Damian was what one would call a bit of a shut-in. Not that he didn’t go outside, mind you, it’s just that he didn’t have many friends. However, with a combination of good luck and hard work, mixed with his lack of social life, he could take up an otherwise expensive hobby. The twenty-six-year-old returned home and looked at the package he had received, and proceeded to open it.
…
Juno had awoken from her deep sleep, the last thing she remembered was a night of intense passion, and now, she had awoken to being a transparent coffin, looking up at what she could only describe as a god. Juno was a Myrmidon, meaning that she looked like a human woman in every way, except that she was a little less than three inches tall and looked to be wearing a bikini of black ant exoskeleton and had an extra set of arms.
“W-What’s happening!?” She screamed as she tried to push open her prison, but the gargantuan man holding her would not let it open. He then set her down in a vast and barren field, next to a flat stone and a massive water bowl. She was then able to at last break free from her confinement. But, looking around frantically, she could see a similar, mostly invisible barrier boxed in the wasteland’s edges.
“LUNCHTIME.” The titan said in his booming voice. At first, Juno thought that she would be devoured, fleeing from the giant hand coming down from the sky. But it soon left, and when she looked to where it had been, a cube of raw meat and broccoli was left on the flat stone. She let out the breath she was holding. The titan meant that he was feeding her.
“Th-Thank you…” Juno said to the mind-bogglingly large man looming over her. She then made her way over to the stone and began digging in.
…
It had been only a week since Damian had gotten his pet Myrmidon colony. In that time, the Queen had laid dozens of eggs. Her tiny squeals of pain as she did were a little hard for him to listen to, but there was little he could do. And as he looked down on her feeding her larva, he noticed a pattern. She was only providing a third of them meat, and the rest were getting vegetables. Looking it up, Damian found out that it meant the ones eating meat would be warriors, and the rest would be workers.
“What would she need warriors for?” He whispered to himself. It was most likely that she was working on instinct, but he had heard of Myrmidon colonies being able to break out of their tanks and try to overthrow their owners. But he decided to wait and see how things developed.
…
Juno looked at how much her daughters had grown, and she couldn’t have been more proud of them. Her children all worked together to form a genuinely remarkable colony. The workers, cute little darlings a third of her size, dug many tunnels, finding many stones that she taught them how to break down and use as construction material. And her strong guardians, standing at half her height, patroled their domain, looking for trouble-makers and outside threats alike. Juno was in the egg chamber, lovingly tending to her unhatched daughters, when a guardian came running in.
“Mother, come quick! The titan has done something to the surface!” The poor dear looked panicked, confused, and needing Juno to guide her.
“Remain calm, my dear. I will investigate this personally.” Juno strode through her domain, putting on a brave face for her children but being just as worried. While the titan had never harmed her of her daughters, but knowing that he could wipe them out with no effort made her wary of the massive god-thing. But all her fears were swept aside the moment she saw what her children worried about.
“What is it, mother!?”
“Is it going to eat us!?”
“Why does it have green bits on its claws!?” Some of the workers asked in panicked voices, pointing to a Bonzi tree the titan must have planted. Juno made a concerted effort not to laugh. This was new and strange for her once too.
“It is not a creature, girls. It is a plant, a living thing from the realm of my mother. And if it is anything like the ones where I was raised, then it will make a food known as fruit. The titan has blessed us as he always has. Rejoice!” As her children calmed down, others cheering, Juno looked up. And sure sunshine, the titan was overseeing all of this, and she made a respectful bow to the gentle giant.
…
Damian had grown somewhat worried about his little world. The population was growing a little too rapidly, and they were running out of living space.
“Well, I can’t just tell her to hold it in whenever she’s about to lay an egg, can I?” He muttered to himself. He was warned about making sure he had enough room for the colony by the three months faze, but his work had kept him distracted. So he decided to look up solutions. The first one he found was to introduce a predator, he was a little unsure about that one, he didn’t want to murder the poor little things. The second was simply expanding the living area, connecting one tank to another with tubing. The website said that three standard fish tanks would be more than good enough to sustain a stable population of one colony.
“Ya, that sounds good, but I can’t afford to do the whole package right away. Oh, what’s this?” He again said to himself, a habit he would not consider unhealthy. He then noticed a solution to his problem, at least a bandaid for it.
…
Juno was proud of her children’s accomplishments. Books and clothes made from the grass the titan planted, delicious jams made from the fruits of their tree, and the tunnels of their mighty hive were expansive and sturdy. But if one thing was clear, it was that things were getting crowded. She loved her children dearly, but wished there was not quite so many. Then Athena, the guard captain, walked in with a somehow more stern expression than usual.
“Queen mother, the titan has expanded the realm. Another walled dimension like ours was placed beside us on the northern rim, great tubes that we could easily fit three guards at a time through.”
“Wonderful news. But then, what troubles you, my sweet girl?”
“When we explored the new realm…” Athena paused, seeming to be unsure how to respond. “We found outsiders.” Juno sat at attention. When it came to Myrmidon, strangers always meant enemies. Fear for her children gripped her heart. Did the titan feel that their numbers needed thining?
