave?

Staring at the little ball of Will that was formed by Beyn, I can't help but feel a little depressed. Then I feel bad about being depressed.

I don't want this guy in here. I also bit his arm off, only for him to turn around and start worshipping me for some weird reason. The ebb and flow of life, I suppose.

Ah well. It is what it is. Now that I know a little more about what the Nave does, I should investigate what function these little balls of Will actually have.

I approach the one that represents the Nameless One. The first one. The first Nameless One.

…

Nameless One 1. Let's go with that. I approach the little glowing orb and… for want of a better term, poke my consciousness inside.

The Nameless One halted her approach, sinking back into the shadows as she felt a slight disturbance. After a moment of trying to determine its source, she shook it off and resumed. Soon, another who snubbed their antennae at the Eldest's wisdom would learn a very important lesson….

Whoa there! Is that… what she's doing right now? If so, that's super useful!

I wander over to the ball that represents Enid and stick my antennae in.

She sighed in satisfaction as she lowered her cup down to the table. Even here, on the frontier of their territory, the hospitality of the Colony was not to be denied. Still, she was a little disappointed. She'd come all this way to see Anthony, only to learn he was now above her head!

No matter. She was sure he would be back down here before too long. It would be nice to see the big ant once more.

Hang on, is she in the fourth? What in the name of great googly-moogly is she doing down there?! I guess I learned that; she wanted to see me for some reason. I'll need to make sure I check in with her the moment I get down there.

A little confused, I wander over to Beyn's orb.

"GLORY TO THE GREAT ONE! PRAISE HIM! PRAISE HIM WITH GREAT PRAISE!"

Ack! How does he still manage to be so freakin' loud!? It never ends with this guy….

Still, it's amazing what the Nave can do. I can drop in and check on everyone in here whenever I want to. I suppose it was already possible to do that, in a smaller way. As long as an individual is within range and providing me with energy, I can find them and work out what they're thinking. It just takes… a long time. There's hundreds of thousands of people in there most of the time! Picking out a specific one is a serious pain!

The Nave is waaaay more convenient for that purpose, but I'm not sure that's all it can do…. I mean, the purpose of the Nave is for people to sit and listen, right?

I approach Beyn's orb once more.

"PRAISE THE PRAISE WITH GREAT PRAISE"

Hey, Beyn. Shut up!

A moment of silence.

"I WILL SILENTLY PRAISE YOU, GREAT ONE! SILENTLY PRAISING UNTIL I CAN NO LONGER SPEAK!"

That defeats the purpose, you moron!

That confirms it, though, I can actually talk to people through the Nave!

Holy Moly! To think this has been sitting here for ages without me taking a serious look at it!

That makes me feel… a little stupid. I really need to start checking in with Granin and the others. I should probably start being a bit more honest with them as well. If anyone has earned some trust, it's those three.

Well, now that I know what this thing does, it's time to look at some mutations! How can we gas this thing up?