Penny replied, “I’m interested in biotech— nanomachines as small as cells, things like that. Really amazing stuff. I want to be part doctor and part engineer. I think it will be brilliant. What about you, Hari?”
“Something to do with space exploration and astronomy,” Hari mused. “I’d love to build one of those space probes that travel to other planets or listen for signals from aliens.”
“I want to take things apart,” Sid said. “I don’t know if there are any jobs like that, but I think that would be fun. Kind of like being a ‘reverse engineer.’ I’d take things apart and then put them back together so they worked even better than before. If I can’t take things apart, I think robots are pretty awesome. I wouldn’t mind taking Talos apart to see how he works.”
“Not that he’d let you,” Penny laughed.
Before long, it was time to go to sleep. The next day would be spent entirely inside the hive, probing its secrets.
The next morning, the students reentered the smoky hive. The class was buzzing with excitement. Sid, Hari, and Penny worked together, climbing the honey-laced cells past hundreds of worker bees. Honey oozed and dripped from some of the cells. They set out to record the number of bees they encountered, the condition of the pupae, and the temperature of the air at different locations throughout the hive.
As Sid climbed the cells, he spotted some movement a little way up the vertical wall of cells. He squinted, trying to make out what was happening in the light cast by his helmet lamp.
“Hey. Hey, guys, look at this!” Sidney climbed higher to see better. It looked like the worker bee was removing a pupa from its cell. Something was wrong, though. The pupa was still a translucent white color, with its six legs folded tightly against its body. It was much too young to leave the cell.
Penny and Hari joined Sid. They watched as the pale, unmoving pupa was pulled from its cell.
“Look!” Hari pointed at several small, orange clusters attached to the pupa. “Those look like varroa mites!”
The bee clumsily dropped the pupa to the floor of the hive and climbed down after it.
“What the heck is it doing?” Sid tried to make out the bee, but it was lost in the darkness. “I can’t see.”
“Night vision,” Hari reminded him. “Third button on your right arm.” “Quick, let’s follow it!” Penny clambered down the hive wall.
Sid touched the button. His faceplate glowed with a ghostly green light, showing details of the hive. “Lethal!” Sid said. He hurried after Hari and Penny.
They clambered down the cells of the hive, dodging sluggish workers and the occasional drone. Other students turned to watch them descend.
“Is anything wrong?” Dr. Sharp’s voice crackled in their helmets.
“Penny here. I think we’re onto something, Dr. Sharp,” Penny said over the suitcom. “We’re following a worker that dragged a pupa from one of the cells. It seems to be moving down toward the hive entrance.”
“Interesting,” Dr. Sharp replied. “I’m patching into your video feed now. Keep following it if you can.”
Sid and Hari reached the floor of the hive and scrambled to follow Penny. Soon, they arrived at the hive entrance. The light from the outside world was almost too bright for them to bear after the hive’s cavernous darkness.
“There! It’s over there,” Penny pointed to a bee that had ventured onto the microshelter platform bolted to the hive. They hurried over just in time to see the bee dump the mite-infested pupa over the side before turning and making its way back to the hive.
“Whoa!” Sid said, peering over the edge of the platform to the ground, far below. “That bee just dumped that thing like it was trash.”
“Fascinating,” Dr. Sharp said as he emerged from the hive. “What do you think might be the reason for the bee’s behavior?”
Hari frowned. “Maybe it didn’t want the mites to spread to any of the other bees?”
“That’s my thought, too,” Dr. Sharp said. “The life cycle of varroa mites starts with young mites feeding on the immature bee, but once the bee matures, so do the mites. They spread to other bees and lay eggs in other cells with immature bees. Once they’re in, they can quickly spread through the hive. They also spread diseases to the bees as they feed on their hemolymph, which is similar to our blood. That weakens the bees.