“How many?”
“Three, they claim to have been sent by the titan himself. Should I bring them in?” Juno nodded, and Athena obeyed. To the naked eye, the three standing before her would be indistinguishable from her children, but a mother knows.
“Who are you, and why are you in my realm?” Juno made sure to be as intimidating as possible, and it succeeded.
“W-W-We were sent by our god to yours… A-And from what I can see… You could use us.”
“What are you implying, outsider!?” Juno slammed her fist against the arm of her throne, making the three of them flinch. It took a few moments longer than before for one of them to respond.
“F-Forgive my sister, y-your majesty! What she meant t-to say is that we are experts in fields of science that your children are not.”
“Fore e-example, we noticed that there is nothing made of metal.”
“And though masterful, I-I’ve noticed that your stonework could be improved.” Juno was furious. To think some strangers would just come barging into her home, uninvited and unwanted, and insult her family! But the titan had sent them, so executing them for hurt feelings might not be the best idea.
“You will be allowed to prove your words. But if I find out that this is some kind of trick, you will all be torn apart and consumed! To the library with them, have our wise women interrogate them at once!”
“Yes, my Queen!” Athena then had the tree trembling scholars dragged from her throne room. She then rubbed her eyes out of stress, praying that the titan knew what he was doing.
…
Damian looked over the four tanks that made up his colony, and he couldn’t help but feel a little proud of how it turned out. The first tank was entirely converted into living space, the second into food production, the third to waste treatment, and the fourth into mineral processing and manufacturing. He was particularly proud of the fourth tank. Every empty soda can he had, was placed there and turned into tools, pipping, and armor. It took years of love and care to get the colony to such heights, and on his first try too. But then he noticed something; there seemed to be some sort of festival. He would lean in to get a better look.
“Oh, wow…” He was in aw. Some of the larvae were royal, three princesses and one prince. He was happy that his little pet civilization was happy, but there was a problem. More than one Queen would mean civil war, countless dead before the new one was crowned.
“Well… I suppose I should head to the chatrooms and see who wants some queens and a king.” Damian then went and did just that. It would take him some time, but queens were in high demand. He might even get some money for them. The king he knew he would make a profit on. Males were rare among Myrmidon, and he knew people that would give an arm and a leg for one. But as people responded to his posting, his heart sank. The birth of royal young meant that his first queen was dying.
…
Juno was in her bed; she found it hard to move in recent days. The titan took three of her royal children, much like she was all those years ago. Only now did she understand why, if they had stayed, they would have killed each other over her grave.
“I’ve brought you soup, mother. Cube meat and broccoli, you’re favorite.”
“Thank you, Persephone.” She took the soup from her daughter with her withered old hands. Her child looked on the verge of tears seeing how much her mother struggled. “Has the titan sent you a man yet?”
“No, mother, not yet.”
“Well, he will. Don’t you worry about that, if there is one universal constant, it’s that the titan provides.”
“I don’t want to talk about the future, mother. I want to talk about right now, about how your feeling.” Juno laughed a little at that.
“Ok, sweetheart, what did you want to talk about?”
“Are you comfortable?”
“I am the most comfortable person in the entire realm. How have you been, sweetheart?”
“I’ve been doing ok.” Persephone said in a tone that made it very clear that she was not all right. The two conversed for what would be the last time. Neither felt like they said enough or that there were even enough words to say. Juno went to sleep that night and didn’t wake up. The first Queen of the realm had passed.
…
Damian was a little sad, but not nearly as sad as the colony was. He saw and heard their cries of sorrow; it was a solid week of mourning. The workers had constructed an elaborate tumb for her, Juno he thought her name was. He was able to trade his male Myrmidon for another, and he had already done his part and died long ago. And even though the hive was producing new young, they seemed to be having a tough time moving on from their original Queen.
“How to lift their spirits?” He questioned himself, then snapped his fingers. Finally, he knew what to do. He then got onto his computer, looking up the logistics, pricing, and everything else he needed to make his plane work.
…
Persephone had just finished laying her first clutch of eggs. It felt like hell, and while she was happy that it was over, she lamented that this was just the beginning. She was leaning on two of her sisters as she stumbled to her bed, but then a guard came rushing in.
“Sister Queen! The titan he… By the offering rock, he… You have to see it!” Persephone waved one of her left arms limply, signaling her carriers to move her to the balcony. What she saw made her break down in tears. A giant statue of her mother, made of gold by the looks of it, had to be almost half a foot tall. The figure was of her in her prime, beautiful, kind, the spitting image of an all-powerful goddess of life. She could even read the plack at the statue’s feet from her palace.
“Juno, the first mother…” The new Queen read aloud through tears. The titan mourned with them, at least, that is how she interpreted it. She, like her mother, had lingering doubts about if the titan really cared. And somehow, seeing that he did, lifted a burden from Persephone. A seemingly immortal god, shed tears along with the rest of them. This grand gesture touched not only her heart, but those of the entire colony, and they made praise to the titan, for his power seemed only matched by his empathy for the mortal things he cared for.
