The Core: The Hive Daughter

4. What almost was...

In order to not have to pause my tunneling, I mentally instructed Invicta to gather up all the gold pulp while I sought an explanation from my little alien entities as to what metamorphosis would entail.

"Metamorphosis? Could you explain what that would do?" I asked as I set up a little map in my interface to keep track of my tunneling progress. I was going much slower than I initially expected and figured that I might be at this for a while. This was time that I wasn't too comfortable giving up. I was beginning to feel a need to go home for some reason to check on things. I had experienced too many close calls that could have meant losing my ability to ever see any of my family again and it was beginning to bother me a little. Who knew what would happen next? It might end up with me either dead or stuck someplace until the end of time.

<Hive monarch perished while infecting host with swarm. Metamorphosis would allow for a new monarch to be created.>

"Infecting?" Both Invicta and I asked at the same time.

<Acknowledged.>

"What normally happens after a monarch infects a host?" I asked, feeling that something was not right.

<Monarch instructs us to Absorb, Assimilate, and finally Spread from the host. Creating a new platform for mass absorption and assimilation of nearby environments. Absorption was commanded and completed. Assimilation was commanded and completed. Spread was never commanded. Monarch is dead. We are without. We seek a new monarch.>

I saw my life flash before my eyes as I finally understood what it was saying. The ant from my dream was not a benevolent benefactor, on the contrary, it had sensed me as prey and raced across the interdimensional cosmos to catch me. What I had seen as a gift was in fact a parasitic bomb that it had lobbed at me. Only through sheer luck had I barely managed to just miss the command it would have gladly issued to have my alien cr spread and infect the surrounding Core.

I swallowed, my mind frozen with fear as I wondered what was keeping a new monarch from discovering me. Was it dreams? How long could I stay awake and continually pile up experiences in VR and life without letting my brain reset? I had already begun to slightly feel the strain again like I had before. It had just taken longer this time for it to occur.

I could feel that Invicta was in a state of shock. I had to see if I could get in front of this thing, to see if I could wrestle control into my arms. So far this alien swarm had been only obeying commands from others, as though it lacked a will of its own. Could it live under a drone hierarchy? I had to try something...

"I am the new monarch! I have been your monarch since the last one died! You have been obeying my commands and will continue to do so from now on." I told the entity, expecting to fail and have to go through a rigorous test of wills to prove my dominance and right to claim my place. I had to see if I could get this thing under my control, if not, I and everything around me was as good as dead when another monarch showed up.

<Acknowledged. Monarch. We serve.>

What? Really? Just like that? - I thought as Invicta finally let loose.

"Ahhh!" Invicta screamed in my ear as she bounced around my mind in a panic.

"Invicta calm down! Everything is under control." I said, hoping that it really was. Inside I was sweating buckets from stress. I had completely lost the feeling of safety that I had been feeling this whole time since gaining this alien entity inside me. I guess I had begun to feel untouchable, as though I had a secret benefactor aiding me from beyond the dimensional divide. The truth was so much more disturbing. I was a possible host.