Michael Blumlein by Anonymous

Author:Anonymous
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zinepal

Or maybe the ants weren’t dead, they were just taking a rest. Or waiting for something to get them going again. Some new information from outside, something that only ants would notice. Or something inside, some inner impulse. Like a spark, something to get them jump-started. They looked like bumps on a log, inert, almost mummified, and I asked myself, do ants sleep?

I decided that they do, mainly because when they did start moving again, it looked just like someone waking up. The scout ant was first. It snapped awake as if it had been startled by a loud noise, instantly alert and ready for action. The stay-behind ant woke up slower, bit by bit, as if sleep were some kind of blanket that it had to fight to push off. I found it interesting that two identical-looking ants could have such distinct personalities. I used to think that all of them, all the workers anyway, were alike. But obviously that’s not the case.

As for the fucking, I have to confess I lost track of who was doing what to who. In all honesty I couldn’t see exactly what it was that they were doing, except that one was behind the other and partway up its back, a position in other animals I associate with sex. I know that with most ants it’s just the queen that gets humped, and neither of these looked like a queen, though I’ve since read that in some species the worker females get in on the action too. These particular ants were very small and partially hidden by a leaf, and I had to strain to see them so I couldn’t tell if they were male or female. I couldn’t really tell anything for sure. Maybe if I had the big, fat eyes of a cormorant, I could be more definitive and scientific.

Another option: I could keep the nest in a jar and examine it every day to see if more ants have appeared. If they have, I could say that one of the ants was a fertile female and did have sex, the result of which was babies. (Offspring? Antlings? Whatever.) I could say this, but would I know it? Couldn’t there be other explanations?

Here’s one: God did it. Here’s another. It was the stork. Maybe the babies came from another dimension, or maybe they just materialized -- poof! spontaneous generation -- out of thin air.

And if no babies appeared? Maybe they were dry-humping. Maybe the female was sterile. Maybe the male was shooting blanks. Maybe it wasn’t sex at all.

You can’t make assumptions, that’s all I’m saying. Things are not always the way you think they are, or how you want them to be, or how they seem. You have to open your eyes and keep them open, chief. You have to open your mind. It’s a question of honesty. It’s a matter of respect. We have much to learn. Be kind, be merciful, be strong. By all means. But first, be scientific.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.