“Perhaps the bees in this hive have a gene that results in the behavior we have just witnessed. When pupae infested with the mites are recognized in the hive, they are removed. This cuts down on the spread and growth of the mites in the hive. Your finding may have given us an opportunity to conduct an experiment. If we were to mark those pupae that are infested with mites and take some chemical samples, we might be able to track down the factors that make the bees eject them from the hive. It could be a visual cue, or some scent the bees are able to detect. We’ll share the video and talk about that with the other students tonight,” Dr. Sharp concluded.
Sidney felt a rush of pride. He knew they had been lucky to be in the right place at the right time. But if they hadn’t watched closely, they might have missed making an important discovery.
The remainder of the day passed uneventfully. The students were given the option of sleeping in the microshelter or camping in the hive for the night.
Sid and Hari were undecided, but Penny convinced them to spend the night inside the hive. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance! How can you pass it up?” Her enthusiasm was contagious.
“Okay, count me in,” Hari relented. “I’m pretty sure Pradeep’s never spent the night in a beehive.”
“What happens if the pheromone stuff wears off in the middle of the night?” Sid asked. “I don’t want to wake up to a mad bee attack.”
Hari thought for a second. “Well, they must have tested it before they let us stay the night, don’t you think?”
Penny sighed, exasperated. “You two worry way too much. Everything’s going to be fine.”
“Okay, but if you get stung to death or ripped apart by bee mandibles, don’t come crying to me,” Sid muttered.
Sleeping harnesses were attached to the hive wall in the same way mountain climbers attach themselves to the side of a cliff during overnight climbs. Sid didn’t think it would be comfortable, but once he deployed his hammock, his exhaustion from the long day caught up with him. The drone of his respirator synced with the bees’ buzzing, and the sound lulled him to sleep. He dreamed of honey as Dr. Sharp stayed up to review the footage of the bee dumping the infected pupa.
CHAPTER 7
The next morning, Penny, Hari, and Sidney returned to the microshelter for breakfast. The other students lined the long tables set up for them, eating and chatting about the exciting day to come. Sid wolfed down another protein bar. Even in his micro state, his appetite was as big as ever. As he ate, he inspected one of the shock prods used to electrocute any bees that got too curious. The mental itch of his curiosity was focused on how the shock prods worked. And the only way to scratch that itch was to take something apart. He cracked open the titanium casing and stared at the inside.
“What’s up?” Hari asked, sitting down with a tray of food.
“Nothing!” Sid replied guiltily, but when he saw the grin on Hari’s face he relaxed. “Habit, I guess. You know, I think I could make these things deliver a really big shock if I reversed the polarity of these two modules.”
“I hope you disconnected the battery before you started poking around in that thing,” Hari said. “Otherwise, you’ll be the one getting the really big shock.”
Sid flashed him a look of annoyance. “Of course, I …” Oops. He located the power cable. It was still attached to the battery pack. “Well, I’ll make sure I do it next time,” he said sheepishly, disconnecting the cable.
“I wonder if our virtual parasites are surviving,” Penny said. “I can’t wait to see if they’ve spread while we’ve been in the hive. I really want to win! I wonder what they’re doing right now.”
“Well, I’ll tell you what t
hey’d better be doing,” Sid said. “They’d better be infesting eyeballs. If I find out they were slacking off all this time, that’s it. Extinction for them.”
Hari put down a piece of toast dripping with jam. “Can we talk about something else, please? Eyeball parasites are not something I want to talk about while I’m eating.”
Sid shrugged. “Sure, if that’s what you want.”
Penny was excited to spend another day in the hive. “I’m not leaving there until I see the queen,” she said with determination.
“That sounds awesome,” Hari agreed.
Sid wasn’t excited about meeting the queen face-to-exoskeleton, but it was clear that Penny wouldn’t stop until she found her. “Okay,” he said. “I’m in.”
After finishing their breakfasts, the three friends lined up to be sprayed with the pheromone that made them smell like the queen, and Dr. Sharp and Verge led all the students in for their second full day in the hive. The students scattered, observing the different tasks the bees performed.
