B568-114 understood my explanations quickly
"Oh, this makes everything so much clearer! Now all these things I heard or others didn't hear make sense. So this is my special gene? Ah, I can't wait to use it for the Empire! I thought I will be a Nurse after I finish school, but can I be soone even more useful?"
"Absolutely," I said, patting B568-114's head. "But the crucial question is—what are the limits of your ability? How far can you send thoughts, and from what distance can you read thoughts of other people?"
The first tier of the telepathy gene had a range of only 10 ters, but it also didn't include mind-reading. With the possibility of non-linear scaling, the answer could be anything.
B568-114 frowned, thinking about my answer.
"I think… I never heard anyone's thoughts if they are farther than a dozen or two steps away. And I'm sure I didn't hear all the thoughts, only the loud ones. But talking telepathically to people is much easier. I always just thought about whom I want to speak with, and they heard even when it was noisy around."
I nodded thoughtfully.
"It looks like your broadcasting has much longer range than your receiving… Hm. Do you think you can send a telepathic ssage to soone from another hive?"
B568-114 gasped.
"But I don't even know anyone there! How would I?"
"So broadcasting requires so familiarity with the target? What if you just want to say sothing to everybody around?"
The girl shrugged.
"I just thought about all of them. But it's tireso to think about many people at once. Thinking is tireso by itself! I don't get how Researchers can spend all day thinking."
I laughed a little.
"You think Nurses don't think at all? I've heard plenty of things about careful and efficient managent of eggs and pupae. And there are Nurses who work with Physicians, too…"
B568-114 stared at with fright.
"But… I will beco a special worker now, right? Not a Nurse?"
"Oh, absolutely. A talent like yours… It can help the Empire so much."
If B568-114's telepathy range was long enough, she'd be able to send ssages throughout the entire Empire instantaneously! We will just have to arrange "receivers" she would be familiar enough with.
But if telepathy worked as I hoped it would, then we had even better opportunities.
"Co with , please, B568-114. I want you to try sothing."
***
B568-114 had already left Hive Supremo once—when she and her sisters evacuated—but when we left the hive cave, she still looked around with wonder and so fear.
The bodies of bees left after yesterday's battle have already been gathered together for a mass burial. The bodies of humans, sadly, were much harder to deal with.
While an entire army of Foragers, Material Foragers and Foren gathered everything they could from them, countless scavengers ca to feast.
Warrior Bees kept away everyone undesirable—like flies—but by my order, let so other creatures pass. Mostly dragons.
A few beasts had the bravery to get so close to this many bees.
A dozen smaller dragons were swooping to bodies, stealing a pound of flesh and flying to the top of Hive Supremo's pillar mountain to eat it. A few "rats", which resembled furry beetles with their shape, also were stealing pieces.
But I imdiately led B568-114 and my bodyguard escort toward the almost-ta dragon trio of Scourge, Disaster and Woe.
With so much free carrion in sight, they refused carrying riders anywhere and instead engorged themselves on human at. This ant that I had no news from the human village or from Bloodimina's army.
Dragon riders have growled their best at the dragons, but so far, didn't change a thing. Perhaps, B568-114 will achieve better success.
The bees we passed on our way saluted and greeted with smiles, but the eating dragons didn't as much as glance at us when we approached.
"Behold, B568-114—three lazy byrbs!" I said affectionately. "Don't they look aweso? All that blood on their snouts gives them such a ferocious look—you'd never think they are just scavengers."
B568-114 looked at them with awed eyes.
"They look scary… Do they fight on our side?"
"Not exactly. But maybe they will! Now, look—I want you to approach them and try reading their thoughts. Maybe if you focus, you can hear more of them. Don't be afraid—the dragons know to not attack bees. And Destroyer's girls will protect you. And , too."
B568-114 hesitated a mont, then nodded decisively.
"I will try, Father."
We approached the dragons together, with the bodyguards flying in a protective circle around us.
B568-114 stopped only five ters away from Scourge's head, who was trying to swallow an especially large piece of at. Stupid greedy dragon (affectionately).
She stared at the dragon as if she tried to drill a hole in his skull—which it ignored the sa way it ignored us. After a mont, Scourge finally swallowed the piece, and B568-114 gasped.
"It speaks! It really speaks!"
I grinned.
"Really? What does it say? Tell us!"
"It said… 'Good'. Just this. Oh, it says 'good' again!"
At this mont, Scourge bit off and swallowed a smaller piece of at. The correlation was obvious.
"I guess I shouldn't have expected profound thoughts from animals, even relatively smart ones. But this is still great to hear—as I expected, thoughts exist outside of the language barrier. This ans that you, B568-114, can communicate with beasts directly. You will be our greatest beast tar yet!"
She smiled brightly.
"I'm so glad! It sounds much more useful than being a Nurse!"
I nodded and led her away from the dragons.
"And this is only a part of it. Oh, there's so much we have to do… I need a word with the dragon language research team. And we need to hold an Empire Council…"
With the help of B568-114, we might finally be able to hold proper negotiations with humans—and demand total capitulation from them!
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