“Look at this,” Hari said, gesturing to a solitary bee hard at work. “I think he’s making new cells.”
“She,” Penny corrected. “All the workers are female. Just like in real life,” she added sarcastically.
“Hey! Was that a slam?” Sid retorted. “I bet there are plenty of hardworking male bees around here somewhere.”
“Good luck finding one,” Hari said. “They’re called drones, and they’re outnumbered by workers. They don’t make honey, and they can’t sting. Their only purpose is to mate with the queen.”
“Whose side are you on?” Sid muttered.
“The workers kick them out of the hive in the fall. The poor dopes can’t even feed themselves. Just like my brother,” Penny said.
They watched the worker toil tirelessly, building cell after cell.
“Kind of amazing that they know how to do all this work without having to be told how, isn’t it?” Sid asked, watching the worker.
“Instincts are powerful,” agreed Hari.
After observing the worker bee a bit longer, Penny started making her way deeper into the hive. “Okay, time to find the queen!”
They followed along a wall that spiraled into the depths of the hive. The bees they passed still appeared tranquilized amidst the smoke that wafted like curtains in the dark space.
“We have to be pretty close to the center of the hive,” Hari said. “The curve of the wall is getting tighter.”
“Hey, you guys? I’m getting a little worried that we can’t hear anyone else. Are you picking up a signal on your suitcom?” Sid asked. The map of the hive on his helmet faceplate was breaking up.
“I can’t hear anyone, either,” Hari replied. “Maybe we’d better…”
“There she is!” Penny shouted, pointing while she clung to the wall near a horizontal shelf of cells. “There’s a huge open space down there. You’ve got to see this! The queen is there, and she’s magnificent!”
Hari and Sid made their way over the sticky cells until they reached Penny and could look over the rim of the hive. They gasped at what they saw. The queen was at the center, and she was huge. They had almost gotten used to seeing bees the size of cars, but the queen was the size of a tanker truck. Her massive, glossy body was surrounded by workers feeding and cleaning her. She continually reassured them with touches of her antennae.
“Holy smokes, she’s big,” Sid whispered.
Hari just nodded.
“Come on, you two,” Penny chided. “I can barely see her from here.”
“Penny, I don’t know if it’s a good idea to get too close…” Hari began.
“Where’s your sense of adventure?” she interrupted. “You can wait here if you want, but I’m going in for a closer look.” She began to negotiate the hexagonal cells down to where the queen and her court were located.
Hari looked at Sid and shrugged. “Might as well. How many times in your life will you get the chance to meet a queen bee?”
“I’m going to look around for mites first,” Sid said. “I’ll shoot some video. Penny’s so excited she’ll probably forget.”
“Sounds good.”
“Don’t make the queen mad,” Sid warned as Hari moved deeper into the hive. Sidney sat on the edge of a cell and shot some video of the queen’s chamber with the camera built into his helmet, scanning for the little orange mites. Then, he zoomed in to see what the giant insect looked like up close.
The queen’s head was enormous next to Penny and Hari. But her head and thorax were small compared with her gigantic abdomen, which was filled with the eggs that kept the hive populated. A young worker was feeding the queen a drop of honey. Others were scattered around her, keeping the chamber clean and repairing the cell walls.
Penny walked close to the queen’s head, careful not to move too quickly and startle the workers. “I bet Pradeep’s never stood next to a queen bee, has he, Hari?” she said.
Hari laughed. “Nope. I’m pretty sure he hasn’t.”
Sid was focused on filming Penny and Hari when a quick burst of static made him jump. He used the suit’s controls to home in on the frequency. He could barely make out broken voices saying something urgently.
“Repeat! All students must…zzt…immediately.We have spotted giant…zzt…in the vicinity. These insects are extremely…zzt…do not approach. Evacuate the nest and…zzt… immediately…zzt.”
Sid jumped up. “Hey. Hey. HEY, GUYS! Something’s going on!” He could see Hari and Penny straighten up.
“What is it, Sid?” Hari asked.
“I just heard something that sounded like a…like a warning. It was pretty broken up, but I think we’d better get out of here and head back to the microshelter.”
“Come on, Sid. You’re just getting spooked,” Penny said. “Just a bit longer, and we’ll go.”
Another broken communication came over the com channel. “Swarm of…zzt…spotted, closing in. Arrival at the hive in…zzt…mately five minutes.”
“Penny, we have to leave now!” Sid cried. “Something’s coming!”
Hari spoke up. “Maybe we’d better go, Penny.”
“Okay, okay,” Penny said grudgingly. “I can see her again tomorrow.”
As Penny and Hari climbed out of the queen’s chamber, Sid was becoming more anxious. “Climb faster!”
“Oh, relax—” Penny started, but she was interrupted by another burst of communication.
“Scouts sighted! Take shelter immediately! These...zzt… extremely dangerous! Do not approach!”
“Whatever they’re talking about, it sounds bad,” Hari said. “Let’s go.”
They started back to the hive entrance, making their way carefully but quickly along the cells.
“Look at the bees,” Penny said.
The worker bees were moving restlessly. The tranquilizing smoke had cleared, and the bees were becoming more active. They looked like they were shivering. First one bee shook, and then another, almost like fans doing the wave at a football game.
“I think they’re alerting the others,” Sid said.
A few minutes later, the three friends had nearly made it back outside. But they were blocked by hundreds of worker bees standing at the entrance, facing out in rows like an army.
“Something’s definitely up,” Sid said. “They’re all waiting for something.”
Just then, a huge shadow fell across Sid’s face and landed on the floor of the hive.
The worker bees buzzed loudly, antennae twitching, as a huge head thrust itself into the entrance.
Penny gasped.
Sid tried to make sense of what he was seeing. It was an insect’s head, similar to the bees’. But the intruder’s head was gigantic, several times larger than that of the bees’. “It’s a giant Asian hornet!” Hari said. “They’re five times the size of the honeybees.”
“So? What’s going to happen?” Sid wondered. “It’s huge, but there’s only one. How much damage can it do?”
&n
bsp; Hari looked at him. “If I’m remembering right, thirty of those giant hornets can wipe out a hive of thirty-thousand bees in just a few hours. The first ones that arrive are scouts. They mark the hive with a chemical to attract the others.”
“What?!” Sid exclaimed. “That is totally lethal. I mean truly lethal.”
“What do we do?” Penny asked.
Hari shook his head. “The hornets will kill the adult bees and then take the larvae and pupae back to their own hive to feed their young.”
“We can’t let that happen!” Penny exclaimed. “The hornets will destroy the hive! We have to do something!”
“Look at the size of that thing,” Sid said. “It’s absolutely mammoth. What can we do about it when we’re so small?”
Another snippet of static came over the com speakers, “Three students are still inside the hive! Zzt…can’t help them now, it’s too dangerous to approach the hive until…zzt…”
“That’s it, then,” Sid said quietly. “We’re trapped in here with those hornets unless we figure out something.”
“Sid’s right, Penny. We can’t do anything to help them. We need to figure out how to stay alive ourselves,” Hari said.
SHOCK PROD
“Wait! What about the shock prods?” Sid asked. “Maybe they’d be strong enough to at least stun those things a little.”
“I don’t know,” Penny said. “Those prods don’t look like they’d do more than tickle them.”
The hornet pushed its way farther into the hive. A nearby bee attacked it. The hornet responded by catching the bee in its jaws, and with a quick chomp, bit off the bee’s head.
“No!” Penny cried out.
Sid ran to the hive entrance, shoving past the guard bees. He pushed a button on his prod and a thin metal rod snapped out. The little ball on the end lit up.
“Sid, wait! What are you doing?” Hari called.
Sid paused at the entrance of the hive, looking into the reflective eyes of the huge hornet. In his micro state, the hornet was the size of a small airplane, and its wings hummed loudly as it moved into the hive.
Hive Mind Page 6